I just got back from an amazing 5 days in Katmai with Scott Stone and Sergius Hannan. There were many special moments on the trip and I think this one captures the magic of the place the best.
We saw quite a bit of this sow and her coy. On our last morning, she put on a workshop for us. Lighting from all sides. Silhouettes. Action. Landscapes. We got it all, but one thing we were missing was a front-lit shot of a bear in front of the glacier. As she started walking towards the glacier, we had to decide: we could go for the glacier shot, but we’d probably just get butt shots. Or, take a slow loop around and go back to shooting backlit. We conferred and decided to go for a shot with the glacier. Chances were we wouldn’t get anything, but if they turned for just a moment we would get a shot that had eluded us all week.
When they reached the beach, she stopped to start digging, and we knew we were in for a treat. After making a pit that passed her coy’s careful inspection, she laid down and the coy started to nurse. It was an amazing scene, and a real testament to comfort bears have developed with humans in this place. We repaid her trust by staying a respectful distance away and savored one final wild moment in Katmai.
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