Anan Creek, Alaska 2011: A Black Bear’s Heaven!

If you’ve been following my Alaska photo workshop blog posts, we are nearing the 3/4 point of our trip. But first, 2 days of shooting at Anan Creek! Since we spent a lot of time here, I will be sharing several posts about Anan Creek and it’s famous inhabitants … the Black Bear (Ursus americanus), who are a lot of fun to photograph, but can be a bit challenging (particularly getting a good exposure of a dark bear in already low light conditions).

When we first arrived at Anan Creek, we were greeted with fog rolling through the bay:

 

Fog and clouds greet us at Anan Creek

 

 

Outside Anan Creek, in the bay, the ranger’s station is one of the first things seen upon arrival. This stations is located well away from the shore, to help keep curious bears away from the station:

 

Anan Creek Ranger Station

 

 

 

After we all had something to eat, we loaded our gear into the skiff and the Captain transported us into Anan Lagoon (the area between the bay and where the creek ends). We disembarked the skiff and headed up the trail to the observatory that overlooks Anan Creek. When we arrived at the observatory, the first thing we all noticed was the tremendous velocity of the water coming down Anan Creek (remember in my earlier posts that I mentioned that the Inside Passage was setting a lot of records for rain in August?). Here is what the creek looked like:

 

Anan Creek rages after some heavy rains

 

 

After only a few minutes, our first black bear appears on the opposite side of the creek from us, checking out the bear activity before descending down the steep slope that leads to the creek:

 

Black Bear checks out the bear action at Anan Creek

 

 

Tomorrow’s post … bears and more bears!

 

 

 

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