Lake Clark Bears Trip report - Tom Bol Photo Workshops

Clamming Bears

Photographing Brown Bears at Lake Clark National Park is a bucket list item for many photographers. We had a fantastic group of people with us this year and were able to photograph a large range of Brown Bears in action.

The tides were good for bears to hunt for Razor Clams during the workshop. We left the lodge in small carts pulled by an ATV to get to the best places for bear photography. When we saw bears, we lined up under the watchful protection of our bear guide and got low to get a bear's eye perspective.

Bears in the Meadows

Bears love the meadows near our lodge. They eat sedges by the pound and roll around and doze afterwards. With warmer temperatures they will swim in the ponds to cool off. This is also a common place for bears to court and mate.

Seabirds

On our second day we spent a morning exploring the coast of Lake Clark National Park in search of seabirds. We photographed Horned and Tufted Puffin, Common Murres, Black Oystercatchers and Parakeet Auklets. We enjoyed watching the puffin run along the water in their labored take-off from the ocean.

Bears in Morning Light

One of our favorite times to photograph bears is in the early morning when bears are backlit and the water lights up. The mountains and oceanscape around the lodge provide beautiful backdrops for environmental photos of bears.

Wildflowers Galore

This was a great year for wildflowers at the lodge. When bears were sleeping in the meadows, we paused our bear photography to capture colorful blossoms. Wild Iris, Chocolate Lilies and Lupine provided fields of color to explore creative techniques.

Bear Behaviour

This year we had an exceptional number of boars (male bears) in the area. Much of their time is spent feeding on the abundant resources in the meadows and on the clam flats. We also photographed bears sleeping on the beach, courtship, mating and standing at alert.