Katmai salmon, August 2023

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Z

zb13

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The bears get all the love, but let's not forget what drives that ecosystem.

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Charles Loy said:
Super!
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Thanks!

K9Kirk said:
Great set! #4 and 5 are my favorites.
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Thanks so much!

RickSchin said:
Great shots.
I'll be in Yellowstone after the holiday and hope to see some bears.
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Thanks and best of luck with your trip - bears are the best!

Butlerkid said:
Wow! Great set of images! #2 and 4 are my favs!
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Thank you!

Highbow said:
Awesome action set of photos!
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Thanks! If you find the fish, you are almost guaranteed to see all sorts of action and behaviors.
 
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NorthernFocus said:
Awesome set of images. The sockeyes really add a lot. All of the streams I've shot only have humpies and dogs :confused:
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Thanks! We were quite lucky to have several days of streams full of sockeye and typically 50+ bear sightings per outing. There were so many cubs this year, both spring cubs and yearlings. It helped that we were able to float plane in each morning to where we knew the fish roughly were, and then just hike down about 5 miles of stream taking pictures before we got to the place where we were picked up. There really is nothing better than being out with the bears that time of year.

I'll try to post some more images over the next couple of weeks. One (very nice) problem being in such a photographically rich environment for 8 hours a day with a camera that shoots 20fps, is that you end up with a mind boggling number of pictures to review and potentially edit.
 
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Louis champan said:
What a superb set of images, excellent job!
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ssheipel said:
Some very special shots here! Nice work.
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ChrisSinSeattle said:
What a great set and looks like you had great time capturing those sequences (y) (y) (y)

Chris S.
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Woodyg3 said:
Terrific action. Great job!
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Ralph said:
Awesome series👍👍👍
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Dionigi Colombo said:
Great set of image!
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Thanks so much everyone! It was my first time posting on here, and it is nice to feel the support of a community I have been lurking in the background of for a while now.
 
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PhotoLover said:
Some awesome shots .. how close were you?
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It varies. The bears pretty much dictate that. I basically used a 100-400 the entire time - the 400 4.5 with the 1.4x was on second body in my backpack and rarely came out. With that being said, I definitely have cropped some of the images a bit. Almost the entirety of the trip was spent in creeks that were less than 30 yards wide, and the bears were everywhere. Per park rules, you are supposed to maintain a 50 yard distance, but that is tough when the bears are moving around and randomly popping in and out of the bushes on the shoreline. Also, if a bear decides it wants to eat a fish that is 15 feet away from where you are sitting, it is going to try to catch that fish and likely end up pouncing about 15 feet away from you. Most encounters were probably around 30-60 feet away for adult bears. When cubs were involved, it was often more like 50-75 feet. With all that being said, we had sows walk their cubs right by us at close range, a cub come and pose on a rock 15-20 feet in front of us while her mother was fishing, and a couple of sub adults play fight in a deep pool probably 10-15 feet in front of us. As long as you are smart and aware and stay in a group and follow the trained guide's instructions, you feel safe. Also, don't run.

There really aren't many other experiences like it in the world. Maybe gorillas in Africa, some of the walking safaris in a place like Mana Pools, and some areas in the very far north where wolves haven't had bad experiences with humans and are able to be safely curious around photographers.
 
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