Bears and Birds Revisited

Last summer I had a wonderful opportunity to visit Lake Clark National Park, Alaska with Jared Lloyd and Annalise Kaylor of Photo Wild.  It was my first introduction to bears and it was love at first sight.  Bears captured my imagination with their complexity and strength of personality.  No one adjective can sum up a coastal brown bear.  They are compelling, protective, fast, ambling, powerful, adorable and curious, to name a few.  I examined their many manifestations in the photo essay “Hanging with Bears”.

When there was a cancellation for the August 2024 trip, I took the spot immediately.  Hanging with bears is like any great experience, once is never enough.  

While weather in coastal Alaska is often cloudy and rainy, it poured heavily for days just before we flew from Anchorage to Silver Salmon Creek Lodge.  When our plane was swapped out for a float plane, we suspected we would be in for some challenges.  

Like last year the flight was great.  I was captivated by the abstract nature and remoteness of the coastal areas.  The scene below had me wondering.  How do you get to these houses and what do you do when you are there?  Equally important how can I get there?  

We landed in a beautiful lake.  Lily pads in Alaska? For real?  Ducks that walk on water?  

Our arrival at Silver Salmon Creek Lodge felt like coming home.  It was great to see everyone such as Dave our excellent guide, Joanne and David the owners and all the staff who make this a special place.  We asked about our favorite local bears, in particular Crimp and Old Sow.  Unfortunately, after hibernation, Crimp returned without her cubs.  Equally disturbing, Old Sow and her cubs had not been seen at all.  This news still makes me sad, but it is life.  Not all cubs make it to adulthood and old bears die just like old humans.  Cheers Old Sow.  

Our first excursion was eye opening.   The massive storm blew out the rivers, created 12’ cliffs and deposited an incredible amount of large debris in areas of the beach.  The high water in the rivers penned us into a far smaller roaming area plus the weather patterns remained unsettled our first couple days.  As the photography gods have taught us, however, bad weather and bizarre happenings can lead to unique opportunities.  

One such opportunity came with morning fog.  We found Crimp in cow bear mode but she paused eating long enough to meander beautifully into this scene.  Thank you for that Crimp.  My favorite subtle detail is the oval frame of green grass.  

We headed to the beach and this lovely emerged from the fog.  Zoom in on the bear’s eyes and check out the single hair in front of each.  I wonder if those are just errant eyebrow hairs or if there is a purpose.  If find an answer will pass it on.  

Later in the afternoon, we saw Crimp out on a sandbar.  

Unfortunately we had to walk through very strong current to get there.  As I gripped a heavy lens and camera, hoping the current would not win the contest with my legs, I gladly accepted a steadying hand.  We assumed our typical shooting position – flat out in the sand and water.  This softens the foreground, providing more focus on the bear.  Plus the stature this perspective delivers is ideal when shooting bears.  Beware, however, even chest waders can turn into cold water buckets if the water gets too high.  

We were delighted when Crimp turned our way.  I think she loves the camera.  

While we were shooting the above stills, Dave was shooting video.  I remember both him and Jared saying “keep shooting” when Crimp was close enough to almost fill the frame at 200mm.  For those who think we have lost our minds, consider this article which explains why we can be reasonably close to the bears in this area.  

Let’s talk about that collar.  Recently the Park Service collared Crimp ostensibly to study her movements and hibernation habits.  She has been a well-known fixture in this area for years.  Is it worth the potential trauma to her for humans to know where and when she eats and sleeps?  How does this help bears?  While I am willing to be convinced, it is hard to believe this is a good idea.  

After the storm the beach was a minefield of debris.  That afternoon we came upon a bear wandering among the dead trees.  She sat down, rolled a bit and then stood up.  She was facing away from us but then she looked back with a snap moment of acknowledgement.  

I was so excited I stopped paying attention to the technical aspects and cut off a sliver of her right foot. You might ask why I would descend into youtube and photoshop hell to figure out how to paste the bottom of the previous photo on to this one.  Aside from taking the opportunity to learn something new, I wanted to show the standing bear in the post storm debris.  The main reason, though, is to remember how I felt when she looked over her shoulder.  

This recalls a subject we discussed in depth. Why do we do this?  Having given this question a great deal of thought, the answer is simple. It makes me happy.  Sometimes intensely so.  As I tumbled down this rabbit hole, what kept coming to me is the joy of spending time in nature and meeting new friends.  It is connection to the natural world.  It is the childlike discovery of wondrous things and playing in the mud.  It can be as simple as a flick of a bear’s head, a baby alligator who magically appears at my feet or stunning white pelicans marching in unison. One of my goals is to communicate these feelings in my work.  Yes, that is a lofty goal, but why not reach for the stars.

Later that afternoon we spied a bear headed to the sedge.  Jared ran ahead, surveyed the area and had us all gather in a marshy area.  Sure enough she wandered straight for us.  Why did Jared pick here?  Due to the moisture, it was the yummiest grass in the field and it was a good bet she would go there first.  This was an ideal demonstration that understanding animal behavior increases our opportunities.  I particularly like the water droplets falling from the bite of sedge in her mouth. 

The next day we came across an adorable scene.  This bear was laying in the grass with its cream tipped ears backlit by the sun.  Since Old Sow had similar colorings, it led folks to wonder if this was one of her children.  

Sometimes wildlife habitat alone can ignite our imagination.  This is a bear trail, worn three inches deep by generations of bear traffic.    

The next several photos help illustrate another discussion we had about wildlife photography.  Predator Porn.  We humans are drawn to scary threatening photos of predators.  It must resonate somewhere in our psyche right up there with disaster movies and wrecks.  Photographers have filled this demand consciously or subconsciously.  

What I had not considered is how this obsession with predator porn has warped people’s impression of these animals.  Yes bears are predators but they also are caring moms, foragers, fishing bears, clamming bears and are steeped in their own traditions.  The predator porn genre of click driven media might lead folks to believe sharing an environment with bears and other predators will only lead to mayhem. 

As I contemplated this further, the Ten Commandments came to mind.  They have been a guide from time immemorial to create positive interactions between humans.  Similarly, there are rules of engagement between humans and bears. These rules are different for coastal brown bears, interior grizzlies and black bears.  Just like the Ten Commandments, when we follow them, good things can happen.  When they are broken there is a high probability of a bad outcome for the animal, human or both.   

For example, this woman broke a serious rule.  Never knowingly fish next to a bear and hope you never do it by accident.  If she caught a fish, the bear would be all over that fish and possibly her.  If she were injured, would the bear be put down because it was deemed dangerous?  Has the preponderance of predator porn impacted the answer to that question?  

Most folks responded to the following photo with trepidation.  I see magnificence.  

Later we photographed this sow.  Take note of your initial reaction.   

I want to hug her.  As that breaks the rules of engagement, I would never do that, but the point is bears can be as tender as they are intense.  The photos above of Crimp in the fog and Old Sow with one of her cubs have a similar quality.  

Jared and Annalise posed the question – should wildlife photographers assume the responsibility to tell the whole story of bears and other creatures that inhabit our shared home?  My answer is yes.  It’s better for the animals and great for us.  

The next day brought rare calm seas and blue skies.  As such it was a perfect opportunity to visit Duck Island where puffins summer.  I enjoyed the steps necessary to get to the boat.  Drag a canoe to the water, paddle to the boat, gather us and then tow the canoe to the mooring ball.  

Puffins are funny looking.  Back in the day, “early sailors referred to them as “sea parrots” due to their triangularly shaped beak, stocky body, short wings, and reddish-orange feet.”  They are mesmerizing to watch and hard to photograph.  They’re fast.   

I was fixated on this puffin as it repeatedly cocked its head in a curious way.  

Then the puffin flew straight towards me.  Jared thought it was going to land on my head.  While I was not set up for a 50 mph bird in flight, I luckily caught this shot before he got up to speed.  I have had curious reactions to this shot.  What is yours?  

I appreciate the complimentary pops of color in this portrait.  

Around the corner, puffins were flying in and out of a shadowed area creating the opportunity for unique in camera low key shots.  

The first photo below is just puffin funny to me and will no doubt be the cover shot of a future blog while the second is an attempt at puffin pretty.  I was not able to get any shots with their mouths stuffed with fish.  Next time!  

Our final morning was spent with clamming bears.  Bears love clams and due to their amazing sense of smell, they know where to dig.  Lucky for us the photography gods dished up a low tide at sunrise.  My favorite. 

This could be called “gym photography”.  My elbows kept sinking into the sand and it was a full-on lats workout to stay propped up.    

While I considered cropping the first photo below so folks could see the mud flying more clearly, I liked the light frame too much to remove.  I cropped the next photo to tell that story.  Their long claws are designed for this work and the hump on their back is musculature to help them dig.  

The gulls are always in attendance in case the bears miss something.  

I can feel the bear smelling for clams in this photo.  

She knew this boat had been out fishing.

This bear adopted a short ambling stride for a bit.  Her head was turned away from us but she finally looked forward.  

When the sun became too hot we turned around.  Here Crimp shows us how it is done among soft blue layering.  I experimented with perspective for this shot.  This was taken from my knees which provided the clear reflection.  At sand level the reflection was too distorted by the divots.  

Sometimes serious digging is required. Note the mud pile behind her leg.  

After hanging with clamming bears, sadly it was time to load up and head to the plane.  

Thank you so much Annalise and Jared for a fabulous trip and learning experience.  You turned lemons into lemonade considering the weather challenges.  When we were grounded, we explored our craft in other important ways.  Those discussions are still rolling around my brain and will make us better photographers.  

Thanks to Dave for ensuring we had the best opportunities available.  I think Dave might actually be part bear.  He seems to smell them as well as they smell us.  

And finally thank you to everyone at Silver Salmon Creek Lodge, a down home, comfortable place with excellent food and camaraderie.  Until we meet again!

Dear Readers, please note many of the photos above have been hyperlinked to my website should you be interested in a print for your own wall. Also if you prefer reading on Substack, please feel free to visit my Substack page, My Two Cents by Sue Seboda. Hope you enjoyed the above!

Thanks,

Sue Seboda