These Reservations Made Three Years Ago. Bearly

Images and card copyright Arthur Morris/BEARS AS ART 🙂

The Really Big News

We have been in contact with an overseas operator who wishes to fill all sixteen slots for the two bear boat cub IPTs below right now!. But both co-leader Denise Ippolito and I wish to give our regular clients first crack at these two great trips; we are presently negotiating as to a cut-off date. As below, we have had these reservations for nearly three years; they are the prime dates for chances at photographing small spring Coastal Brown Bear cubs (coastal grizzlies). Please let us know if you be sending your deposit or e-mail if you have any questions. I will be e-mailing those who have previously expressed interest in these two trips.

2017 Bear Boat Coastal Brown Bear Cubs IPTs: July 12-18 and July 18-24, 2017 from Kodiak, AK/each IPT is 5 FULL & 2 Half DAYS: $6699. Happy campers only! Maximum 8 plus the two great leaders: Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris.

Double your opportunities and maximize your travel dollars by signing up for both trips and we will be glad to apply a $500 discount to your balance.

Join us in spectacular Katmai National Park, AK for six (or twelve!) days of photographing Coastal Brown Bears. Mid-July is prime time for making images of small, football-sized cubs. The cubs, and these dates, are so popular that we had to reserve them three years in advance to secure them. There are lots of bears each year in June, but the mothers only rarely risk bringing their tiny cubs out in the open for fear of predation by rival bears. In addition to making portraits of both adults and cubs, we hope to photograph frolicking and squabbling youngsters and tender nursing scenes. At this time of year the bears are either grazing in luxuriant grass or clamming. There will also be some two- and three-year old cubs to add to the fun. And we will get to photograph it all.

We live on our tour operator’s luxurious new boat. At 78 feet long its 24 foot beam makes it quite spacious as well. And the food is great. We will likely spend most of our time at famed Geographic Harbor as that is where the bears are generally concentrated in summer. On the odd chance that we do need to relocate to another location we can do so quickly and easily without having to venture into any potentially rough seas. We land via a 25 foot skiff that has lots of room for as much gear as you can carry.

Aside from the bears we will get to photograph Horned and Tufted Puffin and should get nice stuff on Mew Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Black-legged Kittiwake, Harbor Seal, and Steller’s Sea Lion as well. A variety of tundra-nesting shorebirds including Western Sandpiper and both yellowlegs are also possible. Halibut fishing (license required/not included) is optional.

For folks on the first trip, July 12-18, 2017, it is mandatory that they be in Kodiak no later than the late afternoon of July 11 to avoid missing the float planes to our boat on the morning of July 12. With air travel in Alaska being what it is–with the chance of fog or other bad weather–being on Kodiak on July 10 is a much better plan. That said in my dozen bear boat trips I was delayed only once and that was for only part of a day, but since I was a day early there was no harm, no foul.

For folks on the second trip–July 18, 24, 2017–it is mandatory that they be in Kodiak no later than the late afternoon of July 17 to avoid missing the float planes to our boat on the morning of July 18. Again, with air travel in Alaska subject to possible delays, being on Kodiak on July 16 is a much better plan.

On both trips we should get to photograph bears on our first afternoon and then again every day for the next five days after that, all weather permitting of course. On our last mornings on the boat, July 18 and July 24 respectively, those who would like to enjoy one last photo session will have the opportunity to do so. The group will return to Kodiak via float plane from late morning through midday. Most folks will then fly to Anchorage and to continue on red-eye flights to their home cities.

What’s included? 7 DAYS/6 NIGHTS on the boat as above. All meals on the boat. National Park and guide fees. In-the-field photo tips, instruction, and guidance. An insight into the mind of two top professionals; we will constantly let you know what we are thinking, what we are doing, and why we are doing it. Small group image review, image sharing, and informal Photoshop instruction on the boat.

What’s not included: Your round trip airfare to and from Kodiak, AK (almost surely through Anchorage). Your lodging and meals on Kodiak. The cost of the round-trip float plane to the boat and then back to Kodiak as above. The cost of a round trip last year was $550. The suggested crew tip of $200.

Have you ever walked with the bears?

Is this an expensive trip? Yes, of course. But with 5 full and two half days, a wealth of great subjects, and the fact that you will be walking with the bears just yards away (or less….), it will be one of the great natural history experiences of your life. Most folks who take part in a Bear Boat IPT wind up coming back for more.

A $2,000 per person non-refundable deposit by check only made out to “BIRDS AS ART” is required to hold your spot. Please click here to read our cancellation policies. Then please print, read, and sign the necessary paperwork here and send it to us by mail to PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855.

Your deposit is due when you sign up. That leaves a balance of $4699. The next payment of $2699 will be due on September 15, 2016. The final payment of $2000 is due on February 15, 2017. We hope that you can join us for what will be a wondrously exciting trip.