Alaskan Brown Bear
Photo Adventure
Highlights
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Hands-on photography instruction from two award-winning, professional nature photographers: Alyce Bender, a Tamron Ambassador, and Jennifer Leigh Warner, a Nikon Professional
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Photograph Alaskan Brown Bears in four distinctly different habitats. This is a great way to walk away with a variety of different brown bear images.
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Enjoy personalized field instruction with small instructor-to-participant ratio ( 1:3! )
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Visit one of the nation’s largest National Parks with some of the highest concentration of brown bears in North America.
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Explore the Alaskan wilderness via both float plane and boat.
Dates
August 8-14, 2027
7 Day/6 Nights
Cost
2026: $9850
Non-refundable Deposit: 50%
Single Supplement: $800
Physical Requirements
Medium
- Walking up to 2 miles at easy pace with gear
- Be able to bend and climb in and out of float planes
- Be comfortable on a small boat for several hours at a time
Max Group Size
Maximum 6 participants for a 1:3 ratio with instructors.
Alaska is the best place in the world to photograph brown bears and in the summer months these bears are gorging themselves on brightly colored red salmon. While visiting five distinctly different bear fishing habitats, this photography tour is the perfect brown bear portfolio builder. Your guides, Alyce Bender and Jennifer Leigh Warner have spent a considerable amount of time photographing in Alaska and have created the ideal itinerary to get the most out of your Alaskan Brown Bear Photographic Adventure.
Itinerary
Day 1 - Arrive in Anchorage and check into the hotel.
We will meet this evening for dinner and a meet and greet. Here we will also discuss the coming week, photography strategies, logistics, and expectations.
Day 2 - Our first full day in Alaska will have us transitioning down onto the Kenai Peninsula with the potential of wildlife photo opportunities along the way. That afternoon we board our first float plane into Lake Clark National Park where concentrations of bears are thick and the views are stunning. We will be photographing from a Jon boat which allows us to get eye level with the swimming bears without having to get in the water with them ourselves.
Day 3 - This morning we hop back to the lake for another float plane flight over to Lake Clark National Park but to a different location than the day before. Different bears with different backgrounds and different foraging behaviors happen here. Again Jon boats will be our floating "blinds" for the duration of our time on location before we return to Soldotna mid-afternoon.
Day 4 - On this day we switch it up a bit and go further afield to the small harbor town of Homer before catching a bush plane to the costal beaches along Chinitna Bay. Here we will be able to see bears from the air before landing along sandy beaches to photograph them on mud flats and grazing in the sedge grasses. We will have several hours on that side of the bay before returning to the Kenai.
Day 5 - We will take an early morning float plane returning to the first location in Lake Clark National Park we visited, however this time we will be there in the morning. This is one of the premier bear viewing fly-in experiences located in the wilderness of Alaska so we think it is worth the visit twice at different times of the day. Here you will see bears fishing for salmon in the shallow waters, where you will see how each bear uses their own personal fishing tactics, including rushing, snorkeling and diving for fish.
Day 6 - On our last full tour day we remain flexible in the off chance one of the activities has to be postponed due to weather, a potential at all times in Alaska. However, it is still not a down day. We will explore areas of the Kenai Peninsula that are known to also have both brown and black bears, as well as other Alaskan wildlife, further diversifying your Alaskan bear portfolio.
Day 7 - Return Home.
Depending upon flight departure times, we may choose to spend the morning photographing along the Kenai Peninsula again. From here, we will say our farewells and depart our separate ways upon returning to Anchorage for late afternoon/evening flights home.
*If weather delays any of the activity flights beyond what our schedule can reasonably accommodate rescheduling, refunds will be issued to participants for the seat fee on those missed flights.*
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Inclusions
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Ground Transportation in AK during Tour
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Float Plane and Boat Transportation
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In-field Photography Instruction w/2 Pro Instructors
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6 Nights Lodging
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Pre-tour Zoom Meeting
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All Entrance Fees & Permits
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Exclusions
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Transportation to/from your home to Anchorage, AK
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Meals, Snacks, and Beverages
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Any pre- or post-tour AK lodging or transportation
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Personal Purchases
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Guide & Instructor Gratuities
Meet Your Instructors
Tamron Ambassador
Alyce Bender
Tamron Ambassador Alyce Bender uses photography to connect people to wildlife and environments across the world focusing on ethical photography practices. Bender leads tours, writes, and is a speaker/instructor promoting conservation, protection, and ethical photography of the natural world while helping students tell the story from their perspective. Her work has been recognized nationally and internationally throughout the years.
Nikon Pro
Jennifer Leigh Warner
Jennifer Leigh Warner is a fine art conservation wildlife photographer, writer, public speaker and workshop leader, living in Central Texas and specializes in creating meaningful images that convey a message of hope for the natural world. Jennifer is a Nikon Professional, a certified Texas Master Naturalist, serves on the Board of Directors for the North American Nature Photography Association and has been serving as the Chair of the Ethics Committee since 2018.
