On July 6th 2007 my best friend, confidant and photographer wife, Lori and I set out for a year long planned photographic journey to Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park, Alaska.

Brooks Falls is world famous for it's large population of brown bears. For thousands of years they come to the Brooks River to feed on the July salmon run. Our goal is to capture images of these majestic animals up close and personal in their natural habitat.

In summer in Alaska between July and September, when the sockeye salmon emerge from Bristol Bay, brown bears ascend upon the waterways of Brooks Camp to replenish their weight. Brooks Camp is located in Katmai National Park and Preserve, a 4,090,000 acre preserve in Alaska. The U.S. government set aside Katmai as protected land and it received a wilderness designation in 1980. The area is known for its brown bears, fish, wildlife and its wilderness frontiers. There are more than 1,500 brown bears living in Katmai.

The images you are about to view portray our adventure into what for us, an unknown enviornment. It quickly became a spiritual experience like none we have ever known.

To coexist in the wild with these animals at such close proximity and to be tolerated by them, for me was spritual. I can not explain it any other way. In some strange way I felt drawn and connected to this place. Looking at it I knew that I belonged here, I had no fear. It's funny as I look across at the falls, the 23rd Psalm came to mind. I smiled to myself, looked up to the sky and said "Thank you."

I hope and pray that Brooks Falls remains as it is for all future generations to enjoy as my wife and I did in July of 2007.

Side Notes:

If you plan to visit Katmai National Park and Brooks Falls plan your trip at least 6 months to a year ahead.

July and September are the best times to go, the salmon are running up the Brooks River which feed the bears. We viewed as many as 10 bears at one time at the falls. If you have never seen salmon jumping up a waterfall, it is a spectacle you will not soon forget. To watch the bears catching them in mid air was a huge bonus.

September is a good time to go to Brooks Falls because the bears do look better. They are fat and healthy looking as they continue to feed on spawned out salmon returning down river.

If you are a photographer and planning a trip to Brooks, make sure you have rain gear for your equiptment. You'll probably use it. Brooks gets aproximately 82% precipitation annually so be prepared for some showers.

It rained pretty good on the night of the 12th. Our 4 man REI rental tent held up great, no leaks. It also showered pretty good on us at the falls in the afternoon of the 13th. Light rain gear is a must if you want to stay comfortable, it does get a bit cool when it rains.

We brought along some medium sized trash bags, the ones with the plastic draw strings. They were a life saver. We used them to store our backpacks into during the down pours. They worked great to keep our gear dry.

Lenses

I used the following Canon lenses, 24-70, 70-200, 400 I did extremely well with my 400 and a light carbon fiber tripod.

If you have a 500-600 I highly recommend trying to get it there. Reason, plan a day at the lower platform for those head on shots that look like the bear is coming right at you with water splashing up all around him.

I had many opportunities to capture that shot but was unfortunately lacking the reach, a 500-600 with a 1.4 TC is the ticket here.

The distance from the lodge to the lower platform is aprox 1/4 mile. A easy hike on flat ground with a big lens, you won't regret the images you will get with that lens in the shallows at the lower platform.

Take tons of storage media! I shot up aprox. 40 gigs in 4 days and that was being conservative. You'll get the usual amount of keepers.

The lighting can be difficult at Brooks Falls. It might take lots of experimentation until you figure out the correct exposure. Most scenes are backlit from the reflection of the water and this made things challenging at times.

Get your speed up as high as you can. Meter the bear or a medium green and the trees foilage are good to meter off. Dropping 1/3 exp comp worked great for me, you'll have to experiment with the ever changing lighting. There are no flashes allowed at Brooks so don't bother taking it, unless you plan to use it on people or macros.

I recommend taking mosquito repellent, we used 3M ultrathon and Off. It helped but we still got bites, wearing light gloves helped also. I recommend taking a light headnet. You may not use it but believe me if you do, you'll thank God and the inventor. :>)

The mosquitos weren't as bad as the black and white sox, little flies that were really a nuisance for me. I must taste really good to these guys. They get thick in the evenings and can get thick along the river. They seem to come in waves, I quickly nicknamed them little Bastards....lol.

Be carefull when using any bug repellent that contains DEET, it will eat any rubber parts on your camera. 3M Ultrathon contains 35% deet, this stuff works good. It was designed for the US Military. After you apply it wash your hands, baby wipes work great. Take lots, you'll use them. Use any DEET product sparingly. Try it at home before your trip to make sure your body can tolerate it. Some people have mild to bad reactions to DEET.

If you plan to camp, the lottery for Brooks Campground opens March 1st through the National Parks Department $8 per person per day.

I would suggest you rent your camping gear in Anchorage at REI http://www.rei.com/stores/anchorage/index.html rather than lugging it with you. The rental fees are very reasonable and the equipment is top notch, well maintained gear.

I highly suggest purchasing or renting sleeping pads, Therrma Rest 2 inch thick pads are a life saver, especially if your getting up there in the years. My bones at 54 don't handle the ground like they did when I was younger. The insulation from the cold damp ground is a big bonus, you'll never regret having one under you, I promise.

If you are camping as a couple get a 4 man tent. The extra room to store your gear made getting in and out of the tent much easier. The campsite has gear caches and food caches so you can sore large items such as travel bags there. We had no problems loosing any stored gear.

Katmai National Park is available for reservations through the NRRS Customer Service 1-888-448-1474 (within North America) or 518-885-3639 (outside of North America). Note: Availability for Katmai is based upon occupancy and the Brooks Campground can only accommodate up to 60 people per day. You must travel to the campground using boat or float plane. Check in at the visitor center upon arrival. Each person is required to go through bear orientation (approx. 15 min). There is no telephone (other than satelite) or email service at Brooks Camp. Park headquarters are located in King Salmon. There is a 14 day stay limit per year; only 7 day maxmimum per individual may occur during the month of July. July and September are prime bear viewing months. Link

http://www.recreation.gov/ak/Brooks_Camp_Campground/Campground/r/campgroundDetails.do?agency=NRSO&parkId=70949

I suggest booking your airfare from Anchorage to Brooks through Katmailand, saves a lot of time and headaches.

http://www.katmailand.com/bear-viewing/packages.html

We know that you will enjoy the time you spend at Brooks. It is a magical place filled with wonder and splender of wildlife that abounds. Your coexistance with these animals will bring you a lifetime of memories and smiles. There is sheer wonder and joy spending time watching these animals interact and feed as they have done for thousands of years. We are surely looking forward to our next visit and feel truly blessed to have had the opportunity.

Steve