FREE DOWNLOAD
Coming for the spring cubs? Free 40-page Lake Clark bears guide.
IN-FIELD INSTRUCTION
How I read bears in the field — and how that changes your photographs
Read the moment
Reading bear behavior is half the workshop. In June the tells are different than the salmon run — a sow working a clam bed and the moment she rocks back to crack it open, two bears circling in a courtship standoff, a mother reading her spring cubs before she moves them across open ground. I'll teach you what I look for: body language, head position, the pauses that come right before something happens. You start anticipating instead of reacting. Your timing changes. Your keeper rate goes up.
Work the field
We work the field with certified bear guides who manage distance and approach so you can focus on photography. Most days that means walking the tidal flats and sedge meadows — sometimes in chest waders or hip waders where a creek crossing puts you in better position — getting low to put bears against clean green backgrounds, and holding a position once we find good light. We don't chase. The coastal brown bears at Silver Salmon Creek are natural and unaffected by crowds — they keep doing what they're doing as long as we keep doing what we're doing. That's how you get the close, intimate frames without the artificial feel of a viewing platform.
Print the frame
The result is photographs that read like wildlife photography, not zoo photography. A mother and her spring cubs strung across a green sedge meadow, a bear shoulder-deep in a clam bed with the volcanic peaks behind it, two bears locked in a June courtship standoff — shot at eye level, in their world, not managed around human infrastructure. Those are the images that come out of this workshop. Not because the bears are different here, but because the way we work them is — on bears that have never been hand-fed or trained to a viewing platform.
PEAK SEASON
Why June Is Peak Season for Spring Bear Photography at Lake Clark
Two things converge in early June at Lake Clark, and only in June. The bears behave one way — clamming, courting, raising new cubs. The light and the landscape behave another — long days, green meadows, and no crowds yet. Both windows are short. The workshop is timed to their overlap.
Clamming, Courtship, and Spring Cubs
June is the one window where three behaviors overlap. Bears come out of the den lean and dig razor clams on the tidal flats — a behavior rarely photographable anywhere else. It's also peak mating season, with courtship and social activity you won't see later in the year. And mothers move spring cubs through the meadows, closest to her they'll ever be. For photographers that means family dynamics, courtship, and clamming all in a single week.
20 Hours of Daylight and Green June Landscapes
The June light is the second reason this window matters. Twenty hours of daylight stretch the shooting day from a 5 AM sunrise to golden hour near 10 PM — far more working light than the fall trip. The sedge meadows run vibrant green, wildflowers come in, and bears photograph clean against the volcanic peaks of Redoubt and Spurr. June is also off-peak, so the crowds that build later aren't here yet — long, unhurried sessions on undisturbed bears.
LAKE CLARK VS BROOKS FALLS
Lake Clark vs Brooks Falls: Why Lake Clark Wins for Spring Bear Photography
Katmai National Park is renowned for the world's highest concentration of coastal brown bears, and Brooks Falls is its famous gathering spot — bears stacked at a waterfall catching salmon, shot from a boardwalk with 40-plus other people. That's not what June at Lake Clark looks like. Lake Clark holds comparable bear density without the crowds: in spring there's no salmon run and no platform — the bears are digging razor clams on the open tidal flats, courting, and moving new cubs through the meadows, and you walk the ground freely to work them. Same coastal brown bears. Better access. Smaller group. Lower price.
My Workshop
Lake Clark
Cook Inlet · Lake Clark National Park
June Crowds
✓ Private group of 5 photographers
Movement Freedom
✓ Walk freely, multiple shooting angles
Signature Opportunity
✓ Razor clamming, spring cubs, June courtship
Wildlife Photography Instruction
✓ One-on-one guidance (5 max)
Price
✓ $9,750 all-inclusive
Comparison
Brooks Falls
Katmai National Park
June Crowds
40+ people competing for platform space
Movement Freedom
Fixed platform positions only
Signature Opportunity
Bears fishing the Brooks River salmon run
Wildlife Photography Instruction
Large groups (40+ visitors)
Price
$10,000–$12,000+
Katmai's interior rivers run with bright red sockeye in summer — famously colorful and photogenic when the salmon run peaks in July and bears are fishing. But that's a different photograph entirely. Spring at Lake Clark is clamming, courtship, and cubs, not salmon. If the red-salmon-fishing frame is what you're after, that's my fall workshop — not a trip to Katmai.
Bottom line: Lake Clark delivers the same coastal brown bear density as Katmai with a fraction of the crowds at a lower price — and unlike Brooks Falls, you're never shooting from a platform. For serious wildlife photographers who want June cubs and clamming, this is the right Alaska bear photography workshop.
WHERE WE STAY
All-Inclusive at Silver Salmon Creek Lodge
Silver Salmon Creek Lodge sits on the Cook Inlet coast inside Lake Clark National Park, with the beach and the bear territory directly out front. After full days in the field, photographers come back to private guest cabins, chef-prepared meals served family-style, and a wood-walled common area for image review and conversation. The lodge has been family-operated since 1983 — 40 acres inside the park, with roughly half of guests returning.
This is a land-based lodge workshop — not a yacht-based expedition, and not a fly-out operation that burns half the day shuttling between distant sites by floatplane. Some Alaska bear trips sell breadth — a hundred-plus locations reached by daily charter — but every one of those transfers is time off the animals. Here it's the opposite: one charter brings you in, and then the bears are right out front. You reach this remote stretch of coast by a one-hour bush-plane charter from Anchorage, then base at a fly-in lodge with boat transportation for the rookery trip and a small, expert-led group. ATVs with trailers cover the short field distances, so walking stays minimal and the days go to being on the bears, not in transit. The lodge knows what photographers need: early breakfasts, late dinners, drying space for waders, reliable power for charging batteries and dumping cards. Tuition is all-inclusive from the moment you land at Anchorage (Ted Stevens International, ANC) — charter flights, lodging, all lodge meals, ground transportation, professional bear guides, photography instruction, and all park fees. Full breakdown in the Workshop Details section below.
WORKSHOP BROCHURE
Want the full Spring Bear workshop brochure?
The complete picture in one PDF — the June 3–8, 2027 itinerary, everything that's included, what a day in the field looks like, sample frames, and pricing. I'll send it straight to your inbox.
A DAY IN THE FIELD
What a Day in the Field Looks Like at Lake Clark
Mornings start early — in June, daylight begins before 5 AM. We grab coffee, load gear into the ATV trailer, and head out from Silver Salmon Creek Lodge to wherever the light and bear activity are best: a tidal flat where bears are digging clams, a sedge meadow with a mother and cubs, or a stretch of beach near the lodge. We shoot in manual mode and ride the shutter speed up for action — a sow rocking back to crack a clam, a cub breaking into a run. Some mornings we hold one spot for hours as the light builds; other times we move three or four times chasing courtship or foraging. With a group of five and a guide who knows the ground, we decide in real time on what June is giving us, not a fixed itinerary. Emergency contact information is shared with every participant on day one.
With 20 hours of daylight, we work natural light through the golden hours — early morning and again near 10 PM. Back at the lodge, downtime goes to image review and post-processing sessions in Lightroom and Photoshop, or we save a longer editing session for the last night in Anchorage. The field always comes first. The bears don't wait, and neither do we.
YOUR INSTRUCTOR
Your Instructor: Michael Schultz, Alaska-Born Wildlife Photographer
I'm Michael Schultz, founder of Face The Outdoors Photography. I was born and raised in Alaska, and I've spent years photographing this state professionally — its bears, its aurora, its coastlines, its weather. Face The Outdoors has been featured in National Geographic, and I've led photography workshops from Alaska to abroad. Alaska is home, and Lake Clark is one of the locations I return to every year.
The June spring bear photography workshop at Silver Salmon Creek is built around years of personal Alaska wildlife photography experience and the operational backbone of Silver Salmon Creek Lodge — one of the most experienced bear operations on the Alaska Peninsula. What I teach in the field is what I actually use myself: how to read coastal brown bear behavior before it commits to a clam bed, how a mother positions her cubs in the meadow, where to be for the light, and when to slow down and wait for the frame instead of chasing it. Beginners get the fundamentals dialed in. Intermediate and advanced photographers get one-on-one mentoring on the artistic decisions that separate good wildlife images from portfolio-quality ones.
My approach is direct and practical. I teach the way I shoot: settings serve the photograph, not the other way around. The Alaska bear photography workshop format — five photographers maximum, eight days in the field, image review every evening — is built around the idea that the best wildlife photographers I've ever met learned by being in the field with someone who could explain what was about to happen and why. That's what you're paying for here.
"Michael and the local guide David got us right on the bears every day. Photographing a mother and her two cubs, so close while they were clamming — just amazing. I look forward to my next trip."
— Steve W., returning guest
"The bear viewing, the photography coaching, the guide, and the lodge were beyond my expectations. I highly recommend Michael's company for an authentic, personalized experience."
— Kelly M.
WHO IT'S FOR
Who This Alaska Bear Photography Workshop Is For
This workshop is built for serious photographers who want to come home with portfolio-quality coastal brown bear images. Skill level isn't a barrier — group size is. With five photographers maximum, I can match instruction to where each participant actually is. Beginners get the fundamentals dialed in: shutter speed, continuous autofocus modes, exposure for high-contrast scenes with dark fur and bright water. Intermediate and advanced photographers get one-on-one mentoring on the artistic decisions — composition in the green sedge meadows, anticipating clamming and courtship behavior, the difference between a documentary frame and a portfolio frame.
Physical Requirements
Walk up to 1/4 mile over uneven terrain while carrying camera gear (15–25 lbs). Stand or kneel for several hours. Navigate sandy beaches, marshland, and tidal flats. Get in and out of ATV trailers. Age isn't a factor — fitness level is. Past Alaska wilderness photography workshop participants have ranged from 25 to 85 years old.
Bringing a Guest
Yes, but all 5 spots require full tuition ($9,750 each) due to remote location constraints and limited lodge capacity at Silver Salmon Creek.
GEAR & EQUIPMENT
Camera Equipment for Alaska Bear Photography
50-Pound Weight Limit
Charter planes cap bags at 50 pounds combined for this remote Alaska wilderness location. Pack what you need for the field; extra luggage stays at the Anchorage hotel.
Batteries
Bring multiple charged camera batteries — cool June mornings drain them faster than you'd expect.
Power
Power for charging is reliable at the lodge between sessions.
Minimum Equipment Requirements
- ✓DSLR or mirrorless camera capable of manual mode (fast burst helps for courtship and clamming behavior)
- ✓Telephoto lens for coastal brown bear photography (100–500mm zoom recommended; 150–600mm or 600mm prime also work)
- ✓Tripod or monopod (most shots are handheld at higher ISO; a support helps in low light)
- ✓Multiple batteries (3–5 charged, cool June mornings drain them)
- ✓High-capacity memory cards (64GB+, bring multiple)
- ✓Rain covers for camera and lenses (essential — June weather cycles through rain)
Waders & Weather Gear
Most days at Silver Salmon Creek involve some time wading shallow creeks and tidal flats for better angles on bears — chest waders or hip waders depending on the day. Layer a wool base underneath; June weather swings 30–65°F, and rain gear is not optional.
Not Sure About Your Gear?
Contact me before booking: [email protected] / +1-907-590-1567. I'll review your equipment for Alaska bear photography suitability and recommend alternatives if needed.
Rentals in Anchorage
Professional wildlife photography equipment can also be rented in Anchorage from Stewart's Photo Shop and Shutterbug, including 400–600mm telephoto lenses and full-frame camera bodies.
A complete packing list with clothing recommendations for Alaska's June weather will be sent after registration.
BEYOND THE BEARS
More Than Bears at Lake Clark
Bears are about 80% of the week. A half-day boat trip to the seabird rookeries (weather permitting) adds horned puffins, murres, sea otters in the kelp beds, and coastal cliff landscapes.
