During early July I was running a Natures images trip to the southern part of Alaska. This trip had been postponed because of the Pandemic but it had been planned so far in advance, it had seemed like years that we finally got to run it. Our main objective for this trip was to visit two locations where you can find good numbers of Brown Bears or Grizzlies. The two locations we visited were Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park and Lake Clark National Park, both are just superb for finding and photographing Grizzly Bears. Our first stop was Brooks Falls which I have to say I think is one of the best places I have had the fortune to visit, and the photographic potential is absolutely amazing.
You can visit Brooks Falls by two ways you can either just go as a day visitor or you can stay over night for a couple of nights, which is what we did. Going for a day visit is ok if you just want to see the bears but, in my opinion, you just don’t get long enough which as a photographer can be frustrating. It is difficult to be able to stay overnight though and you must apply and then it is kind of a lottery to see if you get in. It is even harder for us as we wanted to take a group and it is something we apply for every year but don’t always get. Anyway, we managed to secure a place for our group a few years ago but because of Covid restrictions we were unable to go, but fair play to the guys at Brooks they honoured our booking and so we finally found ourselves at this wonderful spot.
I have been to Brooks Falls before and I just loved the place. I don’t say it lightly as I have been to some fantastic places over the years, but I really do think this place is one of the best spectacles you can see in the natural world. By late June the Sockeye Salmon have started their annual migration back to their traditional spawning grounds and so by early July it is at its peak and waiting for this annual bonanza is the Grizzly Bear. As the Salmon head back upriver, they come across natural barriers like waterfalls and rapids and these places are perfect spots for the bears to try and catch them. Brooks Falls is one of these barriers and the number of bears that can be found along the river and at the falls is amazing. On my last visit to Brooks in 2016 it was a bit hit and miss for me, there were plenty of bears around but there wasn’t many fish migrating up the river and so I never really got that many chances to get images of the bears catching them. I thought we were just a bit unlucky as the run had started later than usual and sometimes even the best planning with dates you can get caught out.
So,this played on my mind as we headed out to Brooks but as soon as we got there, I knew this was going to be a great opportunity. As I crossed the bridge that is just outside the camp, I could see thousands of Salmon in the water just below. The Salmon are not constantly jumping the falls and they tend to come up in waves, but when you see the Salmon at the bridge you know it is going to just be a matter of time. As soon as I got to the falls, I could see that one of these waves was in mid-run and there was plenty of bears trying to catch them. Finally, I got the chance to witness why Brooks Falls is so special. I was there for two nights and that first day was amazing with so many fish jumping the falls and into the open mouths of the waiting bears.
The second day was much quieter with only just a few Salmon jumping and so it is just down to good luck that you happen to be at the falls during one of these runs. It is still excellent for photography though and so after the mad panic in trying to capture all the action on the first day it was nice to work in a more relaxed way. I like using slow shutter speeds with moving water and by working this way at brooks you can get some nice images. The Bears are really patient and stand on top of the falls waiting for a Salmon to leap up to them and so stand relatively still, so by shooting on slow shutter speed you can get the bear perfectly sharp with the blurred water running around them. You must take a lot of images to make sure you get just one or two sharp, and it gets even harder when there is more than one bear, but I like a challenge and it was so rewarding looking through the images after the shoot and finding those odd sharp shots.
I wish our stay at Brooks Falls could have been longer, but it is just not possible. It was so good to be back, and the opportunities were fantastic, but we had to move on to our next location which was Silver Salmon Creek in Lake Clark National Park. I have been to Lake Clark many times now, but it has mainly been in the early part of September as I run a trip which is timed to coincide with a different species of Salmon run which is the Silver Salmon. This Salmon migrates later than the Sockeye, but the Bears at Silver Salmon can still be good during the early part of the summer.
At this time of the year the bears can usually be found feeding on the sedge grass meadows and then because the area is tidal can be found out on the flats at low tide digging for clams. Silver Salmon Creek is a special place because the Bears are so people neutral as they have been protected since the 1970’s in the Lake Clark National Park area. So they don’t see humans as a threat and just take no notice of you at all, just going about their daily business as if we are just part of their landscape.
During the late part of June and early July you can usually find a female with young cubs of the year and because the females are so relaxed the cubs are too. I don’t think there is any where else in the world where a female will nurse her cubs in front of you, they usually do so deep in the forest or in some tall grass but because they have no fear you witness this intimate behaviour. We were lucky and witnessed it a few times during our stay and have to say it is such a privilege to see it, let alone photograph.
We had some great encounters, not only of the females with young cubs but also playing adolescents as well. To combine the two places is a special Bear trip as you have the hustle and bustle of Brooks Falls and the piece and quite of Lake Clark, two very special locations to see this iconic Alaskan Bear. I will try again to get in at Brooks falls and hope that we can secure a slot for the summer of 2024, if you are interested in joining me on this wonderful adventure then please drop me an email.
