Alaska

[Coho]

I have an opportunity to go to the Kenai area in mid Sept. for a landscape photo

seminar. Prior to the start of the seminar on the 12th, I have 3 days on my own.

I will have a car. I am aware the weather is transitional at this time of year

and expect some fog and rain. I am looking for good suggestions for places to

go to shoot wildlife. Bears are nice but require a shared floatplane and $550

for the day which I would consider if I knew I had a reasonable opportunity to

get some good shots. (I have a 500 f4 plus telextender plus DSLR plus tripod

with wimberly). My guess is that having good weather and finding the bears and

having one day requires a lot of luck, especially in mid-September. Plus, bears

are rather aggressive then, I would think. But I would also be fond of

photographing other marine life including otters, birds, etc. Even a moose

could be nice. Denali is a 6 hour train ride each way from Anchorage. Worth

it? Anyhow, suggestions and comments are really appreciated from people who

have been there. Thanks.

[loren_cain]

I was in the Kenai area the first week in September (2005). I saw half a dozen black bears on the hike up to the Harding Icefield, in Kenai Fjords national park. Some were quite, almost uncomfortably, close. There were also plentiful marmots in the area. I didn't see any moose at all, but I did see some hunters about so that could explain that.

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There are some pictures from the trip here:

<a href='http://www.lorencain.com'>www.lorencain.com</a>

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If I were you, given your time constraints, I'd go to Seward, hike around the icefield and glacier (if able), and take one of the all-day fjord cruises. You would be almost certain to see whales, sea lions, otters, eagles, glacier calving, etc.

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Also, keep your eyes open for salmon in the streams. I didn't notice them at first, until I put on my polarized sunglasses (at the suggestion of some guy standing by a stream bank, which struck me as weird since it was raining at the time) and saw that the water was full of red fish.

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For what it's worth, I was there for eight days, and it rained most or all of seven of those days. Luckily, the one sunny day was the same one I had booked the cruise for..

[lalit]

If you take morning 5:15 trip to Wonder lake in Denali NP, it can bring a very good chance to see wildlife. You may have to book shuttle in advance by calling NP visitor center. We went in August first week. We saw grizzlies 15 ft from our shuttle bus and 2 more on the hills., caribous, moose. Early morning is the best time to see that wildlife in Denali.

 

In south, Portege glacier will be worth and easy to shoot. Drive to Seward from Alaska is one of my favorite. Seward's Exit glacier is great to hike to.

 

Regards,

+Lalit

[stephen_cysewski]

The trip to Kenai Fjords out of Seward is great. Denali can also be wonderful, you could reserve a bus trip now through the web. Denali is a three day trip, the train, a day to go into the park by park bus and then the train trip back. The float plane to Brooks falls or Katmai would be excellent, you would see wild life. If you want to be sure of seeing wild life the float plane trip is the way to go. If you could get a chance for scenery that drive up the glen highway to Matanuska Glacier is also wonderful, especially in September.

[Coho]

Thanks to all for their responses. I've managed to book a full day sea kayak trip into one of the remote fjords in Kenai Fjords National Park. If I get reasonable weather, I'll be a happy guy...