Alaska Tour 2020

Tin Man Photography:Lake Clark, Alaska Brown Bear & More Photo Tour

June 19-June 25, 2020

(Overnight at Anchorage, Alaska on June 19, fly to Lake Clark June 20th, depart Lake Clark for home June 25)

The Photo Workshop of A Life Time

Join me, Tin Man Lee, for a 7-day 6-night photography adventure (with 5 full days of bear photography, one evening of Arctic Tern birds-in-flight photography, and one optional half-day puffin boat excursion), during the peak week in the whole year, to photograph the majestic coastal brown bears in Lake Clark National Park, my favorite place on earth.

We will have 8 photographers plus photo leader (myself) and a professional bear guide (with all the proper national park training and bear safety precaution, and bear spray) in our group.

What are the FIVE most unique benefits of this workshop?

1. This trip is timed specifically because it is the BEST time for bear cub photography in Lake Clark. Too early you may risk not seeing the cubs. Too late the action may slow down. And the size of the cubs grow so fast, the earlier you go, the “cuter” they look. (But of course seeing cubs is not guaranteed.)

The spring cubs (if they do show up, depending on whether the mother bears gave birth, or how skittish they are) will be the most tiny and most active, and will have the biggest potential for good interaction with mother bear.

2. This is an intensive instruction tour (but don't worry ;), meaning that we have a very focused objective unlike any other tours where you just take photos and go home without knowing what to do with it.

I am going to give photography tutorial during the trip.
I will give you tutorials prior to the trip to understand light, exposure, telephoto lens technique, etc.
I will send you detailed PDF on lens selection and how to prepare for the trip.
I will teach photography during the workshop in the field.
I will help you with settings, and teach you how to see and capture the special moments.
I will carry out critique session on your photos (optional).
By the end of the trip, I hope you will bring home a special portfolio of photos you will remember a lifetime, and hopefully some award-winning shots.
But of course, the instruction is optional. If you are comfortable with your own photography, you can take photos without my instruction at all. It's all up to you.

3. We will charter our own plane directly from Anchorage (instead of flying from Soldotna, which is a 2-3 hours drive from Anchorage) to Lake Clark.

4. And we will have the whole lodge, Alaska Homestead Lodge, exclusive to our group so that teaching and discussion will be very convenient. Did I mention they have the best seafood and freshly baked bakery… I am very good friends with the owners and the staff, and they are wonderful people, so we will have a blast!

5. Bear photography is my specialty. I won the grand prize among 25,000 entries in Nature's Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International with a bear photo, and have numerous photos of bears in other photo contests, including photos taken in Lake Clark winning Judge's Choice award winner at NANPA and in many exhibits. I won the 2018 Wildlife Category in Nature's Best Photography and my photo is currently displayed in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington DC. I'm also invited judge for Nature's Best Photography Asia and Viewbug. So I have a lot of experience photographing brown bear and other wildlife I can give you the best tips to capture great photos.

Sometimes they can come really close. This is almost a full frame shot with a 500mm.

Many photographers joined tours to Alaska and came back with thousands of photos they never looked at because they were not told how to evoke emotion in their photos.

Here in this workshop, you will have the best opportunities to photograph the bear, but you will also have the best instructions in the field and at the lodge.

We will mainly focus on bear interaction with cubs, and we will make sure to get the best light, eye level and background.

Don't be afraid to take your time and write everything you want to achieve in this trip, and I will work with you on a game plan. After the trip, I will also follow up with you to see if you have any questions on the photos.

Photography

Each day, we have our driver and bear guide (who is equipped with all the safety precaution and bear spray) drive out in the all terrain vehicle (ATV) with two carts (each cart can sit 4-6 people). We can carry our long and short lenses and tripod/monopod, in our muck boot (because at times we will be in mud flat). Each drive may take just a few minutes and we will look for bears. Sometimes the bears would be right outside the lodge!

Once we see a bear, we would stop the ATV and walk slowly to the bears on foot so you will be able to get as many eye level shots as you like! We will follow our guide one after another so as to keep a small profile.

The bears have seen human before so they are generally less skittish. A lens in the 400mm range would be ideal to get a full body shot. Sometimes I get full frame shot with a 70-200! But I will also bring a 500 or a 600 for some close-ups!

There are a wide range of bear activities during the prime time in the summer. The following sightings are possible but not guarantee:

Single male (they can be huge),
Male and female bear courting,
Female with yearling cubs,
Female with Spring cubs,
Bears at the meadow eating grass, play fighting, or playing
Bears at the mud flat looking for and eating clams
Bear-scape. The location has nice mountains and ocean in the backdrop.
Black bear, moose, beaver and moose have been seen there but not frequent.

Sharing the path with a Coastal Brown Bear in Alaska while we were on an ATV searching for bears.

Itinerary

June 19th: Arrive at Anchorage Alaska Airport before 3pm. Stay overnight at Holiday Inn Express Anchorage. We will have a meet and greet at the hotel at 4pm and have early dinner together. Then we will head out to photograph Arctic Terns to practice our Birds in flight technique. First night lodging at Holiday Inn Express and dinner included.

June 20th: We will meet at the lobby of Holiday Inn Express at 9am and head to the airport to take the chartered plane to Lake Clark. The ride to the airport is about 10 minutes. It leaves at 10 and should arrive Lake Clark before 12pm. Once we settled down and grab something to eat at the lodge, we will head out for our first drive to look for bears. After a few hours, if the light is bad and the sighting slows down, we will head back to the lodge for some quick coffee and freshly baked bakery goods. And we will head out again! Around 6pm, we will head back to the lodge for an amazing dinner (sometimes with freshly caught salmon and halibut!). After dinner, we will head out again for more photography! Remember the 24-hour day light in Alaska this time of year, so it doesn't really get dark until 2am and sunrise is at 4am. But the park regulation prohibits photography after 10pm and before 6am. We will adjust accordingly.

June 21sth: We will try to head out right after breakfast depending on the light. Then we will have full day of photography. Lunch and dinner at the lodge. Each evening we will hold a session on photo critique. You are welcomed to bring your raw files and we will have a group discussion, and suggestion on how to improve the next day.

June 22nd: Another full day. Some of the days, depending on the tides, we will head out early to catch the bears eating clams in the mud flat to get great colors on the background and reflection in the water.

June 23rd: Another full day of photography.

June 24th: Another full day of photography. Pack after the evening shoot.

June 25th: Bring the luggages to the front of the lodge. We may head out one more time before breakfast to get another photoshoot. Our plane will pick us up at noon to fly back to Anchorage. I suggest clients to book flight to leave Anchorage no earlier than 5pm. Optional Puffin Half Day Tour: There is an island near Lake Clark with a puffin rookery where you can see tufted puffins. The boat ride can be choppy and takes about an hour. Photography can also be difficult there. But if you like to spend half a day there, it will be a $200 fee and it all depends on weather as well.

The Lodge

We will have the whole lodge exclusive to our group. We will have our breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus snacks (coffee and bakery) there. The rooms, though small, are cozy and very clean. There are common area with couch where we can relax. Each room has it's own bathroom.

Included

First night lodging (double occupancy) at Holiday Inn Express Anchorage (or equivalent). Early dinner June 19 after Meet and Greet. Double Occupancy Accommodation Lodging at Lake Clark, Professional Bear Guide, Transportation on ATV, All Meals at Lake Clark, Coffee and Snacks, Photography Instruction in the field, photo critique at the lodge, guide, round trip chartered flight to/from Anchorage, AK to Lake Clark, AK.

Not Included

Flights to and from Anchorage to where you are, alcoholic beverages (You need to buy it in Anchorage to bring to the lodge. I will also bring some beer and wine), recommended gratuity for staff (host, guide, chef) $250 total per person.

Workshop Fee: $6,900

$3,000 deposit is required to secure your spot ASAP (Invoice will be sent to you).

The remaining $3,900 is due by May 1st, 2020. Payment method: Paypal to tinmanlee@gmail.com or bank wire transfer.

Note: This is the price for double occupancy, meaning you WILL BE SHARING the room with another participant. If you want your own room, an extra $1,300 is required for single occupancy.

Cancellation and Refund:

Travel insurance is highly recommended. No Refund 45 days prior to the trip starting day.

For additional question: Please email tinmanlee@gmail.com or call me at (805) 728-5266

About Tin Man Lee

Photographing bears has been Tin Man's passion and specialty. He have won numerous photo awards photographing bears, including the Grand Prize of Nature's Best Photography, and Editor's Choice and Top 10 of NANPA, with many magazine publications and gallery exhibits. Tin Man Lee is also the Winner of Wildlife Category (2018) in Nature's Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International. His photos have made the cover of the annual NANPA Expressions magazine, Wild Planet Magazine, NBP and Alaska Magazine. His photos have been displayed in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and G2 gallery. He had an invited solo exhibit of 50 photos at HKUST, Hong Kong from 2015-2016. He had been invited to write an article on wildlife photography using telephoto lens by Outdoor Photographer Magazine, and was a featured photographer by Nik Softwares. He was a judge of Nature's Best Photography Asia and Viewbug.

One Last Thing

When you go to Alaska, you want to go with a group of like-minded photographers. Here, you will receive the best instruction in photography every day, we have exclusive use of the lodge for only our group, and you will certainly capture shots you will treasure a lifetime.