Grizzly Bear Photographs

Grizzly Bear Photographs

During the summer of 2021, Joannie and I had an amazing opportunity to capture grizzly bear photographs at the world-famous Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska!

A mother brown bear teaching her cub how to fish at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park in Alaska. Photo was taken during one of Michael Anderson Photography Tours to Alaska.

Teaching junior how to “catch” fish at Brooks Falls!

A large brown bear carrying his salmon at Brooks Fall, Alaska. Photo was taken during one of Michael Anderson Photography Tours to Alaska.

A huge brown bear carries his fresh catch.

It Was Like Being On National Geographic!

I remember as a kid seeing something either on TV or in National Geographic about the grizzly bears at Brooks Falls and that always stuck with me as one of those “bucket list” things I’d love to do.

Brown bear cub peaking from behind its mother in Katmai National Park, Alaska.

A young grizzly bear cub stays very close to its mother.

Well, I can tell you that this experience was definitely worth the wait! This was a truly incredible adventure for both of us to witness!

We captured literally hundreds of photographs and videos, and that was just with our iPhones! In addition, I took well over 1,000 brown bear photographs and video clips in four-and-a-half hours with my Canon R5 too!

Photo was taken during one of Michael Anderson Photography Tours to Alaska.

Michael, photographing brown bears at Katmai.

Where Is Brooks Falls in Alaska?

Brooks Camp sign at Katmai National Park, Alaska. Photo was taken during one of Michael Anderson Photography Tours to Alaska.

Michael and Joannie at Brooks Camp.

Brooks Falls is a waterfall that’s located within the boundaries of Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska headquartered at Brooks Camp. It’s on the Brooks River, about a mile and a half downstream from Brooks Lake and about an equal distance upstream from Naknek Lake.

Brooks Falls is world-famous for watching brown bears catching salmon as the fish attempt to leap over the 6-foot waterfall to get back to their Brooks Lake spawning grounds. I’d seen many cool grizzly bear photographs taken there and I wanted to capture my very own! And I am very pleased to say that I did just that!

A large brown bear just caught this salmon as it was migrating up Brooks Falls in Alaska!

Another fresh salmon for lunch at Brooks Falls in Alaska!

Every year, large numbers of brown bears congregate to catch these salmon at Brooks Falls from July through early September. July has the greatest concentrations of bears of any month at the falls. At times, up to 25 bears have been seen at one time at Brooks Falls in July. At one point, Joannie and I counted 20! Later on, in September, a smaller number of bears can be seen at the falls to feast on the final salmon runs.

A huge, scar faced, brown bear at Brooks River in Alaska.

Scarface!

Getting to Brooks Falls

Brooks Falls is located 168 miles from Homer, Alaska. Homer was the town where Joannie and I concluded our amazing Alaska Photography Tour. There are no roads that take you to Brooks Falls. The only way to visit is to take a boat or take a float plane. Joannie and I chose the latter.

The beautiful view from the air on the way to Katmai National Park, Alaska. Photo was taken during one of Michael Anderson Photography Tours to Alaska.

The stunning wilderness of Alaska as seen from a floatplane.

I did a lot of research about viewing brown bears in Alaska. During my research, I found that there are actually several good locations to see them too. Since I’d always wanted to take photos of grizzly bears catching salmon at Brooks Falls, and we would happen to be there when the salmon run was supposed to be at its peak, Brooks Falls was the spot!

My careful research led me to Bald Mountain Air Service in Homer, Alaska.

Bald Mountain Air in Homer, Alaska flies DeHavilland Otter floatplanes. Photo was taken during one of Michael Anderson Photography Tours to Alaska.

Michael and Joannie are on the dock at Bald Mountain Air in Homer, Alaska.

Safety First at Bald Mountain Air Service!

What I like most about Bald Mountain Air Service was that they fly the “Rolls Royce” of Alaskan bush planes, DeHavilland Otters. Their DeHavilland Otters have been converted to the latest Turbine power, the most dependable engines installed in any aircraft.

Since Joannie isn’t too crazy about flying in a small plane, to begin with, I wanted to go with the safest aircraft that I could. So that’s why I chose Bald Mountain Air Service. That, and the fact that they fly to Brooks Falls at the peak of the salmon run really upped the odds of capturing some amazing brown bear photographs! And we certainly did just that!

Eleven brown bears at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park, Alaska.

Eleven brown bears at one time!

Our pilot, Ricky, is a really great guy! Very friendly, easy-going, and knowledgeable about the plane, Brooks Falls, and the brown bears too. I got the opportunity to fly back to Homer in the co-pilot seat and that was pretty cool!

Brown Bears in Alaska

The grizzly bear is also known as the North American brown bear or simply “grizzly”. It is part of a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting parts of North America. According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Alaska has an estimated 30,000 brown bears statewide.

A very large brown bear carries his lunch (salmon) in Brooks River, Alaska.

This large grizzly has his “appetizer” in his mouth!

Brown and grizzly bears are classified as the same species, Ursus arctos. The brown bears on Kodiak Island are classified as distinct subspecies from those on mainland Alaska because they are genetically and physically isolated.

The term “brown bear” usually refers to bears found in coastal areas, and the brown bears found inland and in northern habitats are often called “grizzlies”. Just like black bears do, brown bears can vary a lot in color. Both brown and grizzly bears can range from dark brown to light blonde in color.

A brown bear eating salmon in the Brooks River in Alaska.

This big brown bear is enjoying his salmon right where he caught it!

Da Bears (not the ones in Chicago!)!

Brown bears are much larger than black bears and have a prominent shoulder hump, and less prominent ears, with longer and straighter claws. Both the shoulder hump and the long claws are adaptations related to feeding. The long claws are useful in digging for roots or excavating burrows of small mammals. The musculature and bone structure of the hump are adaptations for digging and for sprinting to capture moose or caribou for food. Despite their size, brown and grizzly bears are surprisingly fast and agile. They can run up to 30 miles per hour in short bursts!

These Guys Are Big!

Both brown and grizzly bears’ weight varies with the season. All bears weigh the least amount in the springtime and early summer. They begin to gain weight very rapidly during the late summer and fall and are just plain fat just prior to denning. At this time most mature males weigh between 500 and 900 lbs with extremely large individuals easily weighing as much as 1,400 lbs or more! Females weigh half to three-quarters as much.

A huge brown bear searching for salmon in the Brooks River in Alaska.

This brown bear is HUGE!

What Brown Bears Like To Eat

Besides salmon, brown bears eat a variety of foods including clams, berries, grasses, sedges, horsetails, cow parsnips, ground squirrels, and the roots of many kinds of plants. Brown bears are also very capable predators of newborn moose and caribou, and can also kill and eat adults of these species too. All bears will also consume garbage found in human dumps, as well as all types of carrion.

A very large brown bear holding a salmon in its claws at Brooks Falls, Alaska. Photo was taken on a photography tour with Michael Anderson Photography in Katmai National Park in Alaska.

Look at the size of those claws!

Brown bears are found throughout much of Alaska. Except for breeding pairs and females with offspring, bears are typically solitary creatures and avoid the company of other bears. The big exception is where food sources are concentrated such as at rivers and streams. Places like Brooks Falls, where bears can gorge themselves on salmon swimming upstream to spawn.

A brown bear diving for salmon in Brooks River in Alaska.

Chasing his lunch in the Brooks River!

Grizzly Bear Photographs for Sale

We’ve got a grizzly bear photo gallery for you to view and enjoy. Please check it out if you’re looking for a cool gift for your loved ones (or yourself). These brown bear photos will make great Christmas gifts, wonderful birthday presents, or just a gift to yourself!

A big brown bear, standing on top of Brooks Falls with a salmon in its mouth.

A brown bear, standing on top of Brooks Falls with a salmon in its mouth.

To protect from unauthorized copying, each of our grizzly bear pictures in the online gallery is displayed in low resolution. It also has a large watermark across them. Your brown bear gift prints will be printed from the high-resolution files and will just have our logo, small in the lower corner.

A brown bear taking a bit out of a salmon at Brooks Falls, Alaska. Photo was taken on a photography tour with Michael Anderson Photography in Katmai National Park in Alaska.

Enjoying a freshly caught salmon while standing in Brooks Falls!

Grizzly Bear Photo Gifts

Our grizzly bear gift prints are available as Metal Prints. Metal prints are our favorite because of how vivid they are! But we also offer them on canvas or printed on luster paper.

Grizzly Bear Metal Prints “float” off the wall about 3/4 of an inch. These images are heat-pressed onto aluminum and come with a high-gloss finish.

Grizzly Bear Canvas Prints are wrapped on a wooden frame. Both metal and canvas prints do not require frames, although we can frame them for you in a cool floating frame as an upgrade. Please contact us to discuss that option.

Any Grizzly Bear photograph on luster paper larger than 8×10 inches will be mounted on an acid-free mounting board. This keeps it nice and smooth in a frame.

Below is the link to our Grizzly Bear Photography Gallery. As always, please contact us if you have any questions. Enjoy our grizzly bear photos, and thank you for visiting our website!

A brown bear, with a freshly caught salmon in its mouth, at Brooks Falls, Alaska.

Freshly caught (literally) salmon!

Please Click Here To Visit Grizzly Bear Photography Gallery

Below, is a link to a video on our Youtube channel. It’s filled with great images and video clips from our Alaska Photography Tour with brown bears It’s pretty cool, so check it out!

“Grizzly Bear Photographs” © 2021 Michael Anderson Photography.