The One that got Away(almost)

[NorthernFocus]

Hey, folks. It's been a while since I've participated. Life has taken some turns lately, mostly good, and I've been crazy busy. Plus summer in Alaska is time to shoot, not sit at the computer Here's a series I thought was interesting taken during a recent outing. As always best viewed in the lightbox.

Shot with Nikon D4 and 80-400mm G

The Huntress



The Chase



The One that got Away



And one that didn't

[Geoff F]

Nice action scenes. Everything looks good here.

[dje]

Good to see you posting again Dan - and it's up to the high standard we have come to expect!

Dave

[Shadowman]

Nice series, glad to see you back.

[KimC]

These are beautiful Dan! The first really shows the massive size of the bear; the size of the paw is just amazing.

[Rita]

Top notch as always. A wonderful series especially the one that got away

[Mike Buckley]

Though one of the fish got away from the bear, it's clear that the photographer was always in total control of the images. I especially like that the series culminates in the last one.

[IzzieK]

Nice to see you posting again, Dan...I am glad you are OK now. I nearly PM-ed today but I saw your post and was enticed to come in to send this message..

As usual, only the best coming from you...nice series ... We are off to Sitka in October...hope it is not as cold yet by that time...

[NorthernFocus]

Thanks for the welcome back comments and glad you folks enjoyed the photos. I went on the bear photo trip of a lifetime a couple of weeks ago. Will be culling/processing photos for quite a while. Shot enough to keep me busy well into the winter. I'll post more when I get a chance.

[Mike Buckley]

I went on the bear photo trip of a lifetime a couple of weeks ago.

Please expand on that. What are the details of the trip?

[Wandjina]

Great shots Dan. I like the first one the best. Nicely composed. There is a sense of purpose in the bear's expression which is then fulfilled in the next three action packed photos. I've tried taking photos of bears during my trips to the USA and Canada, but none of mine compare with yours.
Well done!

[NorthernFocus]

Please expand on that. What are the details of the trip?

The trip was based from a boat anchored on the coast of the Katmai National Park at a spot known as Geographic Harbor. The outfitter normally books eight photographers per week, usually as groups rather than individually. Clients arrive via float plane from Kodiak, an hour flight away. All meals, accomodations, and guide service for viewing the bears is provided. A landing craft/skiff is used to shuttle to the estuary where the bears are feeding on salmon. It is really a first class outfit.

But the things that made it the trip of a lifetime were the intangibles. First, there were only three photographers rather than the typical eight. The outfitter had a cancellation and selectively offered the boat to known clients, one of whom contacted me. Due to short notice it was only me and two other professional photographers, one of whom has shot bears and led tours in Alaska every year for fifteen years. Due to our collective level of experience and my being an Alaska resident, we were allowed to go self-guided. So just the three of us basically had the run of the place for six days.

On top of the above, we arrived perfectly timed with the start of the salmon run. The bears literally showed up in numbers the same day that we did. On our first day shooting there was barely any fish heads/carcasses on the creek bank. By the time we left it was littered with the remains of the bears' feeding frenzy. We spent six days on the Katmai coast in August, and had a total of about four hours of rain one morning, no wind at all, and temperatures barely dipped below 50F at night. That's almost freakish weather for the time of year. Downside of the lack of wind is that it was rather buggy.

At times we had so much bear activity all around us that with just the three of us, we had to stop shooting to keep tabs on where the bears were and what they were up to. We almost sounded like a military squad calling out threats, "incoming at three o'clock" or "watch your six, sow and cubs". The person with all of the previously mentioned trips on bears said that they have never seen anything like that week for the sheer level of activity. It was awesome.

All that said, I hope I never get that close to a bear again unless it's already been to the taxidermist. Sometimes there can be too much of a good thing

Not sure if that's what you meant by "details", but there it is.

[Mike Buckley]

Wow! That sounds like an incredible experience. Thanks for explaining!

[gregj1763]

What an amazing experience Dan. Great images and looking forward to more of the same

[ST1]

Great series Dan, what an experience that trip must have been. Thanks for sharing a little bit of it with us

[Rebel]

Stunning images Dan!

[Dave Humphries]

Welcome back Dan,

Great series as ever, not that I tire of seeing and reading about the shots.

However, I don't think this is the first FIF (Fish in Flight) we have seen here - mind you, some of the earlier ones were probably your shots too

Thanks for sharing, looking forward to more, Dave

[bnnrcn]

Great series, I can't wait to see the other photos from your trip

[Donald]

That sounds like the most incredible experience, Dan. It must have been adrenalin-rush time at full throttle. One of those never-to-be-forgotten experiences. And what we've seen thus far and I'm sure what we'll see in the forthcoming weeks and months, will be a very fitting record of the adventure.

[Brownbear]

As always, truly inspirational images accompanied by a wonderfully informative narrative. A beautiful set, truly a pleasure to view. My fave is the 1st, something about the bears face and that great big paw. Exquisite detail. The flying fish is uniquely beautiful.

Alas, my dream bear viewing excursion is not going to happen this year. So all I have is my refuge bears. When my trip comes to be, I will be carrying visions of your bears as my inspiration. Thank you for sharing.