The Brown Bears of Katmai

I recently returned from a short but exhilarating trip to Katmai National Park in Alaska. I participated in a photo tour through Joseph Van Os Photo Safaris. I met wonderful people, made good memories, and was introduced to incredible photo opportunities. This may have been my first tour with Van Os, but I can say with certainty it won't be my last!!!

Our first afternoon of shooting (Monday, July 7) was excellent. Salmon jumped continuously.

This bruin was ready for a fight.

We had to take "bear orientation" to learn a bit about their behaviors. We learned there's a lot of posturing, like this, but few actual fights. Most of the bears have what appear to be very fresh wounds though.

This is one of those iconic shots everyone hopes to get. I got lucky. So did the bear. Not so much for the salmon though.

And...it's a clean catch!

Look at the wounds on this guy's neck.