This image was made during the last drops of golden light as this Eagle aggressively chased another Eagle to steal its fish. I felt disappointed when they banked off the light angle and ducked into the shadows; I thought I didn’t get anything. Suddenly, this Eagle emerged from the darkness and was illuminated by the sweetest light - smile.
Portrait of a Brown Bear Yearling
A simple portrait of my favourite yearling from last year’s Ultimate Brown Bear Adventure. This guy was an entertaining showman and sure did show off for us!
Coastal Brown Grizzly Bear female yearling cub in fog
Here is another image from my Ultimate Brown Bear Photo Adventure last June. We had countless hours with this curious Coastal Brown Bear Yearling (1-year-old cub). I chose my Sony Alpha a1 camera body paired with the ultra-portable Sony 200 to 600mm zoom lens set at 378mm.
Join me in Alaska for the Ultimate Brown Bear adventure of a lifetime
🐻
Join me in Alaska for the Ultimate Brown Bear adventure of a lifetime 🐻
Unlikely Friends in Alaska: The Brown Bear and the Wolf
This is an image from my June 2010 Ultimate Brown Bear Photo Tour in Katmai National Park, Alaska. This wolf spent the day foraging the bear’s leftovers. As the tide rose over the open flats, the bear and wolf slowly moved away from the rising water towards each other. This image was made at 10:34 PM after the sun had set. I remember this like it happened yesterday!
In Katmai, the documented encounters between the species include wolves stealing fish from bears, wolves harassing courting bears, wolves displacing bears from a moose carcass, bears briefly chasing wolves, wolves travelling with bears, and wolves fishing alongside bears.
Join me in Alaska for the ULTIMATE Brown Bear Photo Tour
🐻
Join me in Alaska for the ULTIMATE Brown Bear Photo Tour 🐻
Coastal Brown (Grizzly) Bear with Pink Salmon at last light
A Coastal Brown Bear (Grizzly Bear) with its trophy: a pink Salmon. The fish-eye auto-focus works remarkably well on the Sony Alpha1 - Imagine if the bear had looked up at me - smile.
Coastal Brown Bear Cub with Salmon Dinner
A Coastal Brown Bear Cub with freshly caught salmon during my Ultimate Brown Bear Photography Workshop Photo Tour in September. We had some pretty epic opportunities with this bear cub throughout the trip, but the afternoon I made this image stands out as one of my favourite times in Katmai National Park; we were the very last group in the park, just us and the bears - smile!
Join me next year for my Ultimate Brown Bear photography workshop. Learn more HERE.
Coastal Brown (Grizzly) Bear Slamming Salmon
We had some of the most epic bear encounters during my recently concluded ULTIMATE BROWN BEARS of KATMAI SALMON FISHING WORKSHOP. This image was made from the river's edge, with my Sony Alpha 1 and Sony 600mm f/4 lens on the ground and the screen tilted up. Everyone got more images of fishing bears than they imagined possible, and the weather was “Alaskan Awesome” with a mix of everything!
2023 Christopher Dodds Sony Roadshow update
I am thrilled to be making another trip across Canada to present at some of Canada’s finest Sony retailers. Sony sponsors the roadshow, and all of the presentations are free. Get your tickets here:
VISTEK Ottawa, ON - October 2, 2023
HENRY’S Toronto, ON - October 3, 2023
HENRY’S Winnipeg, MB - October 6, 2023
DON’S PHOTO Regina, SK - October 7, 2023
LONDON DRUGS Saskatoon, SK - October 8, 2023
VISTEK Edmonton, AB - October 11, 2023
VISTEK Calgary, AB - October 12, 2023
McBAIN CAMERA Red Deer, AB - October 13, 2023
McBAIN CAMERA Lethbridge, AB - October 14, 2023
Coastal Brown Bear Clamming in the fog
Here is a Coastal Brown Bear (AKA: Grizzly Bear) emerging from the three-foot deep hole it dug in about 25 seconds while hunting for a Razor Clam. We had a fabulous morning watching this giant clamming while ignoring us during my Ultimate Brown Bears Galore Adventure Workshop in Alaska. I used my Sony Alpha 1 and the 200-600mm zoom lens I love for its portability and versatility, set at only 255mm.
Gray-crowned Rosy Finch
Here is a Gray-crowned Rosy finch from my Eagles Galore and so much more workshop in Alaska. We carefully placed some birdseed just over the edge of the snowbank after a foot of fresh snow fell overnight.
Did you know? A group of rosy-finches are collectively known as a "bouquet" of finches.
Tufted Puffin in flight with fish
I am about to start my Deluxe Atlantic Puffins and so much more workshop in Quebec, so I thought I would share a TUFTED PUFFIN in flight with a mouth full of fish for its baby. Image created hand-held from the boat as we commuted from ship to shore during my Coastal Brown Bears of Katmai workshop in Alaska.
Harbor (or harbour) seal
Although the primary “focus” of my ULTIMATE BROWN BEARS OF ALASKA WORKSHOP is the bears, we get distracted occasionally. This Harbour seal lounged on the rocks at low tide while we cruised Kukak Bay for bears clamming from our boat.
Grizzly bear mother and cub running
We had a fabulous time with this mother and cub during my recently concluded ULTIMATE BROWN BEARS OF KATMAI WORKSHOP. Contrary to most assumptions about how aggressive a mother is when protecting her cubs, the mother bears of the Katmai coast seek us out as protection from the big boars (the male bears). We sat with his mother and cub for hours as they slept on the ground pointed away from us with their noses pointed into the wind and us as protection downwind. The moment she caught the scent of a big male, she ran for cover, and they ran past us, spraying mud as they escaped.
Tree swallow in flight
Here is a Tree swallow in flight from my recently concluded Ultimate Coastal Brown Bears of Katmai workshop in Alaska. Yes, there will be loads of bear images to follow, but I thought that I would start with something different - smile.
Joe Norton Eagles Galore Testimonial
Bald Eagle in flight with prey
A Bald Eagle with its prize. The light and action was extraordinary during my Eagles Galore Workshops in Alaska this March.
Eagles Galore Workshop update:
Coastal Brown Bears Wrestling
It was an amazing experience watching a couple of young coastal Brown Bears play fighting on a foggy morning. Play fighting is very important for young bears because it teaches them to protect themselves and helps them get stronger. But if things get too rough, mama bear will discipline them by swatting them with her paw!
There is still room for you to join my Brown Bear Boat trip in June and September. Specifically looking for a female solo traveller to share a room with same. Learn more about my Ultimate Bears of Alaska trip HERE.
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.
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.