Coastal Brown (Grizzly) Bears Mother and Cubs

In Katmai National Park, Alaskan brown bear mothers exhibit extraordinary vigilance, especially when raising twin cubs. Facing threats from larger males and the park's challenging environment, these mothers are perpetually on guard, their focus unwavering whether fishing or navigating dense vegetation. Remarkably, the cubs themselves mirror this vigilance, often standing on their hind legs to scan for danger. The powerful bond between mother and cubs is evident in these displays of maternal protectiveness, highlighting the harsh realities of survival and the lengths to which a mother bear will go to ensure her offspring's safety within the park's wild expanse.

Coastal Brown (Grizzly) Bears Mother & Cubs (Ursus arctos) Hallo Bay, Katmai National Park, Alaska. From my Ultimate Alaska Bear Boat Trip. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha a9 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 G Master OSS Lens with Sony FE 1.4X Teleconverter @560mm ISO 320, f/4 @ 1/5,000s Manual exposure. Full Frame. Join me in Alaska for the Ultimate Brown Bears Galore Workshop Adventure. LEARN MORE HERE.

Katmai's Coastal Giants: An Unforgettable Bear Photography Expedition

Capture the Majesty of Alaska's Brown Bears with Christopher Dodds

Imagine yourself immersed in the breathtaking wilderness of Katmai National Park, Alaska, the world's premier destination for photographing Coastal Brown Bears. Join world-renowned Canadian nature photographer, Sony ambassador, and X-rite Master Coloratti, Christopher Dodds, on an exclusive 8-day expedition designed to capture the raw beauty and untamed spirit of these magnificent creatures.

Why Katmai?

• World's Highest Concentration: Witness and photograph an unparalleled density of Coastal Brown Bears in their natural habitat.

• Unrivalled Beauty: Experience the stunning landscapes of Katmai National Park, a photographer's dream with dramatic mountains, glaciers, and pristine coastlines.

• Intimate Encounters: With a maximum of only seven participants, enjoy personalized instruction from Chris and maximize your time behind the lens, free from the distractions of large groups.

• Diverse Wildlife: Beyond bears, capture stunning images of bald eagles, sea otters, seals, and other incredible Alaskan wildlife.

Your All-Inclusive Adventure:

• Seamless Travel: Begin your journey with a breathtaking floatplane flight from Kodiak, Alaska, over the majestic landscapes of Kenai Fjords and Katmai National Park.

• Expert Guidance: Benefit from Christopher Dodds' extensive experience and in-depth knowledge of bear behavior and photography.

• Prime Photography Opportunities: Spend your days immersed in the field, capturing unforgettable moments of bears in their natural environment.

• Comfort and Convenience: Enjoy comfortable shared accommodations, delicious meals, and expert guiding aboard our privately chartered vessel.

• Tailored Instruction: Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned pro, Chris will provide personalized guidance to help you elevate your photography.

Choose Your Experience:

• June (8 Days/7 Nights): Mothers & Cubs Focus: Witness the heartwarming interactions of mother bears and their cubs, capturing tender moments of play, nursing, and exploration.

• September (8 Days/7 Nights): Bears Fishing Focus: Capture the power and grace of bears as they fish for salmon, bathed in the golden light of the Alaskan autumn.

Who Should Join?

This expedition is perfect for photographers of all skill levels who are passionate about wildlife and adventure. A moderate level of physical fitness is required, as participants should be comfortable walking over uneven terrain and wading through shallow streams.

What's Included:

• Roundtrip floatplane flight from Kodiak, AK, to Katmai National Park.

• 8 days of expert photographic instruction with Christopher Dodds.

• 8 days of expert bear guiding.

• All meals and snacks.

• Shared accommodations on a Coast Guard certified vessel.

• Experienced captain and crew.

What's Not Included:

• Transportation to Kodiak, AK (ADK).

• Hotel accommodations before or after the expedition.

• Personal items and souvenirs.

• Suggested crew tips (US$500.00).

Your Journey Begins in Kodiak:

Our adventure starts in Kodiak, Alaska. Upon booking, you'll receive a detailed itinerary, hotel recommendations, gear suggestions, and a comprehensive clothing checklist.

Limited to Seven Participants:

Ensure an intimate and personalized experience with a small group of fellow photographers.

Ready to Capture the Wild?

Don't miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to photograph the magnificent Coastal Brown Bears of Katmai National Park with Christopher Dodds. Secure your spot today and create memories that will last a lifetime.

Join me for an eight-day Coastal Brown Bears Mothers & Cubs Adventure along the Katmai Coast of Alaska.

Coastal Brown Bear twin cubs (Ursus arctos) Hallo Bay, Katmai National Park, Alaska from my Ultimate Brown Bear Photo Tour. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. 70-200mm @ 70mm ISO 400, f/8` @ 1/200s. Manual exposure.

Every photographer dreams of getting close to bears safely, and that is precisely what we do during my 8-day Ultimate Coastal Brown Bear photo tour in Katmai National Park in Alaska. We live on board a privately chartered research vessel but spend most of our time in Katmai National Park in front of the highest concentration of Coastal Brown bears in the world while surrounded by some of the most spectacular scenery on Earth!

The ship is spacious with two lounges and a galley, and each stateroom has a private bathroom, complete with a walk-in shower, sink and toilet; there are no water restrictions, so grab a shower anytime you like! We spend most of our time on land with the bears and return to the ship to eat some incredible meals and sleep.

Coastal Brown Bears: Wanna Play?

The Katmai Coast Ultimate Brown Bear workshop is a magical experience if you dream of getting up close and personal with Coastal Brown Bears; Mothers often bring their cubs to my groups for free babysitting services :)

These two siblings are about to erupt into a frenzied playful tussle, a necessary lesson to help them survive alone in the wild.

This image was created hand-held using my Sony a9 camera with the Sony 100-400mm zoom lens with a doubler attached.

Brown bear mothers with twins and triplets

We watched as the otherwise calm mother with triplets high-tailed it off the meadow and up to the protection of the high rocky vantage point. Amazingly, another mother with twins (a year older) was already there. Was the boar (male bear) chasing them a cub killer? We don’t know, but these mothers sure thought there was a threat.

Cub killer?

There are three leading theories: The first is that a male bear's killing of a female's cub or cubs will force her back into heat, whereby she might be receptive to mating again. A nursing female with newly born and helpless spring cubs won't go into heat. Forcing a female back into heat may give that male bear more mating opportunities and increased opportunities to spread his genes.

The second possibility is that bears aren't omnivores, but they can be cannibals, too. Bears will do what it takes to fatten up for the long, cold winter hibernation. And sometimes, bears will kill and eat other bears. In some instances, cubs might be easy calories.

Last, killing a cub reduces a bear's future competition — for females, fish, and territory.

Coastal Brown Bear mother and cubs

Here is a Coastal Brown Bear mother and her twin cubs from my 2018 Ultimate Brown Bear Workshop in Katmai, Alaska. Katmai National Park is home to some of the most beautiful brown bears! These are exactly the same species as Grizzly Bears which live inland and way from the rich, plentiful and diverse food available on the coast.

Ultimate Coastal Brown Bear Photo Tour

Grizzly bears are the same species as these Coastal Brown Bear twin cubs; the only difference is that they live inland and away from the rich and diverse food sources found along the coast (Salmon, clams, sedge grass, etc.).

Every photographer dreams of getting close to bears safely, and that is exactly what we do during my 8 day Ultimate Coastal Brown Bear photo tour in Katmai National Park in Alaska. We live onboard a privately chartered yacht (sleep & eat), but spend most of our time in front of the highest concentration of Coastal Brown bears in the world while surrounded by some of the most spectacular scenery on Earth! It’s not too late to join the ultimate Brown Bear adventure of a lifetime!

Coastal Brown Bear Spring Cubs Sparring & Kudos

Coastal Brown Bear Spring Cubs Sparring (Ursus arctos) Hallo Bay, Katmai National Park, Alaska. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha a7R III Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 G Master OSS Lens  with Sony FE 2X Teleconverter @800mm ISO 640, f/5.6 @ 1/1,250s. Manual exposure. Full frame image.

Here's a couple of spring cubs sparring at first light on a lightly foggy morning from my recent Coastal Brown Bear boat trip in Katmai National Park, Alaska. We had so much fun with these cubs at close range over the course of the trip - smile.

KUDOS

It is definitely not an overstatement when I say that I had one of the most incredible times of my life this past June while on Chris’ Alaska Coastal Brown Bear Boat Trip. This experience was much more than just a workshop: From start to finish, it was an extremely well-organized adventure into a pristine wilderness area that produced many unforgettable memories and images for each member of our group.

After meeting Chris and the rest of the team in Homer, the weather cooperated, so soon the floatplane was loaded with our gear and supplies, and then we all climbed on board to begin our journey. For the next hour and twenty minutes, we flew over breath-taking scenery to the boat that would act as our home base for the next 6 days. Chris had worked hard at finding a vessel that was of ample size and had what it would take to better meet our needs and be much more comfortable for us than the other available boats – and I can attest to the fact that he was successful.

The crew was extremely warm, friendly, and eager to assist us in any way that they could, both while onboard the ship, as well as during our times on the smaller boat that was used to transport us to and from our daily drop-off and pick-up locations. The food was plentiful and simply out of this world meal after meal. It was amazing to see what could be done by one very creative and talented cook in the middle of a wilderness area. It didn’t take long for all of us to feel at home and develop a real sense of friendship and enjoyment of each other’s company, which only grew as the days of our adventure together went by. Although we had to obviously keep our voices down while in the field, there was more and more joking, laughter, chatter and other signs of camaraderie in the dining area and while travelling in the shuttle boat as we got to know each other better and better. It was one terrific group, which just added to the fun of experiencing a new place! Chris couldn’t have done a better job of putting the team together.

Before our flight out of Homer, Chris shared with us that he was delighted that he had been able to get us an exceptionally experienced bear guide and naturalist for our trip, and it quickly became apparent that Chris knew what he was talking about. Chris himself also has experience as a guide and is very familiar with bears and the areas that we would be exploring. So… when a bear was spotted, it was very interesting to watch and listen to the two of them work together to “get inside of the bear’s mind” and attempt to predict what it was going to eventually do. Time after time, within a few minutes, the bear that we had chosen to photograph did exactly what Chris and the guide had told us what it was likely to do. Therefore, since we had already moved into position and had our camera gear all set up for action, we were ready to greet the bear as it casually approached us in an ideal location to photograph it. This ability to anticipate the bear’s next move was especially helpful when it was a sow with cubs. As a result, we got to photograph them when they came out of the tall grasses that had pretty much concealed them because of their small size – enabling us to get unobscured images of them eating, nursing, playing, standing, and exhibiting all of the other entertaining things young bears do! Chris and our guide coached us in techniques as to how our group could earn the bears’ trust and, as a result, the bears were completely comfortable with us and went about their routines just as if we weren’t there. Amazing job gentlemen!

- Mike Fuller NY | USA

Coastal Brown Bear Spring Cubs

Coastal Brown Bear Spring Cub Triplets (Ursus arctos) Hallo Bay, Katmai National Park, Alaska. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha a9 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 G Master OSS Lens  with Sony FE 2X Teleconverter @800mm ISO 400, f/5.6 @ 1/2,000s Manual exposure.

We had so many encounters with mothers and cubs during my bear boat trip, but this set of triplets stole the show. These are spring cubs that were born in the den sometime between December and March after a gestation period of 180-270 days; likely while the mother was still hibernating. They were toothless and only weighed about a pound when they were born.

Coastal Brown Bear Cubs Jousting

Coastal Brown Bear Cubs JOUSTING (Ursus arctos) Hallo Bay, Katmai National Park, Alaska. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha a9 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 G Master OSS Lens  with Sony FE 2X Teleconverter @800mm ISO 1,600, f/5.6 @ 1/2,000s Manual exposure.

I'm just home from my Coastal Brown Bear boat photo tour in Alaska. We had amazing weather, epic opportunities with mothers and cubs, and one fantastic group of repeat clients who have all become great friends over the years!

We spent about an hour with these two siblings jousting in the golden last light at about 10:30PM. Shooting at 20FPS when the action was hot and heavy left us with more images than some knew what to do with. To quickly cull the images down to a manageable portfolio, I always look for captivating expressions, at least one eye visible on each bear & preferably a catch-light in both visible eyes.

Caption me contest

Coastal Brown Bear Mother and Spring Cubs (Ursus arctos) Kukak Bay, Katmai National Park, Alaska. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha a9 Mirrorless Camera & Sony FE100-400 F4.5-5.6 G Master OSS with 2X Tele-extender @ 380mm. Full frame image. ISO 3,200, f/13 @ 1/640s Manual exposure mode.

Here's a fun image from my recent Katmai Bear Boat Workshop. Leave a comment with a caption or title and my favorite will win a free signed print of this image including postage to anywhere in the world.