Summary
You are invited to join the Summit Series of Photography
Workshops on a new adventure - photographing brown bears
in Katmai National Park, Alaska!
You will join two of our most experienced wildlife photographers
and beloved faculty - Tom Mangelsen and Bob Smith - as
we venture to
Katmai Wilderness Lodge for eight days on the wild coast
of Katmai National Park! This workshop is designed to take
advantage of the best season for photographing coastal brown
bears as they fish for salmon along the many streams along
the coast. Brown bears use the salmon runs to prepare for
the long winter ahead in hibernation. The interactions ensure
lots of activity, from bears chasing fish in the streams
to feeding on sedgegrass and berries.
 An
alaskan brown bear silhouetted against a Katmai dusk. ©Thomas D. Mangelsen
The small group environment, combined with two of the Summit's
most popular faculty and an additional Summit staff member,
assure a wonderfully close knit experience. Destination:
Alaska! represents an exclusive opportunity for
eight days in the wilds of Katmai National Park
with plentiful time for field photography, constructive creative
feedback, the latest in digital instruction, all combined
wth ample unique social times with
our extremely experienced faculty. |
Program full for 2013!
Please call 800-745-3211 to register
Location
Katmai Wilderness
Lodge, Kukak Bay, Katmai National Park, Alaska
Date
August 28 -
September 4, 2013
When booking your travel, plan on arriving
in Kodiak August 27, the day prior to departure to Katmai Wilderness
Lodge and returning to points home the afternoon-evening of return
from KWL, September 4.
Tuition
$7395
including all instruction and all lodging/meals while at the Katmai Wilderness, plus transportation by float plane from and return to Kodiak, AK.
(attendees are responsible for their own travel to Kodiak, see details below)
Faculty
Tom Mangelsen
Bob Smith
As always, even though posted, last minute cancellations
and substitutions can and do occur.
Workshop Information and Packets
Coming
Soon
PDF
Coming Soon
PDF
Other Helpful Links
Summit
Workshops Brochure with additional general workshop
information. PDF
The Katmai Wilderness Lodge:
www.katmai-wilderness.com
Katmai National Park:
www.nps.gov/katm
Kodiak area accomodations: |
| Details
Katmai National Park is home to 2,000 brown bears and the
scenic Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. Katmai National Park
and Preserve is famous for volcanoes, brown bears, fish,
rugged wilderness, and North America's highest concentration
of prehistoric human dwellings (about 900). Katmai National
Monument was created to preserve the famed Valley of Ten
Thousand Smokes, a spectacular forty square mile, 100 to
700 foot deep, pyroclastic ash flow deposited by Novarupta
Volcano.
You will travel in the lodges' boat with Coast Guard
licensed captains to move from location to location each
day. Along the way, we will also look for a variety of birds,
mammals, and sea life to fill your viewfinder. In addition
to the field excursions, Katmai Wilderness Lodge will host
our classroom sessions for image critiques and camera instruction
from Tom and Bob.
 Three
alaskan brown bear cubs express their natural curiosity. ©Bob
Smith
We will be in an isolated national park available only by floatplane.
There is no town, no stores and no shopping. If you need
special medication or food supplements you will need to bring them. If you
are dependent on eyeglasses bring a spare pair. We will go
out shooting several times a day, usually at low tide which is the best time for bears, though we'll stay flexible with the weather. In between
and in the evening we will spend time looking at your images,
helping with editing and pointing out ways to improve them.
PHOTO GEAR
Most of the subjects are not very far away and we will get fairly close to
the bears. It’s unlikely you will need more than a 400mm lens and those
occasions, if any, will probably be few. The most useful lens would be a zoom
that runs up to about 400mm. Keep in mind that it is not recommended to use
tele-extenders with lenses that are variable aperture (i.e. f3.5-5.6). The
scenery is magnificent so bring a wide-angle lens as well. If one is available,
it’s always a good idea to have a second body when you travel into the
wild.
 A whale breaches in Alaskan waters. ©Bob
Smith
If you don’t have the gear you can rent it. Borrowlens.com specializes
in online rental house of photo equipment. A good tripod or monopod is important.
Bring extra memory cards for your digital camera as well as at least 1 spare
battery for each body. You should bring your laptop and make sure you have
plenty of extra hard space PLUS an additional external hard drive for backing
up your images at the lodge!
You should also bring along a lightweight rain
cover for your camera gear. Aquatech, Vested Interest and Lightware all make
a variety of lightweight, inexpensive rain hoods that fit a multiple of camera/lens
combinations. If you are buying a new camera bag look for one that is water-resistant
or has a built in rain cover. This means you will
have to keep the gear you are using at that time with you so a good camera
or photo backpack is important.
CLOTHING & WEATHER
This is Alaska it will rain and the weather can be highly variable. Daytime
temperatures will be most likely be in the 60-70s and evening dropping to 40-50s. Bring good
lightweight waterproof rain gear, pants, jackets and hat. Temperatures can
fluctuate a lot depending on if the sun comes out so it’s best to dress
in layers. You will not need big bulky winter coats. A waterproof lightweight
over the ankle boot is best for travel and around the lodge, when out on tour,
knee
high boots
and hip
waders are available at the lodge. Expect to battle with some mosquitoes and
especially gnats. It is recommended to wear long sleeve, long pants and a hat
all the time. It is also a good idea to bring along and have handy a mosquito
net head covering. A good bug repellant is also a must!
Photographers in the field with Alaskan bears. ©Bob Smith
|
Host
Site The
Katmai Wilderness Lodge located on Kukak Bay within
the Katmai National Park. KWL offers a modern log cabin
style lodge complete with private bathrooms, hot showers,
and gourmet meals. Included in the trip is the flight
from Kodiak Island to Katmai (see below), lodging, meals, guide services
and photography instruction. The lodge features five one-room guest cabins, each sleeping two, so you will be sharing a cabin with another attendee. If you have a friend or family member joining you on the trip, please let us know at the time of registration so we may room you together. |
| Travel
Included Transportion
by float plane from Kodiak to the Katmai Wilderness Lodge
(included in your program cost) is as follows:
August 28th - Depart Kodiak via Andrew Airways (907) 487-2566
at 12:30 p.m., arrive KWL 1:30 p.m. A one hour check in is
required prior to departure.
September 4th - Depart KWL 1:30 p.m., arrive Kodiak 2:30
p.m.
Andrew Airways will have their courtesy van available on
both dates, reservations for these flights are made by Katmai
Wilderness Lodge. Should travel delays cause you to miss this arranged flight to KWL, the lodge will make every attempt to get you to the lodge as soon as possible, but you will be responsible for the costs of the replacement flights, which is why we recommend both arriving the evening before, and obtaining trip insurance (see below).
Travel to Kodiak
Attendees
are responsible for travel to and from the program departure
point in Kodiak, Alaska (ADQ).
Travel to Kodiak, via either Alaska Airlines www.alaskaair.com,
or via ERA
Alaska, passes through Anchorage, AK. Our group will
be met in Kodiak by either a KWL staff member, or by a staff
member with the float plane charter companies they use, then
taken to the float plane base at Kodiak for our trip to
Kukak Bay on the Katmai coast.
Depending on your plans surrounding the trip, the State
of Alaska has a ferry system which runs from Homer, Alaska
to Kodiak. Summer schedule has the ferry arriving Kodiak
every two days. 1-800-642-0066, www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs
We recommend arriving in Kodiak a day before lodge departure
to avoid any tight schedules or possible airline delays.
Kodiak
Inn (Best Western) is a nice hotel located in downtown
Kodiak, walking distance to all the museums, boat harbor,
restuarants and shops. 1-888-Kodiak-4, (907) 486-5712 and
www.kodiakinn.com Guests of Katmai Wilderness Lodge receive
a tour rate.
For the return home on September 4th, we suggest flightsof
4:50pm or 8pm for the departing flight from Kodiak to Anchorage
if one plans on departing Kodiak the same day as lodge return.
Workshop registrants need to plan for travel to Kodiak Alaska
in time for the midday departure to the Lodge on August 28th
(we recommend arriving the day before) and return from Kodiak
after dropoff on September 4th.
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Tuition
$7395.00 includes all instruction, transportation
from Kodiak and return to Kodiak, all lodging and
meals at
the Katmai Wilderness Lodge, use of any loaner equipment
and all onsite transportation while at the Katmai Wilderness
Lodge.
This small group destination program has a special registration
process and unique cancellation policies. You may register
for the program with a non-refundable $2250 deposit to confirm
one of the nine spots on the trip, by calling our offices
and speaking with Brett Wilhelm. Remainder of the program fee is
due two months in advance of the program, June 27, 2013. We will invoice you prior to that date.
Given the more restrictive nature of this programs cancellation
policy, we highly recommend trip insurance!
TRAVEL INSURANCE
A full sampling of Travel Insurance providers can by found at Square Mouth, a site that allows you to compare offerings from a variety of providers. Again, we highly recommend obtaining some sort of trip/cancellation insurance for the program as, with the small group exclusivity, our cancellation policy is more restrictive.
You must purchase your travel insurance within 30 days of
payment of your deposit.... cost varies by age, but we expect
it to be about $300 per person for the basic coverage. They
do offer cancellation for any reason as well as emergency
medical evacuation.
Please don't hesitate to
call or email with any additional questions.
Phone: 1-800-745-3211 Local/International: 1-303-295-7770 Email: info@richclarkson.com
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