Wild Departures Wildlife Photo Tours

We know where the wild things are, and we'll take you there.

We know where the wild things are, and we’ll take you there.

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    • 2023 Alaska Fishing Bears and Puffins 8/16-8/23
    • 2023 Katmai Brooks Falls Photo Tour 8/22-8/27
    • 2023 Kodiak Bears, Whales, Northern Lights Tour 9/1-9/5
    • 2023/2024 Antarctica and South Georgia Penguin Safari
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The Story Behind the Photo

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes an image requires a bit of explanation. Because I run Wild Departures, a wildlife-viewing company, I have had the opportunity to return to certain places over and over again, allowing me to see changes in the environment and within generations of animals. Every photo I take has a story behind it, but some are more interesting or noteworthy than others. If any of the below images look familiar to you, it’s because they may have been published in earlier issues of Alaska magazine. They are repeated because their story didn’t end with the image you saw or reveal the whole story. In this photo essay, I take you behind the scenes to expose the bigger picture. LINK TO THIS STORY.

Polar bear nursing cubs in Alaska

2018 Favorite Wildlife Images

As 2018 came to a close, I scanned my images from traveling with groups with Wild Departures this year in order to select some of my favorites from Alaska, Kenya, Tanzania, Wyoming, and Colorado. It’s been an incredible year and I’ve been blessed to share it with so many other adventurous souls from around the globe–people I now call my friends! Without further ado, I’ll show you which images I fell in love with this year and tell you why. Feel free to share.

 

 

I had to wait for the perfect moment to shoot this lion drinking from a watering hole in Kenya’s Masai Mara. Reflections only happen when the water is completely still, and I kept watching until he lifted his head high enough for his eyes to be visible in the adjacent, quiet puddle of water below him.
Incoming! This puffin watches as another flies toward him in Lake Clark National Park, Alaska. I used the incoming puffins webbed feet to frame the shot and kept my focus and depth of field on the stationary puffin to maximize the impact.
A coastal grizzly catches a fish from atop Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park, Alaska. This was my third trip to Brooks Falls to try to capture this iconic image, made famous by Tom Mengelson in the 1980s. Bears use all types of fishing techniques and thankfully, a few still wait at the top of the waterfall to snag spawning salmon as they try to leap up to the next portion of the river. The conditions have to be right: leaping salmon and bears who are successful at catching them in mid-flight. This image graced the cover of Alaska’s November issue.
Polar bear cubs play in the ice and snow
Polar bear cubs play in the ice and snow in Kaktovik, Alaska in the waters of ANWR. This was my fourth trip north to try to capture polar bears on ice and snow. Global warming has made these types of images tougher to get!

Finally, Polar Bears in Snow!

polar bear photography trip

After 3 trips to Kaktovik and 2 to Churchill, Manitoba I’m happy to report that I finally got images of polar bears in snow and on ice on this polar bear photography trip. You’d think this would be easier, but climate change is a real thing. I’ve been looking to bring guests to Kaktovik, an island along the shores of the Beaufort Sea for some time now, but the logistics are always challenging. Still, like many things in life, some of the best don’t come easily. And I think our guests will understand that, which is why I’m looking at this addition to our portfolio in 2019. Stay tuned for that. Right now, we offer the 24/7 polar bear immersion trip to Churchill, Manitoba, which offers great aurora viewing at night too. As well as our grizzly bear trips, which are world renowned!

I left Fairbanks after attending the ATIA show and got weathered in, missing the afternoon boat tour in Kaktovik, but enjoying several mochas and a surprisingly lovely new concoction called the Cordusio at the Fairbanks airpot Starbucks. Seeing polar bears is all about timing, catching them when they are still milling as the snow and ice start to come in. This is because polar bears are waiting for the ice to form so they can go hunt seals. Once the ice is thick, they go hunt. Also, once the ice forms, the ice breaking skiffs used for tours can’t navigate through more than 4 inches, so they’re grounded for the season once it gets truly underway. After four trips north, I’ve accumulated lots of fall polar bear shots, a couple with a few flurries, but none in snow or ice. This year, I pushed my trip a little later, and SUCCESS. Bears on ice! Playing, sparring, nursing…heck, even a full-on fogbow (think rainbow except created by fog) arching over the whole scene. High fives for perseverance and patience. Look for this addition in 2019.

Polar bear cubs play in the ice and snow
Polar bear cubs play in the ice and snow

 

Kay
"Alaska has been a bucket list item for me and this trip didn't disappoint. My photography skills improved 1000% with Michelle's tips!

- Kay, Austin

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