Alaska Photo Tour Trip Report
Upon arrival in Kodiak, the air was filled with excitement as our first ever Grizzly Bear photography tour in Alaska was about to commence! We kicked things off with a short evening photography session in a misty forest nearby. The soft lighting was so complimentary and it definitely set the tone for our photo safari.
Day 2 of our photography tour begun with a visit to a nearby river boasting some salmon, where we managed to photograph some Bald Eagles that were in the vicinity. Later that afternoon we boarded our charter plane and flew to a secluded area dubbed “Grizzly River”, where we set up camp and prepared ourselves for a week in the wild wilderness of Alaska for our Grizzly Bear photography tour.
Our first day of the photography expedition got off to a great start! Plenty of grizzly bears came to hunt for salmon in the shallow river stream and we also spotted a curious wolf in the area. This was just a small preview of what lay ahead on our Katmai bear tour…
Over the next 5 days of our photography tour, we had some extraordinary encounters and photographic opportunities where up to 30 grizzly bears came to the river looking to eat their fill. We were able to photograph the bears strolling around next to the riverbanks, investigating the best area of the stream, pouncing on salmon, creating marvellous splashes and interactions with other bears, as well as capture super cute bear cubs watching their mothers fish. The elusive wolves in the area were an additional treat as they visited the river three more times over the course of our tour and gave us some further photographic memories.
On our last day, we sadly bid farewell to “Grizzly River” and headed back to Kodiak and human civilisation. A few of our clients reported that this was the “best trip ever” because it was so different and incredibly special. As we settled in our hotel rooms for the night before flying back to Anchorage, we had the opportunity to reflect on our week in the wilderness and our incredible Grizzly Bear photography tour.
– Ole Jørgen Liodden, ORYX Photo Tour Partner
