A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to go on a bear photography trip to Alaska. I had never photographed (or seen really) a bear in the wild. So that was exciting. Plus, I don’t get to go on many photo trips where I’m just there to shoot so that made it even better.
I wrote about the trip below and shared some photos along the way. However, if you want to see a full gallery in all of it’s full screen glory (and see camera settings) then CLICK HERE to check out an album I’ve put together (both larger and more photos – and camera settings if you poke around the icons on the right).
As for what you see here… everything was taken with my Sony a1, Sony a7R 5, and the 200-600mm lens. When it comes to editing, all of the photos were loaded in to Lightroom Classic every day. From there, I would usually click “Auto” (don’t laugh at me!), and then make micro-adjustments if needed. I’d crop, add some Texture because I found that bear fur LOVED texture. Finally, I typically used Lightroom’s new-ish DeNoise feature which worked perfectly. If the photo needed it, I’d jump over to Photoshop for some quick distraction removal with the Remove Tool.
Not including noise reduction, I didn’t spend any more than 60 seconds editing any of these photos. Get your camera in a great place, with a great subject and good light – and the photos take care of themselves.
The Trip
The Trip was with Cree and Tom Bol. I have one word for Tom and Cree… AMAZING! They have nailed the workshop experience, and are just such a pleasure to be around. Not only are they both incredibly knowledgable in everything outdoors and photography, but they’re just such a great couple to be with.
The 2023 workshop was sold out. I just heard that 2024 is sold out as well. But they also have a 2025 workshop planned, as well as many other great locations. Trust me… You won’t be disappointed.
Getting there, I flew in to Anchorage on Sunday evening. Spent the night there, and then took a small plane (about an hour and very scenic) out to Lake Clark National Park and Silver Salmon Creek Lodge. We spent Monday – Thursday as part of the workshop and I flew back to Anchorage on Friday.
The Location and Guides
The location was fantastic. It was a place called Silver Salmon Creek Lodge. I’ve heard about this place for years and it lived up to the expectations. The lodging was very comfortable, and they have everything you need.
The food was mind blowing. Chef Andy and the entire staff were wonderful. They serve 3 full meals a day that rival any high end restaurant I’ve ever been to. Everyone sits in a very family style homey table/area together. There’s always coffee and some snacks near dinner time, and they had some beer/wine but it’s usually recommended you bring your own (I brought a bottle of bourbon).
The other area that Silver Salmon Creek provides us with is guides. We were lucky enough to have Brooke and Robb as our guides and the two of them were amazing. They worked with us on how to walk around and be out near the bears. How to stay at a safe distance. And they were a great team at keeping both us and the bears safe.
If that wasn’t enough, you can’t imagine the knowledge they have about bears and wildlife. No matter the question, they had the answer. And you can tell that they love the wildlife and want to see it thrive. Having them with us made the trip that much better.
The Gear – “I’m Just a Button Pusher” At This Point 😉
Some people may not like me saying this, but I felt this was one of the easiest photographic experiences I’ve had. I’ve photographed a lot of birds and plenty of wildlife on many trips to Costa Rica. Compared to that, this was a cake walk. It would be really hard to walk away with blurry photos once you dialed in your settings on the first outing.
CAMERAS – I packed ridiculously light (all things considered) for this trip. Two cameras, and two lenses (3 of the 4 pieces of gear each fit into my hand). No filters, no gadgets, no nuttin’. My small backpack (which wouldn’t even fit a laptop) weighed in at 12 lbs, easily fit in my lap, and a few people jokingly made fun of me. I loved it. It was freeing not to be bogged down with a bunch of gear and a heavy backpack – and I’m pretty sure my photos didn’t suffer because of it.
I shot half the trip with the Sony a1 and half with the Sony a7R 5. Not for any specific reason. I just wanted to test the limits of both cameras, and I thought this was a great situation to do so. As soon as I got the a7R 5 I felt the auto focus rivaled the Sony Alpha 1. And I still feel that way today. In some ways, it could even be better, but it’s nearly impossible to ever do a real test other than “feel”. The only area for me, that the a7r5 falls short is shutter blackout at higher frame rates (the shutter interrupts your view of the scene). It’s essentially non-existent in the a1, but you can see it in the a7r5. Not much of a problem with bears since they’re not moving very fast, but with birds it can be an issue to follow them.
As for shooting, I hate to say it, but I guess coming from doing a lot of bird photography, I found bears really easy. For starters, we’re on a tripod A LOT – which is something for most of the birds I shoot I don’t use, because I move around too much. The bears aren’t moving that fast, so just about any camera’s AF system can keep up from a tracking standpoint. You don’t need crazy high shutter speeds, so the ISO levels are fairly low compared to what I see with a lot of bird photo situations.
The bears are really easy to follow, so I was basically just a button-pusher the entire week. The saying “You must have a good camera!” used to annoy me. These days… Yep…I do have a good camera… and the most I do is plug in the same settings for the most part. Oh, and get the camera in to the right place (which could possibly be the hardest and most important part of photography today). The camera does the rest 🙂
LENSES – I only brought two lenses, and if I could do it over again, I’d only bring one. While it went against all of my better judgement, Tom Bol suggested NOT to bring my 600mm f/4 prime, and to just bring my 200-600mm and one wide lens (I took the 24-105mm).
Of course, Tom was 100% right. The 600mm would have been WAY too much lens, and I would have regretted it. As for the 24-105mm, we really didn’t do much landscape photography (it was mostly cloudy and socked in). And the times I did take photos of the landscape I did it with my phone. So that lens never came out of the bag.
And for those of you that think you need an f/2.8 or f/4 prime lens to get great backgrounds you are 100% wrong. You can’t get a better background and area of focus than these photos – and they were taken with a sub $2000 lens at apertures no wider than f/6.3. Background blur mostly comes from proximity to your subject, and how much depth is behind them, rather than the aperture of the lens. I’ll talk a little more (“Settings” area below) about the key to helping those backgrounds.
TRIPOD AND BALLHEAD – I used my Really Right Stuff tripod which was a little overkill actually. It was always near the ground so I should have brought my smaller tripod. And my Flex Shooter Pro ballhead came in really handy (best of both a ball head, and a gimbal all in one). I don’t often shoot birds with my tripod, because I’m usually moving around too much. But with the bears, it was great because we’d be in one location for a while.
Camera Settings and Focus
I used almost the same settings and focus area I use for bird photography. I’m not going to post the settings for every photo here. Just keep in mind they were all mostly f/6.3, somewhere between 1/800th and 1/1600th shutter, and various ISOs (check out the full gallery if you want settings).
- Manual exposure mode with Auto ISO turned on – which is almost like shooting in an “auto” mode. At that point I just adjust the exposure compensation for micro exposure adjustments.
- Lowest f-stop the lens will allow, though I did experiment with higher f-stop numbers if two bears were REALLY close together. This is mostly a futile exercise, and you’ll find very few photographers actually change anything to get multiple subjects in one photo, because they know it just won’t happen, and the success rate and tradeoffs aren’t worth it.
- Shutter speeds between 1/800th and 1/1600th. If the bears were wrestling and there was enough light, I would even try to get my shutter speed higher. Nobody ever looked at a sharp photo and thought “Hey… I used too fast of a shutter speed” right? 🙂
- Evaluative or Matrix metering was and has been used in my cameras for the past 25 years. I have never changed it no matter what the situation is and it hasn’t failed me. Plus, I shoot Sony so I have the Zebra stripes turned on in camera (this is a great video if you’re not sure what that means) . This alerts me to overexposure while I’m shooting, unlike the blinkies that would only tell you after you take a photo. So metering, for me personally, is irrelevant with this setup.
- Zone focus area with tracking and Animal Eye detection turned on. This meant that as long as the bear was in my zone area at first (Zone covers about 50-60% of the frame), the eye detection would lock on the bear and follow it. This worked flawlessly. I can’t recall finding more than a small fraction of out of focus photos, and those were all user error, not the camera. Eye AF was amazing for this type of shooting. If it didn’t lock on the eye (which it did 95% of the time), it would lock on the head. It allowed me to let the camera get out of the way, never once think about focus, and worry more about capturing the right moments.
THE MOST IMPORTANT SETTING WASN’T A SETTING
Lastly, if I could attribute the quality of photos to one thing besides the camera, it would be shooting angle to get great blurry backgrounds. While shooting birds on the beaches near me, I constantly see people standing up, and shooting downward. The problem with that is the ground becomes your background, and it’s not far enough away to produce really great separation between the subject. You have to get down low. You’ll see below that my tripod has the legs splayed out and it was almost touching the ground. This causes the area behind the subject to be the background (not the ground). Since it’s really far away, you get that beautiful background blur that makes your photos go from good to great.
I realize everyone can’t lay down, kneel down, and some have mobility issues. Get yourself a little chair and sit on it. Get your camera on the ground somehow, and use your index finger to shoot, while maneuvering the camera with the flip out screen to see what you’re shooting (another reason why I don’t use Back button focus because it makes this process harder). It’s not easy, but it’s comfortable for all ages and ranges of motion – and is 100% necessary if you want your photos to stand out.
Tough Love Alert… you will not be successful blurring backgrounds in Photoshop 99% of the time! Photoshop is not the answer to a cluttered background. It only works in the YouTube videos you watch, because they have spent a long time finding the perfect photo to demo. Sorry, but some one had to tell you 😉
I hate to sound harsh here… but figure it out. Practice it, because it won’t come natural at first. Every single person I have showed that technique to this year abandoned it in 5 minutes because it’s not easy (I even let them use my chair). But some how, some way, figure it out! You have no idea how many people think my photos were taken with a $12,000 lens at f/2.8, when they were not.
Getting out and Shooting
Our schedule was to get up and have breakfast. Go out and shoot. Get back for Lunch. Then go shoot again for the afternoon. Then come back for dinner and usually go out and shoot again (remember the sun doesn’t really go down there this time of year).
We’d ride out in ATV’s and trailers to our locations. The guides were always looking for the right opportunity. Sometimes if a mom and cubs were nearby, but maybe stressed because of other bears in the area, we stayed away. That’s where having an experienced guide is invaluable. They want to see both the wildlife and use kept safe. And trust me, if one opportunity wasn’t right, there were easily a few more around the corner.
When the guide would spot an opportunity, we’d all get out and walk single file, close together. When we stopped, we all set up close to each other to present a very large object/group to the bear. We never once had a scare where a bear charged, or even looked aggressive toward us. They were always more concerned about the other bears. That said, the guides spend most of their time when we’re shooting with their heads on a swivel, looking around and making sure the situation continues to be safe for both wildlife and us.
Weather
I wore sunglasses on the flight out on Monday and that turned out to be the last time we’d need sunglasses all week. Don’t get me wrong. The weather wasn’t bad. Actually it was pretty great for wildlife photography. We had cloudy soft light all week, which meant we could shoot all day every day – especially because of the time of year it doesn’t really get dark. We never had to worry about harsh light and if I had my choice, this is the light I’d shoot wildlife in all the time.
The temps were in the 50s, with a slight wind all week. It did rain fairly often, but it was nothing like the Florida rain I’m used to – so it’s a rain you can stay out and shoot in as long as you have the right gear… Wind and rain protection for you, and rain protection for your camera. After that, just be prepared to get a little wet and muddy.
It did make for some really moody backdrops though, as you can see below.
I used these OpTech Rain Sleeves and they were fantastic. Once I put it on, I left it on all week because even riding on the ATV’s sometimes kicked up some dust. So whether it was rain or dirt, the rain sleeve helped a TON! (Extra points if you can tell me where the orange sticker on the right tripod came from)
Cubs, Cubs, and More Cubs
We were lucky enough that a couple of the bears had young cubs. Wow! To say they were ridiculously cute is an understatement. We got them sleeping, nursing, playing and wrestling. And when you look at the series below, I don’t think I’d believe it if I didn’t see it but they actually trained one of the cubs to wave at us. How cool is that?!!!! 😉
Puffins!
While it’s not a huge part of the trip, I think everyone in our group will say this was a major highlight. One day we take a boat trip to an island with puffins. I’d never personally seen or photographed a puffin before, so I was excited. As the boat came near the island, we all took photos from the boat and I think everyone realized how hard that can be. Luckily the tides and conditions worked out that we could get off the boat on to the island and that’s where things went crazy. We had hundreds of puffins flying, landing, jumping, posing all around us. They could care less that we were there and we could get so close that you could almost fill the frame with some of them. It was absolutely fantastic!
Bear Wrestling
On our way back from the puffins, I had mentioned “One thing we haven’t seen is larger bears wrestling or fighting”. Tom and Cree must have heard this so they ordered it up on our way back. We pulled around the corner of some trees, on our last photo shoot of the trip, this was right in front of us.
Physical Demands
I wouldn’t classify this as physically demanding trip. However I would say you need to be in decent shape. Definitely able to walk at least 1 mile, in mud boots or hip waders, on unsteady and mushy ground, without help (while carrying your gear). There’s not really any climbing, but lots of walking. To give you an idea, we ate incredibly well for the entire week – much more than I’d normally eat at home. After returning home, I weighed myself and found I actually lost weight after the week 🙂
Final Thoughts
As you can see, I had a blast the entire week. It was the perfect amount of time, and a perfectly organized trip at a great location. Tom and Cree put on a wonderful workshop. They’re constantly checking on their attendees and always checking on their settings to make sure they’re getting great photos. Plus, the staff and everyone else in the group were great to be around. I would definitely do this trip again.
I hope you enjoyed the photos and the write-up. Don’t forget to view the full screen gallery where you can really appreciate the detail and character of the bears (Click Here). If you have any questions feel free to leave them below. And if you’re looking for a photo workshop, swing by Tom and Cree’s website.
Thank you for sharing your trip and these amazing photos. We are planning to go in 2025 and will be using some of your suggestions for sure. We’ll take an A7IV and a Nikon D750, but still deciding on lenses. 100-400, or 200-600 are sounding like must haves. Sure do like primes, but they get bulky at 400/600. (and pricey)
Enjoy. All I can say is if I had brought a prime lens with me I would have regretted it. Have fun!
Awesome article- thank you. We’re doing a day trip to Lake Clark for bear photography and then five days at Brooks Camp in Katmai. I’ve been reading as much as I can on photographing bears in both locations and this was hands down the most useful article I’ve found thus far!
Matt, this was such a great blog post. I learned a ton. I do have two questions though;
1. Do you use silent shutter or mechanical shutter?
2. Do you have a link to the video where you discuss back button focus?
Thanks
Thanks Scott.
1. I don’t because there’s no reason with bears… they could care less how much noise we made. Plus, I don’t care for silent shooting. It doesn’t give me the feedback I need to know how much I’m shooting and I end up filling cards too fast.
2. It’s in my Bird Photography Course. It may even be a free sample if you don’t own it. Click on Course Contents and you’ll see a link to a sample.
https://mattk.com/bird-photography/
I saw a video of your trip and now I cant find it on Youtube? Want to go next year and wanted to share it with a friend. Thanks
Hi. There was no video of my trip. All of the details are in this post. Thanks
Gorgeous photos! Thanks for all the info on your trip, gear and settings! I was at Brooks Falls/Katmai in September 2022 – trip of a lifetime! I love following your blogs and tutorials. I find your information so helpful and easy to digest. THANK YOU!
Superb pictures!
Nice job “chucking the legs”
All I can say is WOW! Thank you for sharing your photos and your tips, etc. One question I have is what is the name of the smaller tripod you could have brought?
Thank you for sharing. I really enjoyed viewing your images and I appreciate you sharing your knowledge of photo tips and settings.
I love all the photos. Especially the sparring ones and the babies. Silver Salmon Creek Lodge is amazing. A long way from Australia but I have made it there twice. Thanks for sharing
Your photos are amazing and I am so excited as I am going to an area in northern BC Canada to do the same thing this September, so I found all your tips regarding lenses etc. especially helpful. Fantastic photos – love them all!!
One word – WOW! You got some extraordinary images. Thanks for the recommendation regarding Tom and Cree as well. I’ve been to Alaska in the winter but not summer and that is still on my bucket list.
I was there with Mark Zablotsky’s group last year. Great lodge, great people, great location, great time!
Thanks Matt I am leaving Monday for Silver Salmon Creek ..Outstanding photos.. I can’t wait..Also going low is such a great tip.
Thanks so much for sharing.
Thanks for sharing your trip to Alaska. My fondest workshop memories are two trips with Laurie Excell to the Katmai Wilderness Lodge and she taught us pretty much all you suggested. They were trips of a lifetime and reading your recap brought back many great memories and the desire to go back.
Thank you so much for posting this! I am going to be up there 2nd week of August so timing is great. Although I have many bears under my belt I havent done shore ones like this and I hadn’t even thought about rain gear lol!
I will be based in Kodiak, any suggestions on where to do for more photo ops? I see you based in Anchorage.
Hi Melody. We weren’t based in Anchorage. We were at Lake Clark. If you click the link to the workshop in the post you can see where we were. Thanks.
I’m glad you had a fun trip. The photos are terrific. A dream trip no doubt.
Hi Matt , wonderful narrative as usual. I think I was there one week before you. Everything I read could have been my experience as well. Maybe from a Nikon view however. 😉
Very informative. We are planning a trip with our group to Alaska. We are going to rent an RV. Maybe six of us will go not sure I know we are planning to shoot some bear. I hope we can find puffins. I love them. Hugs Betty
Hi Matt, I love your photos. I would love to do that exact trip next year or following. Which week did you go in which the cubs were out and about? Was it in June or July? Would love to know. Love your workshops too. Thank you so much.
Not sure if anyone answered sticker guess – I’m thinking it’s Breckenridge Brewery, in Breckenridge, Colorado.
All photos are amazing but my favorite is: https://mattk.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/DSC1211-Edit-scaled.jpg
What a wonderful article and terrific photos! Thank you for so many helpful details. I may never get there but I feel like I was after seeing your gallery!
I’m usually not lost for words but here, I have only one word to say: WOW ! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the narrative details about the use of your photographic technology! Very helpful indeed!!
Matt – I was in Lake Clark in 2021 with another outfit but had a great time as well. The bears were amazing to watch. I was there in June and I think your timing was better. We were told the mother bears with cubs were still in the mountains keeping the very young cubs away from aggressive males. We did see lots of males chasing the younger females!
Fantastic recap and photos of your trip, Matt! Thanks so much for sharing, and talking about the down low photos. I’m about to go in and look at the full screen gallery.
Hi Matt, Could you please provide the equivalent settings using the Nikon Z6ii for the zebra stripes and Zone focus area with tracking and Animal Eye detection turned on?
Really enjoyed your trip recap and fabulous photos!
Joann
Hi Joann – Nikon doesn’t have the zebras. As for Zone focus, I think you’d use a Wide Area option. Maybe this will help: https://www.tombolphoto.com/nikon-z6-7ii-auto-focus-modes/
Are you images available for purchase? I’m getting ready for a State Fair Home Show. We showoff one of our manufactured homes every year. I would love to purchase some of your images for the show. I have the ability to print myself. These images would NOT be for sale. What are your stipulations on selling images?
Thanks for the great post. Loved reading all about it.
Thanks,
Do you have any tips about photographing wildlife I Antarctica from a cruiseship. I am worried about reflections ted light, lots of snow and Ice
Hi Jan. I wouldn’t worry about reflections or snow or ice. I’d worry about being close enough and getting some good action or portraits to make a compelling photo. Use a shutter speed that accounts for your movement on the boat, as well as the wildlife, and concentrate on getting your camera in to the right place and finding the right compositions and action if possible.
What a great trip report! It would have been so cool (and super-educational) to be on your trip while Brooke was guiding. Love her Instagram posts. I went to SSCL about 10 years ago, before I had my Sony camera and still got pretty good shots with a little superzoom. Can’t wait to go back. Thanks for the inspiration to make a plan!
Amazing photo sequence and summary of all the details. Wish I had read this before we did a day trip to Katmai on 7/2/23 with Alaska Bear Adventures. It was an amazing day (great weather and a tour around the tops of the volcanoes on our way to the beach), that might have even been a little bit better with your tips. Some of my compositions of the bears in the grass and on the beach are similar to what you were able to capture (made me feel good), but we weren’t able to get close to the wrestling cubs we saw because an adult bear was sleeping on the path between us and the cubs/Mom. Fun to watch in my 150-600, but the shots were too far away to come anywhere close to the great images you captured. Safety first and inspiration to make a repeat trip. Thanks for sharing!
Wow! Fabulous photos. My favourite is the adult bear digging in the mud, and of course, the cubs are delightful.
Enjoyed reading about how you took the shots … thank you.
Thanks, Matt. Really helpful information. I had taken a trip to Alaska the week before you published this and I shoot with a Sony A1 so the info you provided would have been great to know before I left. I mostly shot with the settings you recommended anyway, but the zone tracking was not something I used and in looking at my photos – which were shot using spot medium or just zone, I think I would have been better served to use zone tracking. BTW what size rain sleeve do you use for your 100-400 and 200-600?
Hi Cynthia – Tracking or no tracking options probably wouldn’t have made a difference. The video I have posted above is not using tracking on the Sony a1 – and as you can see it follows the bear just fine. Remember… ALL focus areas will “track” in Continuous mode (even the tiny ones). The tracking feature is good if your subject is moving in and out of the zone (which is what tracking is – stays on target even if it moves out of Focus Area). The bears simply don’t move fast enough to have that happen. So if you were getting out of focus photos, I’d consider looking at other settings as the culprit. Any spot focus point would be difficult, because they can easily move off the spot area which means you’d have to constantly try to follow them.
As for the rain sleeve, i believe it’s linked in the post. I don’t recall what size but the amazon listing should help you. Thanks!
Matt, your article is incredibly timely and your images are quite inspiring (perhaps you will consider more bear photography in the future?!!)
I fly to Silver Salmon Creek Lodge this Friday and have definitely benefited from the information you shared. One question though, I am planning to take my Canon R5 and R6 bodies with two lens, the 24-105 and the 100-500 with a 1.4 extender, but no tripod. I typically handhold when I shoot wildlife (bears, birds, butterflies, dragonflies, etc. in the Smoky Mountain National Park) but the Grizzlies in Alaska are new to me. The sea plane’s fifty pound weight limit is also a factor, but I am packing now and can still make changes if you think the tripod is a priority. Your insight would be appreciated. Thank you!
Great write up Matt! What a wonderful experience and thanks for taking us along. I really appreciated your “travel light” approach. The proof is in the collections of awesome photos you returned with.
I shoot with an A7IV. My greatest take away was your use of Zone focus mode! A workshop I went to encouraged everyone to use Spot Metering – small. I have struggled with getting great results with Spot and Eye AF. I changed to Zone after reading this and the Eye AF is back up to that 99% range! Thanks for sharing this.
Matt, your article is incredibly timely and your images are quite inspiring (perhaps you will consider more bear photography in the future?!!)
I fly to Silver Salmon Creek Lodge this Friday and have definitely benefited from the information you shared. One question though, I am planning to take my Canon R5 and R6 bodies with two lens, the 24-105 and the 100-500 with a 1.4 extender, but no tripod. I typically handhold when I shoot wildlife (bears, birds, butterflies, dragonflies, etc. in the Smoky Mountain National Park) but the grizzlies in Alaska are new to me. The sea plane’s fifty pound weight limit is also a factor, but I am packing now and can still make changes if you think the tripod is a priority. Your insight would be appreciated. Thank you!
Hi Julie – I don’t ever use my tripod for wildlife. It’s been about 2-3 years since I’ve touched it. But I would have regretted not having it there. There are times where you may set up and stay in the same location for a while and it’s hard to hold the camera the whole time. Plus, you MUST have a low shooting angle there if you want the quality of photos that I know you want. If you don’t have a tripod, you’ll have to lay in the mud. With the tripod, just put it down low, flip the screen out and now you’re in business (as you see in my photos). As for the weight limit that’s tough. I know whatever I had weighed more than 50 lbs. so maybe they were just nice to me. They know you’re coming for photography and a lot of those places will accommodate.
Hi Bob. Glad to help. One thing to keep in mind is Spot Metering is different from a Spot (or Flexible Spot) Focus point. Spot metering affects how the camera will expose the photo and has nothing to do with focus. Spot Focus point affects where the camera is focussing. Just wanted to make sure you’re not confusing the two. But yes, I very rarely use a Spot focus area unless my subject is still or one of the other larger areas is having trouble staying on the subject. Thanks!
Thanks. Great tips here for me as I am going to Yukon in August for a similar trip. Are rubber boots necessary or hiking shoes just enough?
Also I am hesitating about bring the 300mm 2.8 + x1,4 or a 200-500 5.6. I bring a D500 (APSC so longer range) and a D780 (full frame)
Hi Jacques. I guess it depends on what you’re walking through. I’d ask your guide or locals what would be best. Hiking shoes would have been submerged in the places we went to.
As for the lens, on this trip for me, a 200-500 would be much more useful. And remember, you’re not getting more “reach” with your D500. You are just cropping the photo tighter in camera, with less megapixels. It’s not actual reach. You just end up with less pixels in the end because you’re cropping as you take the photo with a crop sensor camera. Enjoy your trip!
Thank you Matt. I appreciate your quick answer. I have been a follower of your courses and videos for quite some time now. Excited about going to Yukon, quite a distance and difference of landscapes from France!
I thanks for the great trip writeup, Matt. Based on your recommendation, I snagged a spot for the 2024 Lake Clark bear workshop with Tom and Cree. And I’m sure the information in this post will be very helpful. I do have one question, however. Can you elaborate on using a chair with low angle shooting? What kind of chair did you use? Do you happen to have any photos illustrating this method you can share? Any details you can give would be much appreciated. I want to be sure I am as prepared as possible for next summer’s trip. Thanks again!
Hi Scott. It’s a tiny camping chair that folds up into nothing.
However I didn’t bring it on this trip. You can see me kneeling on the ground shooting in one of the photos in this post.
As for the chair it’s a tiny tripod like camping chair but easy to sit on and move around.
Thanks very much! I have a collapsible folding tripod seat that may be what you’re talking about. I bought it for use during long waiting periods common in photographing wildlife. I was even thinking of taking it on the Lake Clark trip, but don’t know if it would sink too deeply into the mud to be useful.
Thanks for posting the great photos from your trip—wonderful images!
Also, being from Colorado, I immediately recognized the Breckenridge Brewery logo on your tripod leg!
The chair would be 50/50 as far as usefullness there – and probably tough to always carry around. It definitely would have sunk into the mud at times. You’ll have a wonderful trip. Tom and Cree will treat you so well and just listen to everything they say. They’ve been there a lot so they’ll have a ton of info for you.
Thanks so much for the advice! I’m definitely looking forward to it. Your photos had me dreaming about bears all night!
Fabulous images, Matt! I observed the settings you used with the Sony 200-600, and it looks like you took full advantage of the focal length range. Did you use a Teleconverter at all?
Nope. Never needed it and not much of a fan of a Tc on that lens. I’ll use it on my 100-400 or 600m but on this lens I’m not happy w the quality
Thank you Matt a great summary of your trip
I really appreciated the detail of your equipment and all the photo settings
I have been on this excursion to SSCL and I can endorse everything you had to say about it. You often hear, and rightly so, don’t get too close to a Grizzly sow with cubs. Here, they approach you and offer some incredible close ups. An amazing adventure.
Hi Matt.
Great review of your trip including the images & camera setting info. A bit of a long way to go from the UK, but has given me ideas to look for trips in Uk & Europe
Many thanks again for your courses and straight talking in you reviews and videos.
Cheers Peter
Matt,
I am heading to Alaska next Tuesday, July 18, and hope to have a bear outing like you had. Can you tell me on what island you found the puffins?
Many thanks,
edward fink
Edward. The island is a small island that they call Duck Island. Go figure. My reasoning is that from the air it sort of has the shape of a duck. It is only small and no accommodation. You do a hour or so boat ride from Silver Salmon Lodge to get there.
CheersCarol
Great review of Silver Salmon Creek Lodge and the images are fantastic. I am with a group from Australia who have come specifically to see the bears at Silver Salmon. A very timely review as we land there 16 July.
If I get some shots like these I will be over the moon.
Thanks Lee. You may not believe this but you’ll get shots like these on your first day. I almost guarantee it. You’re going to love it!! Tell them Matt said hi please.
Hi Matt, Glad you had a great trip. I went there in 2017 with David Cardinal and agree it’s a great opportunity for bear photography. The lodge is awesome, and the guests are well taken care of. The experience and photographs will last a lifetime.
Hi Matt, I’m heading out to Brooks Falls the 26th. I thanks for tips. Hope to capture bears catching leaping salmon in the falls.
Curious Matt. You made the comment you were shooting in manual exposure mode but adjusting your exposure compensation. I was under the impression that EC had no affect to the exposure in manual mode.
Hi Jeff. When you use Auto ISO, Exposure Comp will work. Thanks.
Matt,
That had to the greatest experience. That is definitely on my list. It looks like you had a great time and your photos are proof of that. Thanks for sharing. Talk to you soon. Neal
Great shots Matt. I know being with Tom and Cree would be a terrific experience and Silver Salmon is among the best.
Spent 7/10 at Brooks Falls. 6 Bear no fish yet. No great action shots but overall a great trip. No longer on the Bucket List
Terrific shots and great trip report that is another example of what you do best – simplify matters, get to the bottom line with all the essentials included, and talk to your audience at a level we can all understand!
Thanks Mark! Tell Rena I said hi!
Will do!
Thank you for sharing I very much appreciate these great captures. I have a question regarding photo equipment travel… What How do you carry all this gear thru the Aiport? What type of camera bag is used I mean TSA gives clearance for this type of traveling gear?
Hi. I have a small camera backpack that I put my gear in. It goes through the scanner just fine and it stays with me.
Can you recommend the brand, size and weight?
Honestly I can’t. They don’t make it anymore. And I didn’t love it… But it works. I don’t often travel w camera gear anymore, so I haven’t spent any time looking for a good bag. What I have fits the gear which is I guess all that matters. Buy a few from a store with a good return policy and try ’em out.
Thanks, Matt, for all this — I so enjoyed living your trip through this lovely work and much-appreciated write up.
Sounds amazing! A bear photo trip to Alaska is my dream trip. Hope to make it happen in the next couple years.
Wow!! Love all the shots… Fav… The cub waving with the mom and sibling walking away. What an experience! If I were to go I would have to have someone older or just slower than me…… 🙂 Love your work and all your lessons over the years.
Amazing photos. Love the one where the cub is waving. Great tips on the lenses!
Great info Matt. I travel very light and don’t mess with my camera settings too much either, so glad you validated that approach.
Are you willing to share your total cost for this trip?
Hi Joe. You can check out the cost of the workshop on their website – it includes lodging, food, and tours. After that, you’d add airfare. The only other thing would be tips for the staff and guides on top of that (they were so good, I left about $400).
I have enjoyed several workshops/tours with Tom and Cree. I concur that they are great leaders/organizers. And they have been excellent teachers for me.
Wow! What a wonderful opportunity, and you certainly made the most of it. Thanks for the great post!
Sounds like an amazing trip!! I smiled the whole time while reading this and looking at the photos! Alaska is definitely on my bucket list. Great photos and thank you for sharing.
Great photos Matt. I would expect no less from you. Great description of your gear and the trip. Hopefully, I will be able to do something like this before I get too old. I shot several years ago in Tremont, TN with you and your mom. I really enjoyed that day, and would really enjoy getting to shoot with you again someday. EP=Breckenridge, CO.
Thanks Jack. You’re close on the extra points… but not specific enough 🙂
The sticker is from Breckenridge Brewery in Colorado. Maybe too easy for me since I am from Colorado. Also, Brooke is a fantastic guide. I was with her on a workshop in Colorado in 2019…
You win!! 🙂
Hi Matt
This is the best information about a photography trip I have ever seen someone present. You information about the trip , your equipment, personal things. Beautifully presented Matt!!
Learn so much Thanks Dale
Just loved having you along! Still thinking about Crimp’s cubs.
I was there June 2022 and was lucky to spend time with Agro and three cubs. Sadly I heard that one of the cubs was killed by another bear a bit later on. I have also visited Silver Salmon during the Salmon run and both trips were amazing. So worth travelling all the way from Australia.