Coastal Brown Bears of Katmai, Alaska (Click on Photo for Larger View)

I've finally gotten a chance to sit down and sort through way too many photographs of one of the most exciting and wonderful weeks of my life - photographing the brown bears of Katmai National Park in Southwestern, Alaska.  I flew to Kodiak, Alaska on Saturday, August 31 and joined famed photographers Art Morris and Denise Ippolito and five other crazy people just like me who cannot get enough of photographing wildlife.  We were held over in Kodiak for two days because of the weather, but finally the skies opened a little and we got out via float plane and took a wild, bumpy ride to our two small boats anchored in the beautiful Geographic Harbor in Katmai.  The two boats - Coastal Explorer I and II captained by Chuck Keim and his wife Olga would become our home away from home for the next five days. We had the chance to observe and photograph many bears for many hours each day, twice a day.  I also caught my first halibut.  Life could not be better.  Here are way too many pictures:

Our Float Plane to Katmai

Half of us getting weighed for the
floatplane flight.  From left - Lou Newman, Anders Bjorling, Adit Merkine, Art Morris, Denise Ippolito

Beauty by the Stream

Cub Grabs Fish from Mom

Caught                                                     ........... 

Resting on Mom

"I beg you!" 

Artie and His Friend the Common Murre (Long Story)

"Could you help me up please?"

Juvenile Glaucous Winged Gull

Bear and Salmon                                                      .

Kitty and Bear (Photo by Lou Newman)

Captain Chuck Keim

"Let Me Tell You a Secret"

Cub by the Stream

Bear Checking Out Harold (Click to see the look in his eye.)

Missed the Fish

Kitty and Halibut (Photo by Lou Newman)

"Is it something I said?"

Dave Neilson

Harold Klein

Tom and Lou and a bear

Adit Photographing the Sunrise

Bear Hop

See Salmon in lower Right

Bear Shake

Gull and Salmon

Bears Sharing Secrets

Cub in Nest

Denise and Artie