In 2002, I headed to the coast of Katmai National Park, along the Alaskan Peninsula. Most people travel to Brooks River to capture the classic shot of brown bears catching leaping salmon at the falls. I wanted a more remote setting.

My journey started in Anchorage and then on to Homer for a night until I could catch a small 5 -seater de Havilland Beaver plane, that would take me to the remote coast of Katmai National Park. This plane was equipped with large tundra tires to allow for landing on the beach after the tide goes out. Our plane took off into a thick fog, we were headed out to sea, as we were unaware, since our plane had no navigational equipment and we could not see thanks to the weather. Luckily one of the passengers in the plane had a GPS unit and just as he did, the clouds broke and we pitched it to the right back to land. There is always an adventure in Alaska.

Passing by amazing glaciers and over the rough seas of the Shelikof Strait, this was wild Alaska all around us. We landed on the beach, and as we taxied up a bear was only 50 yards away eating the remains of a seal. I knew I was in heaven. The trip was amazing! I went in June as the bears were emerging from their dens. The winter was rough for some and successful for others. I was able to capture behavior that is hard to get at other locations in Katmai, much less the world. As the coastal areas have large meadows and when the tide goes out, large sandy beaches as well. The bears use the meadows for grazing on Sedge grass, a high protein grass, which sustains them until the salmon runs start in July. The beaches provide a rich nutrient in them, clams. These bears have learned how to clam for the razorbacks. It is amazing watching a sow teach her cub of the year how to clam for the first time.

Well, after 10 days in the rough weather on the coast of Katmai, I left with a lot of memories and a ton of images. I hope to head back to that part of the coast again in the future. Please contact us if you're interested in this part of Alaska and I will see if we can get a trip together.