Bear Photography in Alaska

[Marcus Slade]

Thank you, Marcus! Sound advice based on experience for sure. I really appreciate your willingness to share. If you don't me asking, what brand and model of external SSD drives do you have, and what exactly was your backup methodology when transferring images from the XQD card without a laptop in the middle?

Thanks again,
Clark

Clark, without a laptop in the circuit, as you say, it's definitely more tricky. On my first trip to Katmai I used a Western Digital Passport Wireless Pro 2TB and it actually worked quite well. It is rechargeable itself, has its own SD slot to which you can simply plug the card in and it will automatically back up your card. For my XQD cards I took along my XQD card reader and with its USB A plug, simply plugged it into the back of the WD unit and it performed the same back up. The link below is for what I have but there is now an SSD version of these units which, of course, is that much more expensive. However, because I had no way to "view" the saved files (despite testing the whole system before I went), I didn't reformat my XQD cards as I just couldn't shake the fear of deleting those cards if there was any problem on the WD drive. When I got home, all the shots were, in fact, safely on the WD drive. I had four XQD cards and when they were full I just moved on to using SD cards only. I believe the Gnarbox is another similar solution but I have no experience with it.

https://shop.westerndigital.com/en-...-passport-wireless-pro-hdd#WDBP2P0020BBK-NESN

I've attached a link below for the SSD drives I use. As mentioned, I have two (actually, three but I gave the first one of 500gb to my wife for her use). I have a 2TB and 1TB. These things are brilliant as they're almost featherweight, no moving parts (so great for travel) and with USB-C now they're super quick at transferring files via my laptop. Keep an eye on Amazon or B&H as they periodically go on sale at significant discounts. I bought all three at separate times on sale. Also, the versions I own have already been succeeded by the "Extreme Pro" models which are even faster...and more expensive. But even these are very quick. I use a 13" MacBook Pro and would now hate not to have it when on the road and travelling...if that ever happens again post the "Vid.

SanDisk Extreme® Portable SSD V2 USB-C, USB 3.2 External Solid State Drive | Western Digital | Store

Your life’s an adventure. The SanDisk Extreme® Portable SSD fits your mobile lifestyle and accelerates every move. Nearly 2x as fast as our previous generation!

shop.westerndigital.com

 

[Abinoone]

Clark, without a laptop in the circuit, as you say, it's definitely more tricky. On my first trip to Katmai I used a Western Digital Passport Wireless Pro 2TB and it actually worked quite well. It is rechargeable itself, has its own SD slot to which you can simply plug the card in and it will automatically back up your card. For my XQD cards I took along my XQD card reader and with its USB A plug, simply plugged it into the back of the WD unit and it performed the same back up. The link below is for what I have but there is now an SSD version of these units which, of course, is that much more expensive. However, because I had no way to "view" the saved files (despite testing the whole system before I went), I didn't reformat my XQD cards as I just couldn't shake the fear of deleting those cards if there was any problem on the WD drive. When I got home, all the shots were, in fact, safely on the WD drive. I had four XQD cards and when they were full I just moved on to using SD cards only. I believe the Gnarbox is another similar solution but I have no experience with it.

https://shop.westerndigital.com/en-...-passport-wireless-pro-hdd#WDBP2P0020BBK-NESN

I've attached a link below for the SSD drives I use. As mentioned, I have two (actually, three but I gave the first one of 500gb to my wife for her use). I have a 2TB and 1TB. These things are brilliant as they're almost featherweight, no moving parts (so great for travel) and with USB-C now they're super quick at transferring files via my laptop. Keep an eye on Amazon or B&H as they periodically go on sale at significant discounts. I bought all three at separate times on sale. Also, the versions I own have already been succeeded by the "Extreme Pro" models which are even faster...and more expensive. But even these are very quick. I use a 13" MacBook Pro and would now hate not to have it when on the road and travelling...if that ever happens again post the "Vid.

SanDisk Extreme® Portable SSD V2 USB-C, USB 3.2 External Solid State Drive | Western Digital | Store

Your life’s an adventure. The SanDisk Extreme® Portable SSD fits your mobile lifestyle and accelerates every move. Nearly 2x as fast as our previous generation!

shop.westerndigital.com

Thank you, Marcus! Your advice is invaluable! Truly appreciated.

 

[Marcus Slade]

Thank you, Marcus! Your advice is invaluable! Truly appreciated.

My pleasure, Clark. Happy to help.

Of course, with all this Alaskan bear talk, I'm now insanely envious. I will add that the planning, preparation and anticipation are a lot of fun too.

 

[Anjin San]

Thanks for the advice Marcus! Great suggestions. I only have and use En El 15s, so having a couple of power bars is a great idea - I will definitely buy them. With six EN EL 15s, do you think I would need more than two power bars? Currently, I have two Sony 120GB XQD cards, and four SD cards for backup. Not sure what I will take into the field for image backup - a laptop without a reliable power source to keep it charged doesn't make a lot of sense, does it?

Thanks again for sharing such great tips. If you think of any more, please let me know!

You can use an iPad if you have one for backup…and with the power bars long it is easy to charge it when needed. Images can go from camera to iPad and then back out to USB drives for redundancy.

 

[Woodpecker]

I went to Brooks for 4 days in August of 2019 prepared fo cool rainy days. We never saw rain and it got into the 80’s! Just be prepared for anything! And remember, you can always buy a t-shirt just about anywhere if you get too warm..View attachment 18314View attachment 18314

Wow, thanks for this one. You just made me cry . I was there over 20 years ago and it was an experience of a lifetime, I always wished I could come back with what I have learned until today and with the gear I have now. This one here was shot at a pond nearby with a Rollei SL35 and a 80-200 mm zoom, because that was all I had at the time - I can't even remember pressing the button ... . (Sorry for the poor quality, but it is an old and badly processed slide scan).

You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.

 

[Docpelt]

I went to Brooks for 4 days in August of 2019 prepared fo cool rainy days. We never saw rain and it got into the 80’s! Just be prepared for anything! And remember, you can always buy a t-shirt just about anywhere if you get too warm..View attachment 18314View attachment 18314View attachment 18316

Great picture. Do you have any recommendation for camera settings. I've read where it likely that you underexpose due to the bright white water. I'm so looking forward to my trip. We are going the last week in July

 

[Birger]

As Alaska is huge weather varies a lot according to location. I live in the southeast which is a temperate rain forest so we count on rain at some point each day. Further north has less rain, usually. Lots of bears around here. In town we have mostly black bears (come in different colors) and as you travel to other areas like Admiralty island you find lots of brown bears (grizzlies). Keep in mind that bears are mainly motivated by food so where the salmon runs are located you will find bears. We are just starting to see bears coming down from their alpine winter caves and finding their food sources closer to sea level. I can highly recommend getting to see these amazing creatures. Different kinds of salmon have different spawning times at each river so make sure if you go at it on your own to research details like this. Best of luck and stay safe.

Depending on what situation you want to photograph brown bears in. Like feeding in a river or stream, eating grass etc. Was just visiting another community close to Juneau(where I live) and was able to see 7 brown bears driving the local road net in about 5 hours. One walked right next to our car and my passengers was able to get amazing phone videos. We happened to have a great warm and dry day. Other days have lately been drizzly and in the fifties. You never know. My e-mail is [email protected] if you have more specifics.

 

[Abinoone]

Depending on what situation you want to photograph brown bears in. Like feeding in a river or stream, eating grass etc. Was just visiting another community close to Juneau(where I live) and was able to see 7 brown bears driving the local road net in about 5 hours. One walked right next to our car and my passengers was able to get amazing phone videos. We happened to have a great warm and dry day. Other days have lately been drizzly and in the fifties. You never know. My e-mail is [email protected] if you have more specifics.

Thank you!