What kind of Wildlife Photographer Are "YOU"

Tom Reichner wrote in post #18587975
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That is great! . I guess that means that you get to photograph "real" moose, instead of these little Shiras Moose that we have down here in the lower 48.

What is it that you guide for? . Do you get to spend much time photographing when you're up there, or does guiding take almost all of your time?

What other critters do you get opportunities with up there during the autumn?

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I guide specifically for the Moose during the rut. The location I guide in allows me to get 10 feet from a bull without them caring, but when I guide clients I shoot less because I need to focus on their behavior. If you watch their behavior you will never get charged (I have never been charged). I camp for the whole duration of the rut where I guide, which allows me to know where they all hang out. During non- guiding days I am taking photos . As for other animals there are snowshoe hares, coyotes, fox. Another big animal there are Grizzly and Black Bears. They are extremely predatory towards humans seeing us as a food source and killing a couple people per year. Not even the Black Bears are nice

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Tc202 wrote in post #18587991
I guide specifically for the Moose during the rut. The location I guide in allows me to get 10 feet from a bull without them caring, but when I guide clients I shoot less because I need to focus on their behavior.

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When I first read your post about being a guide, I assumed that you guide hunters, not photographers. . Is this assumption correct?

I will be going to Alaska (for the first time in my life) this June, to photograph birds.

The moose and the other critters you mention make me wonder if going back in the autumn would be worthwhile as a photographic pursuit. . What are your thoughts on this?


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Tom Reichner wrote in post #18587953
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So you're a moose guy, but located in Florida ..... that's gotta be tough.

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ITs called a moose guy with money Tom.. I just want to follow him around .

Tom Reichner wrote in post #18587975
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That is great! . I guess that means that you get to photograph "real" moose, instead of these little Shiras Moose that we have down here in the lower 48.

What is it that you guide for? . Do you get to spend much time photographing when you're up there, or does guiding take almost all of your time?

What other critters do you get opportunities with up there during the autumn?

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Hey Tom, our little Shiras deserve some love too.ߘ

Tom, about time you got to Alaska. We were just talking about making our 6th trip there for a week in July......

Maureen Souza wrote in post #18588323
Tom, about time you got to Alaska.

I know - you're right.

Several of my friends go to Alaska on a regular basis. Specifically, they go to Denali and spend a week or three there each September. . They keep telling me how much I would love it and how it is so perfect for the kind of photography I like to do and how I really need to go with them the next time that they go. . But money, of course, is the main problem ....... September is still fire season, and I would miss out on the major source of my yearly income if I took time off during fire season.

I'm sure that a September Denali trip will happen for me sometime before I die, but for the foreseeable future it probably isn't going to work out. . Hence, Barrow in June for birds will need to suffice for the present.

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Maureen Souza wrote in post #18588323
We were just talking about making our 6th trip there for a week in July......

That's great! . Can't wait to hear about it! . You'll have to share the best pics with us after the trip.




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Tom Reichner wrote in post #18588522
I know - you're right.

Several of my friends go to Alaska on a regular basis. Specifically, they go to Denali and spend a week or three there each September. . They keep telling me how much I would love it and how it is so perfect for the kind of photography I like to do and how I really need to go with them the next time that they go. . But money, of course, is the main problem ....... September is still fire season, and I would miss out on the major source of my yearly income if I took time off during fire season.

I'm sure that a September Denali trip will happen for me sometime before I die, but for the foreseeable future it probably isn't going to work out. . Hence, Barrow in June for birds will need to suffice for the present.

I've been to Denali a couple times, once in August and once in June. What's better in September? The colors?

Want to see some awesome bald eagles? Kodak!

i-G12 wrote in post #18588631
Want to see some awesome bald eagles? Kodak!

Kodak?? Or Kodiak?

Inspeqtor wrote in post #18588662
Kodak?? Or Kodiak?

Maybe he went to Kodiak with a Kodak?

RikWriter wrote in post #18588540
I've been to Denali a couple times, once in August and once in June. What's better in September? The colors?

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Antlers! . And of course rut / pre-rut behavior.

If the primary reason for going to Denali is to photograph trophy-caliber Moose, Caribou, and Dall Rams, then autumn is the time to go.

These big game species rut in the autumn, and the antlered species finally come into "hard antler" in September after the velvet has shed. . The big game images that my friends and peers get in Denali in the autumn are ones that couldn't possibly be taken at any other time of year. . These are the images that everybody (publishers, stock agencies, etc) wants, and the ones that are the most commercially viable.

I've found that most serious wildlife photography is extremely time-of-year specific.

My upcoming trip to Barrow will be in the third week of June, and that timing is crucial - go one week earlier and there won't be as many Eiders and shorebirds because they will not have all arrived on the breeding grounds yet. . Arrive one week later and many of the male Eiders will have already bred, flown out to sea, and molted. . This is why all of the photo tours for Barrow's eiders are scheduled for mid-June.

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This is a grizzly chasing a mother black bear that was trying to save her cub.
The cub didn’t make it. The grizzly killed and ate it. I couldn’t get a good shot of that as there was to many trees in the way and I wasn’t about to get any closer.
I spent about 3 1/2 hours photographing this seen.

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boomer1959 wrote in post #18588786
This is a grizzly chasing a mother black bear that was trying to save her cub.
The cub didn’t make it. The grizzly killed and ate it. I couldn’t get a good shot of that as there was to many trees in the way and I wasn’t about to get any closer.
I spent about 3 1/2 hours photographing this seen.

Hosted photo: posted by boomer1959 in
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forum: Wildlife

Hosted photo: posted by boomer1959 in
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forum: Wildlife

Wow, that's intense.

I think the grizzly and brown's are the two biggest threats to us photographers in terms of danger. The liberty's we take with the blacks would be out the window.

Pondrader wrote in post #18588821
I think the grizzly and brown's are the two biggest threats to us photographers in terms of danger. The liberty's we take with the blacks would be out the window.

I hear ya Pondrader but I'd still bet exposure is ultimately a bigger danger for those that actually get away from the car.