Tips for Bear Photography Archives - Tom Bol Photo Workshops

Tom and I celebrate great photos from photographers on our workshops by selecting a Photo of the Month. For August we chose an image from our Alaska Black Bears Workshop. The image was taken by Tim Crull in the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. Tim is a wildlife photographer from Indiana. He travels to Alaska frequently for bear photography.

Congratulations to August 2026 ‘s featured photographer – Tim Crull

The Story…

I was in the lower level blinds and had just come back up. First I had to get a good place on the rail. The bear was walking up the log. He stoped and turned to look at us. As soon as I took the shot, I knew it was the one.

There were three cubs together. He was the last one in the group. The trick is getting eye contact with the cubs. They are usually running around doing little bear things like getting in trouble, playing or fighting with siblings.

The cub activity was very good. There was a mother with triplets and another mother with twins. The cubs were the highlight of the trip for me.

August 2026 Photo of the Month

EXIF Data:

Camera: Canon EOS R5m2

Lens: Canon 100-500mm at 400 mm

Aperture: f8

Shutter: 1/1000th second

ISO: 400

Manual Mode, auto ISO

Exposure Comp: 0

About Photographing near Wrangell, Alaska

Overall the variety and quality of the photo opportunities is what impressed me the most.

There was a tremendous amount of black bears all in one space. Black Bears are usually solitary, so this was great for photographing them.

The whales were better than expected. It was great to see the bubble net feeding so many times in one day. I had only ever seen this one other time. The hard part is figuring out where the whales will pop out of the water. The cool thing this time was that we had a hydrophone to hear the whales communicating with each other. When the noise got louder we knew they were ready to surface.

The glacier had a lot of big ice breaking off. One humongous piece broke off and created a big wave. The seals on the iceburgs were closer than I thought we would get.

Tim’s Tips for Photographing Black Bears

1) Try to get eye contact with the bears. This was harder in the lower blinds with bears so close to us. I tried to find locations where I could shoot them farther away and get eye contact.

2) Get more than just a static picture. Try to capture their personalities or get them doing something like walking or fishing.

3) We had various conditions from sunny to cloudy. Constantly watch your exposure and adjust for different conditions.

4) I was surprised that I was underexposing a lot to keep the highlights on the water down.

On Tim’s Horizon:

Yellowstone

Chilkat for Eagles

Florida Everglades

Yosemite in Fall

Denali National Park

Upcoming Events: Summer Image Celebration – Sept 3 at 6 pm on Zoom. Send in three images and see what everyone else has been doing. Send note for link.

Workshop Openings:

Just 1 Space Left: Patagonia Photo Tour November 29-December 10, 2026

Space Available Northern Lights in Alaska February 23-28, 2027. Our most fun Northern Lights Workshop!

Thanks for reading our trip reports!

Tom and Cree

www.tombolphotoworkshops.com

Tom and I celebrate great photos from photographers on our workshops by selecting a Photo of the Month. For June we chose an image from our Bears of Lake Clark. The image was taken by Tom McDonald in Lake Clark National Park in Alaska. Tom is a wildlife photographer from the great state of Wisconsin. You can view his other work here.

Congratulations to June 2026 ‘s featured photographer – Tom McDonald

Tom McDonald – our June 2026 Photographer of the Month

The Story…

This was a bear that passed within 10 feet of me. Rob was behind me. Being with bears previously, I knew that these bears were very conditioned to humans. Rob kept saying “You’re okay, you’re okay.” I was not frightened at all and just kept on shooting.

My last shot is of the bears legs. They were so close they were going out of focus. The minimum focus distance on the lens is 8 ft. I was close. It was somewhere between 10 and 5 feet. When it started happening I did not get the blond bear that went by first. They were both female bears. I captured focus on the second, darker bear. I could see drool coming out of her mouth. It looked like she was shaking. It was pretty amazing.

I think she was fully aware that we were there. I think the blond bear was using us as a tree blind. She used us so that the chasing bear could not cut her off.

I knew it happened that people got so close there. But having it happen to me!

EXIF Data:

Camera: Nikon Z9

Lens: Nikon 400mm 2.8

Aperture: f5.6

Shutter: 1/4000th second

ISO: 450

Manual Mode, auto ISO

Exposure Comp: -.7

About Photographing in Lake Clark National Park

I had thought about going to Brooks Camp. I don’t think you would ever have that kind of experience that we had at Lake Clark. It was the best bear shooting that I have ever seen. I’ve shot bears in Wisconsin, the Tetons, Yellowstone, Canada, and Glacier. It is just not comparable. Lake Clark is magical.

The hosts and guides at Silver Salmon Creek Lodge were terrific. I have had guides all over the world. Our guides were thinking like a photographer. They got us in position for great photography. It was just amazing.

I couldn’t believe it, There were so many good opportunities there. I was looking for one good image each day and there were multiple.

I sent some of my images off to BayPhoto right away.

Tom’s Tips for Photographing Bears

1) Backgrounds. A clean background makes a big difference.

2) Keep shooting. There is so much action going on. You never know when the bears are going to turn around and look at you.

3) Try different angles. Move to the left or the right. Get low.

4) Try adjusting your settings for high key images out on the mud flats.

5) Shoot wide for environmental images. I liked the ones with Slope Mountain in it.

6) Try shooting some video too.

On Tom’s Horizon:

Pantanal in Brazil

Churchill for Polar Bears

Patagonia for Cougars

Australia

Bears of Lake Clark 2028

Zambia

Workshop Openings:

Just 1 Space Left: Patagonia Photo Tour November 29-December 10, 2026

Space Available Northern Lights in Alaska February 23-28, 2027. Our easiest Northern Lights Workshop!