Capturing the Moment

  I set the skiff up to get this bear coming up and over this rocky promenade. It is always powerful getting photos animals coming towards you. It shows that you are being respectful and not scaring the animal. This is the ultimate goal for a wildlife photographer. Katmai National Park is known for being one of Alaska's premier brown bear viewing locations. People are used to the boardwalks and reservations needed for famous spots like Brooks Falls and McNeil River. However, if you have access to a sturdy boat, or an expedition ship in our case, you can get to the seldom explored coastline of Katmai, and see bears in the untouched wilderness. We were lucky with weather, and planned to explore two different bays on the outer coast, Kinak Bay and Geographic Harbor. We started out the morning with a new spot for me, Kinak Bay. This is a long inlet that narrows to a very tight gap, then opens up into a big back bay called Hidden Harbor. The other guide, Nicole, and I jumped in the skif...

  A swimming Katmai bear, heading our way! It was another spectacular visit to Katmai National Park in Alaska. Known for its bears, it did not disappoint. We had many close bear encounters, and we even got to see a number of swimming bears. One swam all the way across Kukak Bay. I couldn't blame him, as it was one of the hottest days of the summer for this part of Alaska. We had another playful bear that rolled over in the shallows, giving us a good view. We explored Kukak Bay in the morning. This is one of the more famous bays on the outer coast of Katmai National Park. People will fly in on float planes to come watch bears here. Early in the morning, Christian and I paddled our kayaks out for a recon of the shallow bay at the back of the bay. It was a beautiful morning with calm water, but no bears. Then, after breakfast, I took out a shorewalking group. The tide was going out, so the landing was tough. No one topped their boots, and everyone walked slowly so they didn't slip...

  On our afternoon hike, this bear family came running across the tundra. They crossed our path down in this marshy valley, gave us a hard look, then continued up the far side of the valley. I loved how they looked like soldiers in this photo, checking and protecting from all sides. Wide Bay is a huge bay along the Alaskan Peninsula west of Katmai National Park. It is part of the Alaska Peninsula Ugashik Refuge. There are very few visitors here, as it is a remote, hard to get to part of Alaska. I am quite lucky to be aboard the Safari Explorer, an expedition ship built for traveling to these far off wild places in search of adventure. We had all day to explore the area after traveling through the night from Katmai National Park. We arrived to beautiful windless conditions, so kayaking was first and foremost on my mind. We also sent out a couple of skiff tours to show guests around, look for wildlife, and scout the outer bay portion of the area for good afternoon hiking options. Our...