Coastal Brown Bear Cub Beauty Shot

That moment when a bear cub walks right up to you, lies down, and starts munching on the Coastal grass is priceless! It often happens during my Ultimate Alaskan Bear trip! The grass is sweet and loaded with protein.

I still have a couple of spots for my June Mothers & Cubs trip, and we are looking for a solo female traveller to share a room with another female for my September fishing bear trip.

Brown bear mothers with twins and triplets

We watched as the otherwise calm mother with triplets high-tailed it off the meadow and up to the protection of the high rocky vantage point. Amazingly, another mother with twins (a year older) was already there. Was the boar (male bear) chasing them a cub killer? We don’t know, but these mothers sure thought there was a threat.

Cub killer?

There are three leading theories: The first is that a male bear's killing of a female's cub or cubs will force her back into heat, whereby she might be receptive to mating again. A nursing female with newly born and helpless spring cubs won't go into heat. Forcing a female back into heat may give that male bear more mating opportunities and increased opportunities to spread his genes.

The second possibility is that bears aren't omnivores, but they can be cannibals, too. Bears will do what it takes to fatten up for the long, cold winter hibernation. And sometimes, bears will kill and eat other bears. In some instances, cubs might be easy calories.

Last, killing a cub reduces a bear's future competition — for females, fish, and territory.

Coastal Brown Bears Playing

A couple of Coastal Brown Bear cubs put on quite a show for my group during my Mother and Cubs bear boat trip. Amazingly, I still have space for my Mothers & Cubs trip in June and my Fishing bears trip in September. Learn more about my Bears Galore workshop HERE.

Blad Eagle with fresh catch in the mountains

It seemed like the beautiful light would never end during my recently concluded Eagles Galore Workshops. We had endless light, flat water and perfect winds for most of both trips, so we got to use up all of our boat time and we even squeezed in some extra! Oh, and did I mention the Eagles were off the charts?

Bald Eagle and sun Silhouette

Here’s another silhouette from my recent Eagles Galore workshop in Alaska. After one of the most memorable afternoons with the Eagles (high winds from directly behind us during a four-hour outing), we were all desperately trying to keep our fingers warm as the temperature dropped; there were Eagles all over the beach begging for silhouettes - smile.

Bald Eagle with fish birdscape

We had spectacular light for both of my Eagles Galore workshops in Alaska. This was from a very windy day which meant that the eagles would grab a fish and fly directly into the heavy gusts, which propelled them skyward while quickly gaining altitude - often banking to reveal their fresh catch against the mountains while illuminated by the golden light.

Bald Eagle Fishing Silhouette

Creating pleasing silhouettes is much easier than you might think. Look back through this blog, and you will find that my exposure settings for silhouettes are almost always the same. I always point my camera to the brightest part of the sky and set the ISO to 400, aperture to f/5.6 and shutter speed to 1/5,000 of a second; this will always produce a sharp and noise-free image.

In post-capture processing, I slide the black point and shadow slider to ensure my subject is black. I usually slide the colour temperature to the right - remember this is a creative process and adjust to taste!

Bald Eagle pre sunrise pastels

We were out before the sun every day of both Eagles Galore workshops and saw some incredible pastel hues in the sky - smile.

Bald Eagle out of the shadows

A Bald Eagle banks out of the shadows, illuminated by the very last drops of golden light during my recently concluded Eagles Galore workshop in Alaska. We had some epic weather, flat water and amazing light with both groups using all of our allotment of boat time (with a little extra bonus). Join me in Alaska next March for an Epic Alaskan Eagle adventure workshop!

Eagles Galore Workshop every March

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Learn more and sign-up HERE

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Eagles Galore Workshop every March 🦅 Learn more and sign-up HERE 🦅

More Snowy Owl workshop kudos

Images copyright and courtesy Dave Christopher.

“I wanted to take a moment and let you know how much I appreciated your Snowy Owl workshop last week (Jan 23-27, 2023). You impressed me with your intimate knowledge of the owls. You knew where they would be, and what they were going to do before they did it. And you were right! I also appreciated your vast knowledge of photography and your willingness to share as needed. I enjoyed the conversation in the van, the humor and your attempt at singing (not the best but great effort!).

But first and foremost, I judge a photography workshop on the number of “wall hanger” photos I get. I can honestly say that I’ve never come home from a workshop with more keeper photos than this one. I’m attaching 3 photos from the week that I like a lot, but could easily attach another 15+ that I like equally as well. My home photo gallery will be greatly enhanced!

Thanks Chris, for a great week! I’ll definitely be doing more of your workshops in the future!”

— Dave Christopher USA (January 23-27, 2023 Owl Workshop)

Snowy Owl Workshop Testimonials

Snowy Owl images copyright and courtesy of Joe Norton

“I just returned home from a trip to Ontario, Canada with Christopher Dodds to look for and photograph Snowy Owls. The weather was cold and snowy, but not necessarily Snowy Owl cold, so I was worried that the Snowy Owls might be thin on the ground. Christopher Dodds deserves kudos and my thanks! He led our photo trek and put me (and the others in the party I joined) in position to see, watch, track and photograph Snowy Owls. I was able to capture wonderful images of Snowy Owls at rest, in flight, on the hunt, on the ground in the fields, in blowing snow! Outstanding photographic results for me, better than I anticipated. From the get go it was obvious that Christopher Dodds knows his Snowy Owls and wildlife photography. He is an excellent photography trek leader, knowledgeable, personable, professional and helpful to me and the others in our group at every turn. I am impressed with Christopher as a photography trek leader, particularly as his focus was on his clients at all times, and the well being of the Owls. He ensured that we did everything possible to not stress or disturb the Owls in their habitat. Of particular note Christopher is not a photography trek leader who spends his time with his own camera, taking his own photographs. He spent all his time with us locating Owls, coaching us, helping us with our equipment and camera settings, and letting us know what to expect and when to expect an Owl to fly, in what direction, and when. What an outstanding experience! Thank you, Christopher. I hope to enjoy another trek with you soon.”

— Joe Norton - USA (Jan. 23-27, 2023 workshop)

“I enjoyed the experience and appreciate your vast knowledge of birds and the respect you have for birds & nature!
I was pleased to see you not bait birds and at no time did we flush birds or approach them in an unethical way just for good photos.”

— Deb Bryk - USA (Feb. 13-17, 2023 workshop)

Bald Eagle Workshop update

There are still a couple of spots left for my Eagles Galore Workshop in Alaska. Join me for the adventure, Eagles Galore and so much more!

Click HERE to learn more.

Join the adventure and bring home a portfolio full of Bald Eagle images LEARN MORE HERE

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Join the adventure and bring home a portfolio full of Bald Eagle images LEARN MORE HERE 🦅

Bad Eagle Hunting

Another Bald Eagle on the hunt photographed during my Eagles Galore Workshop in Alaska with the Sony FE 100-400mm G Master zoom lens @ 263mm.

Bald Eagle Snowy Portrait

A Bald Eagle photographed during my Eagles Galore Workshop with the Sony FE 100 to 400mm G Master lens @ 330mm while it was lightly snowing.

Bald Eagle Portrait on black

Here is another portrait of a Bald Eagle made with the Sony FE 100-400mm f/5.6 G Master lens at 400mm. The dark background makes for a much more dramatic image :)

Bald Eagle Portrait/Stare

Q: Hi Chris, I am interested in your Bald Eagle workshop in Alaska. My longest lens is the Sony 100-400, and I am worried that I won’t get close enough to the action/Eagles - especially for portraits.

A: Hey Marc, As this image demonstrates, we will get close to the Eagles. This portrait was made with the same Sony 100-400mm lens that you own - smile.

Bald Eagle Calling while Banking

Join me, Christopher Dodds, in Kachemak Bay, where many of my famous Eagle images were made. This is your chance to make a truly remarkable & complete portfolio of Eagle images, dramatic fishing and flight shots, and dynamic portraits, and there is truly no prettier place than this for Eagles in their environment with mountains as the background. Learn more about my Eagles Galore workshop in Alaska HERE.

Bald Eagle wings in flight

Join me for an Alaskan Eagle Adventure like no other! Learn more HERE

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Join me for an Alaskan Eagle Adventure like no other! Learn more HERE 🦅

Bald Eagle Fishing

There are still a few spots left for my Eagles Galore workshop in Alaska. Join me for an incredible adventure in one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Did I mention the Eagles Galore? Learn more about my March Eagles Galore workshop in Alaska HERE.

Bald Eagle Portrait

On a dark and miserable morning, I underexposed the ambient exposure by three full stops darkening the background and used an LED flashlight to illuminate the subject. I exhaled on the flashlight's lens to use the condensation to diffuse the light. The result is the same as a “flash as main light” image = something different.