Brown Bears of Lake Clark National Park

Hi everyone -

I'm back from another glorious photo trip, this time to Lake Clark National Park in Alaska. We flew to Bear Mountain Lodge, which is across the water from Soldotna. Here is a link to the location: https://goo.gl/maps/hB593

This place is positively infested with bears. They are what I would call grizzlies, but they are known over there as coastal brown bears. There is an abundance of food in the area, so the bears come out in droves. In the spring they eat the nutritious sedge grass, and dig for razor clams along the beach at low tide. Later in July the salmon start to run, and fishing season gets underway. The bears are quite accustomed to people being around, and they have never been hunted there, so they tend to consider you as part of the landscape as they walk right by.

We stayed for 5 nights at the lodge, and the photography was essentially nonstop. I took 13,000 images... there was just so much to shoot! The weather was a tad rainy, but having a good rain cover on the camera as well as making proper clothing choices made it perfectly manageable. As a bonus the soft light helped the photography a lot.

I took most of my images with a 500 mm lens and full-frame body, sometimes adding the 1.4 TC as well. But some of my favourite shots were with the 70-200 lens, where I could zoom out and include some of the beautiful landscapes in the images.

This was one of my most productive photo trips, in terms of the number of photos taken and total keepers. The cost was very reasonable too, in spite of the poor currency exchange I get with my Canadian loonies.

It's going to take me a while to dig through all my pictures, but that's a very good problem to have. Here are a few examples of shots that I have processed so far. My full album is posted here: http://www.huyerperspectives.com/Nat...an-Brown-Bears

Let me know if you have any questions, and thanks for viewing!

http://www.huyerperspectives.com/Nat...1E8A3730-L.jpg

http://www.huyerperspectives.com/Nat...A39Q5071-L.jpg

http://www.huyerperspectives.com/Nat...A39Q6744-L.jpg

Stunning. Can't wait to see more.

First one... is just so dreamy!

Way cool. Read the full post for the glass you were using.

Thanks for sharing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Busted Knuckles

Way cool. what glass were you using?

I took most of my images with a 500 mm lens and full-frame body, sometimes adding the 1.4 TC as well. But some of my favourite shots were with the 70-200 lens, where I could zoom out and include some of the beautiful landscapes in the images.

Can't wait for more also. The first on is a cool shot in itself but you add the bear in the water and whammy. I however, really like the second shot of the mommy and her cubs. Got a soft spot for baby bears.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Kapow! Out of the park!

Thanks everyone! I've posted my favourite dozen shots on my website. Head to http://www.huyerperspectives.com/ and look under "Recent Photos".

And again if anyone has questions about traveling to that area, such as when to go, what to bring, and so on, please feel free to ask.