Young Male Brown Bear

Hello,

Many bears on the rivers waiting for the pink salmon. Here are three photos of a young male that was out tonight. Thank you for looking and please offer any suggestions for improvement.

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I agree with your opinion on #1. It's an interesting POV through the leaves. Where is Sitka, AK?

philk54,

Sitka is located on Baranof Island in southeastern Alaska. We are 100 miles south of Juneau and light years away from Sarah Palin. We are a small island community.

Bruce

Lucky you.

I'll be coming up to Alaska in 2 weeks - doing the rail/cruise adventure. 4 days in Denali followed by cruising at College Fjord and Glacier Bay and stops in Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan.

Any tips for best opportunities for eagle, bear, moose photos? Also, what about whales?

The second photo is very striking. Well done.

LOVE #2. Print it!

philk54,

i hope you have an enjoyable trip to alaska. I am no expert but here are a couple of things to consider.

Eagles are all over. Position yourself and your view where the sun works for you. I have a thousand eagle photos where the opportunity looked good but the sun did not allow for a shot. They will start showing up with the bears at the mouths of salmon streams that have pink or chum runs.

Moose. My best moose pictures were taken within the city limits of Anchorage, Soldotna, Sterling, Palmer and Kenai. You just may have to PS out the mcdonalds or the stoplight in the background. Denali will provide you with good chances for moose. Monopod would be nice.

Whales. I spent most of my time on deck when we were going through larger bodies of water. Entrances to sounds or bays. Tends to be more bubblenetting in these areas. Many of the orcas here are transient pods. It is a crap shoot with them. Many times after the boat makes a sharper turn you will see porpoises off the stern as they were riding the bow wake of the boat. Gray and humpbacks: pay attention to the direction the are heading. Anticipate where they will appear next. If you were to see the tail then 9/10 times they are diving deep and you will not get another opportunity with them.

Bears. Do not rely too heavily on the bus driver in Denali to see them. Keep your eyes open and do not be afraid to call them out to the driver. They are very good about stopping.

Safe travels to you,

Bruce

I like #1 and 2 the best. Nature will often only give us glimpses of our subjects through brush, great work catching #1.
I might try turning #3 into a black and white?
Cheers Glenn
www.gannet.ca

Bruce,

Thanks for the tips. Hopefully I'll get some shots worth posting.

Nice photos, really like the lighting in #2.

Thanks for the nice comments,

The sun was setting in photos #2 and #3. It was tough to meter. There was a ton of smoke in the air from the fires in the interior and the haze added a lot or red to the bears. It was a neat effect. The photo through the salmonberry bush was lucky. They are neat animals and I am thankful to see them and even more so to photograph them.

Thanks for looking,

Bruce