Last week I finished editing my photos from the Alaska Bear Boat Trip, and I have lots of photos that I consider good. After what I have learned in your workshops, I am very conservative to call a photo “good” but can report that I have many more good photos from the trip than I expected to get.
The photo opportunities in Katmai National Park were numerous, the weather was cooperative, and trips to shore resulted in excellent light. You work hard to make your trips productive, informational, and an opportunity to improve one’s photography, and this trip was no exception.
The other participants were courteous and positive individuals with whom it was fun to share travel and photographic experiences. As you know I have been on more than a dozen trips with you and often there are other repeat customers/photographers on the trips. My experience is that the photographers who make multiple trips with you are always individuals with whom it is a pleasure to spend 3-7 days. Many of these people are as interested in my photography as they are in their own, and frequently it is possible to learn from one another. These folks are friends by the end of the trip, and I look forward to seeing them again in the future. The crew of the boat is helpful, the cook is experienced, the bear guide is knowledgeable, and the food is elegant. It was amazing to eat so much good food on the boat considering the limited facilities and space in which to prepare the meals.
This trip is not inexpensive but is the most memorial trip which you offer. The success of my photography from this trip is a result of the specific organization of this trip but also from the invaluable photographic expertise that I have gotten from your trips in this past. I have and do recommend your trips to other photographers as a fun way to spend time and improve their photography. You have helped me become a better photographer and I am happy to call you “friend”. Best wishes to you and your wife, Julie.
Dennis Stone
I had one of the most incredible times of my life
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