The Viewfinder: Dangers of Photographing Alaskan Grizzly Bears

Grizzly bears are fearsome creatures. They are the apex predators in their territories and when we, as humans armed with nothing more than a camera and some bear spray, enter their environment, we are at a distinct disadvantage. I am stating the obvious of course, but that is something I am aware of when I see one of these beautiful creatures coming from an Alaskan forest to the river to fish. The feeling must be what our ancient ancestors felt when they were in the presence of a wild animal that could easily make them its dinner.
It is scary and simultaneously exciting when I decide to find and photograph them. I am careful in my planning, aiming to decrease – but not eliminate – the possibility of something going wrong. In this case, I decided to take a small group of photographers to a favorite place of mine, the Russian River on the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska. It is a place where the bears want only to feed on the fish in the river. And because there are fish in the river, there are humans fishing there with the bears. When humans give the bears their space, the bears go about their business. They want nothing more than to eat.
There’s a boardwalk with short walkways branching from it that gives access to the river. The boardwalk is there to both protect the natural embankment of the river and allow access to the for fishing. It is a great place for photographers to walk and wait for a bear to come from the forest to fish.
Not long after my group arrived, we heard from some fishermen that there was a bear just down the river from us. We walked cautiously but quickly down the boardwalk until we found a walkway that gave us a clear view of the bear on the opposite bank.
As we quietly sat watching and taking our photos, the bear wandered onto a small gravel beach area and found interest in something near a log. I looked through my 600mm lens to observe what it was that was holding his attention. It became clear to me that someone who’d been fishing there left their lunch; the bear was making a quick snack of a sandwich and a bag of potato chips. He was elated, and at one point lay down on his side, rolled over on his back and rubbed the side of his face on the chip bag. It was hilarious to watch that happy bear roll around and play like a cub.
Once he was finished with the lunch, he found a fishing rod holder and proceeded to play with it. He was having such a great time as he inspected it, chewed on it and then swung it around and twirled it like a baton. I must admit, disregarding the fact that the bear was eating and playing with what was essentially human litter, I really enjoyed watching him playing and acting like he had no care in the world. It was certainly a change in the typical behavior that I observe in Alaska and more what one would expect from a bear in a circus.
I always envision in advance the photos I’m going to get when I visit the Alaska grizzly bears. I imagine these wild and dangerous-feeling images. On this trip, the photos of the bear eating lunch and playing with a toy in the sunshine trumped those imagined images. It was quite an experience.
For The Mountain Times
Grizzly bears are fearsome creatures. They are the apex predators in their territories and when we, as humans armed with nothing more than a camera and some bear spray, enter their environment, we are at a distinct disadvantage. I am stating the obvious of course, but that is something I am aware of when I see one of these beautiful creatures coming from an Alaskan forest to the river to fish. The feeling must be what our ancient ancestors felt when they were in the presence of a wild animal that could easily make them its dinner.
It is scary and simultaneously exciting when I decide to find and photograph them. I am careful in my planning, aiming to decrease – but not eliminate – the possibility of something going wrong. In this case, I decided to take a small group of photographers to a favorite place of mine, the Russian River on the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska. It is a place where the bears want only to feed on the fish in the river. And because there are fish in the river, there are humans fishing there with the bears. When humans give the bears their space, the bears go about their business. They want nothing more than to eat.
There’s a boardwalk with short walkways branching from it that gives access to the river. The boardwalk is there to both protect the natural embankment of the river and allow access to the for fishing. It is a great place for photographers to walk and wait for a bear to come from the forest to fish.
Not long after my group arrived, we heard from some fishermen that there was a bear just down the river from us. We walked cautiously but quickly down the boardwalk until we found a walkway that gave us a clear view of the bear on the opposite bank.
As we quietly sat watching and taking our photos, the bear wandered onto a small gravel beach area and found interest in something near a log. I looked through my 600mm lens to observe what it was that was holding his attention. It became clear to me that someone who’d been fishing there left their lunch; the bear was making a quick snack of a sandwich and a bag of potato chips. He was elated, and at one point lay down on his side, rolled over on his back and rubbed the side of his face on the chip bag. It was hilarious to watch that happy bear roll around and play like a cub.
Once he was finished with the lunch, he found a fishing rod holder and proceeded to play with it. He was having such a great time as he inspected it, chewed on it and then swung it around and twirled it like a baton. I must admit, disregarding the fact that the bear was eating and playing with what was essentially human litter, I really enjoyed watching him playing and acting like he had no care in the world. It was certainly a change in the typical behavior that I observe in Alaska and more what one would expect from a bear in a circus.
I always envision in advance the photos I’m going to get when I visit the Alaska grizzly bears. I imagine these wild and dangerous-feeling images. On this trip, the photos of the bear eating lunch and playing with a toy in the sunshine trumped those imagined images. It was quite an experience.