Hey folks. Back home now after a couple of days of recouping from a bad cold I caught while on the boat in Katmai. Future posts will elaborate more on the trip that was basically broken down into three segments – Denali, Kodiak/Katmai, and a short day shooting south of Anchorage.
It certainly should be no surprise to anyone that Alaska is a beautiful place. For a newbie there, the majestic scenery and the wildlife of Katmai can be a bit overwhelming. It is certainly evident from my photographs of the first few days because I was shooting anything that moved. On post review, many of those are bound for the trash bin. The little dots you have to explain are bears or eagles just don’t have the impact in an image after the experience is done. 🙂
It is also quite a feeling to be in the middle of a wilderness with the bears in Katmai. No other humans around for many, many miles other than fellow photographers – and there were only 8 of us there with 3 crew on the boat. It was obvious the land belonged to the bears and we were only visitors.
I have plenty of editing left to do. After shooting about 7900 images over two weeks, I am just trying to purge the obvious ones now. The image in this post is one of the shots I had hoped to do with an ultra-wide-angle – and it finally came together on the very last day at Katmai – almost to the last minute before the float plane arrived to pick us up. It feels good to be home though, and I came home to the best homecoming anyone can ask for.
Hey Mark
Made the whole trip right here, I reckon! Awesome shot, buddy. Musta been something else to experience, laying down with a bear so close. You do realise they bite, dontcha? 🙂
Super killer shot. And it was great to finally meet up, and thanks for the dinner. Be well, buddy.
Cheers
Carl
Mark,
It has been so long since I was here and even longer since I commented. I saw this photo and thought – WOW – that is one very cool wide angle shot. How close were you from the bear? I look forward to hearing and seeing more from your trip.
Thanks for visiting again Micki. I would say pretty close. 🙂
Thanks Amber. Funny that you mention the sky. I was surprised myself at a bit of the detail there. Raw files normally look somewhat flat and uninteresting, and such was the case with the sky. But just some playing with the contrast levels and a bit of luminosity masking – it definitely was a bit more detailed than expected.
Welcome back and, wow, what a stunning shot! The colors and that sky…not to mention the bear of course 🙂 Can’t wait to see more.
Thanks David, Anita!
Welcome back!
I love the way you set this up. Your patience certainly paid off. All the lines take me to the bear and then the bear lives up to the “fanfare”. Add the gorgeous colors and it’s a spectacular way to begin our vicarious trip to Alaska.
I smiled at the mention of dots in photos that have to be identified. Most of us have taken our share of those pictures.
Mark… this is an amazing image. The dynamic between the photographer, the bear, and the landscape is so real! I feel as though I am right there… and am uncomfortable with how close the bear is. Nice work!
Richard, yes – ultra wide actually – 17-35 zoom. Thanks.
Awesome shot Mark. That bear’s expression is classic. Was this a wide angle?
Thanks a lot. Thomas – not from a boat, or kayak, or wading – I was lying down on the shore across a small stream that cut in front of this bear from the main river. Obviously it had to be a bear where you had to have some idea what the intentions/behavior would be before hand, which wasn’t always the case.
I reprocessed this shot from the original posting to open up the shadows a bit on the legs, and the eye stands out a bit more now also.
Stunning!
This is an amazing shot that begs us to know how it was made, from a boat, kayak or did you just wade out to this bear? 🙂
Either way, it sure does have impact as a wide angle!
And welcome back by the way!
Glad to hear you made it back and that your souvenir sniffles are subsiding. Can’t wait to see more!
Thanks for the comments everyone. Looking at this picture again it seems the shadows are really blocked up on the legs. I will have to recheck this file again as I posted from my laptop, but even there it didn’t seem to be that dark. Hmmmm.
Reza, you will be glad to know the eagle story lives on buddy. Obviously one of Chuck’s favorites to tell.
Great photo! Glad you had a good trip, look forward to seeing more.
Ron
Amazing! We did a trip to Alaska too, but didn’t make it that far north this time – it was still awe-inspiring though. Look forward to seeing more of your trip.
Hi Mark,
Nice shot! Welcome back my friend. Looking forward to see your great photos.
Nice to have you back Mark and glad you had a good trip. It’ll take a while for all you saw and photographed to sink in.
Wonderfully enticing photo of the brown bear. Looking forward to seeing some of the others and hearing more about the trip.
Great shot Mark! The wide lens really helps here to give strong impact. You must have been pretty close to that beast, was it safe?
Welcome back, Mark! Can’t wait to see more photos from the trip!
– Jack
Nice shot Mark. That has so much more character and visual interest than the typical Katmai–bear-at-the-falls shot. Glad you had a good trip.