A week off the grid on the coast of Alaska – photographing bears.
This post is part of a series about our photography trip to Alaska.
Sunday (August 28) Geographic Harbor: We rose for an early breakfast so we could return to the beach during low tide. Many bears were out today, as was another group of photographers. There are no lodges or cabins or roads with access to the extensive shoreline of Katmai National Park, so visitors all arrive by ship or plane and groups (like us) sleep on-board ships. Throughout the trip we were often the only group in a bay, and thus on shore; sometimes there was one (or maybe two) other boats sharing the same bay (and beach). Rarely, we’d see a small group of day-trippers arrive by floatplane. The guides, like our Captain Rob, all knew each other, and there was a tacit understanding that groups stayed out of the way of each other; still, it was sometimes possible to photograph bears as they passed by another group.
A week off the grid on the coast of Alaska – photographing bears.
Brown bear, just after catching a salmon – Geographic Harbor, Katmai National Park.
My father and I spent a week on a photography workshop in Katmai National Park, on the southern coast of Alaska west of Anchorage. The trip was organized by Muench photography workshops and was an outstanding opportunity to refine my photography skills in a beautiful setting – up close and personal with Alaskan brown bears as they feasted on the annual salmon run. We spent seven nights on the Dreamcatcher, a small ship that allowed us to anchor in several bays along the Katmai coastline, using its skiffs to visit shore two or three times daily. We saw dozens of bears, as they were feasting on the annual salmon run, up close and personal. I snapped over 8,000 photos and it will take me many weeks to find time to sort, process, and share them all. For now, I’ll post retroactively in segments – with a few preliminary/teaser photos. [I finally posted the edited photographs in November.]
In the first moments of my return to Alaska – my first visit in over three decades – the pilot announced there was a fine view to be seen on the port side. From the in-flight map I noted we were 36,000 feet over over Canada’s Kluane National Park, looking southwest into the Alaska panhandle. The scenery was awe-inspiring, with vast glaciers punctuated by rugged mountains:
Looking roughly southwest from a plane over Canada’s Kluane National Park..
Why am I headed for Alaska? I met my father there and we’re about to embark on a trip to Katmai National Park. Read on…
In my forty years of visiting and living in New Hampshire, I’d never driven up the Auto Road to the top of Mount Washington – though the “This Car Climbed Mount Washington” bumper stickers are ubiquitous. Today was a beautiful day, though, and Pam indicated she’d never been to the top of Mount Washington… so we went. As we passed through the toll gate we noted the Tesla Model Y battery was at 50%. We wound our way up the mountain, on extremely narrow roads with no guardrails and steep drop-offs on one side or another. The views were stupendous, but allowable only to the passenger! We reached the summit parking area with battery at 35%; it thus takes 15% of the battery to climb the mountain. But we earned most of it back! read on.
Thus concludes four lovely days in Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor, Maine. In my recent posts I have shared stories and photos from my hikes and other activities. But not everything fit, so let me share a final photo gallery – distinct from photos in the other galleries, it is a mixed bag of scenery, activity, and food :-). I especially like the video of Boulder Beach where, if you listen carefully, you can hear the boulders rolling in the surf as it recedes.
Acadia is well-known for sunrise and sunset views. Indeed, many people vie for reservations to drive up Cadillac Mountain for sunrise, purportedly one of the earliest sunrise views in the U.S. because of its elevation and far-eastern position in the timezone. But for the same reason, sunrise here is remarkably early: every day this week it has been between 4:50am and 4:57am, and that is later than it was on the summer solstice a few weeks ago. I am not interested in sunrise from the peak – indeed, I find it far more interesting to photograph scenery illuminated by the golden rays of the sun than to photograph the sun itself. After some reading, I learned that Boulder Beach, on the eastern shore, is a great location. It’s also only 10 minutes drive from my hotel in Bar Harbor.
I’m an early riser. Still, when the alarm went off at 4:00am this morning, it was tough to drag myself out of bed and prepare for the day. Out in the parking lot I fired up my JetBoil camp stove to boil water for tea – no place is open this early! – and headed south in the growing twilight toward Otter Cliffs. I parked at a nearby picnic area and walked over to the beach, with 15 minutes to spare before sunrise, only to find three other tripod-rigged photographers already on scene. It was none other than John Putnam, of JK Photography, whom I’d met a couple of days ago in his gallery over in Southwest Harbor. He was out here with two clients, sharing his wisdom and tips for sunrise photography. I’d seen his photograph of sunrise at this spot, back in the gallery, and it is awe-inspiring.
I explored a few different shot locations and exposures. The sun rose through some clouds, so the cliffs illuminated a bit late, and the clouds behind them never quite lit up. But it was a fine morning and I’m pleased with the result. Wish I could try again and again. See the photo gallery for more.
Otter Cliffs from Boulder Beach at sunrise; Acadia National Park.
After the sunrise had faded, I walked closer to the cliffs to find a seal swimming toward me, curious; it bobbed for a moment, then dove away to find its breakfast.
Ok, now it’s 6:00am. It’s starting to rain. What else will the day bring?
Two loop hikes separated by a popover and ice cream!
Thursday I had a full day with no real itinerary, so I decided to head to Jordan Pond and climb some of the peaks beside this lovely, deep, clear lake. Arriving at 8am was the trick – although filling fast, the parking lot still had a few spots. I strapped on my trusty pack and headed out for the first of two long loop hikes – with a sweet lunch stop in between. Read on.
By now I had come to understand that I was not the only one reading the blogs and guidebooks, and thus not the only one who knew that Thunder Hole is best visited in the one or two hours before high tide. And, of course, there is usually only one high tide during daylight/waking hours… so it’s gonna be crowded. Indeed, every parking area up and down the coastal trail was nearly full – but I snagged a lucky spot and walked a kilometer along the trail to join the throngs at the famous Thunder Hole.
My goal for Wednesday afternoon was to climb another one of Acadia’s ‘major’ peaks, Champlain Mountain, and finish in time to roll around the island to Thunder Hole before high tide. So, after a quick lunch in Bar Harbor – lobster & Brie cheese panini (gosh, they put lobster in everything here) I drove out in hopes of a parking spot. Amazingly, this trailhead seems little visited, and I was soon striding along the rocky ridgeline toward this eastern-most peak. It was a relatively easy hike – unlike some of the brutally steep trails I’d encounter elsewhere in the park – and the views were broad and luscious.
It was raining gently when I woke on Wednesday morning in Bar Harbor, so I took my laptop to a cozy café for a couple of hours of catching up with my photo editing. Two cups of chai later I was heading back out with my camera, thinking today would be a good time to trek over to Bar Island – which is only accessible at low tide, by walking across the wide sandbar that connects it to the shore in the town of Bar Harbor. (This sandbar gives Bar Harbor, and the town, its name.) Somehow I thought I was being clever in picking this walk on this gloomy day, but several hundred other people had the same idea.
David Kotz 