Brown bear photography vacation in Alaska
Highlights
Lake Clark | Lodge accommodation | Accompanied by expert bear guide | Insight from award-winning wildlife photographer | Individual tutoringTravel Team
If you'd like to chat about this vacation or need help finding one we're very happy to help. The Travel Team.
Toll free 1-866-821-6866 Calling from outside the US? rosy@responsibletravel.comCheck dates
Responsible tourism
As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we screen every trip so you can travel knowing your vacation will help support conservation and local people.

Ethical Practices during Game Drives:
Our guide is highly experienced and we keep conservation of the area and well-being of the wildlife a priority throughout the trip. The last thing we want to do is stress out an animal or cause it to behave unnaturally. When our group is photographing bears, we never push the animals; we set up at a distance from them and let them move around us. We don't try and push them to a spot I want them in, I want to let them move naturally where they want and we change our position based on what the animal is doing.
Waste Management:
During this trip, we use as little plastic as possible. We encourage our guests to bring only items that are reusable and recyclable. Our guide, Barrett Hedges, actively avoids anything plastic, and we only use reusable water bottles on this trip. We provide hardly any waste, because we take reusable containers, and what we do have for waste we gather all recyclables carefully.
At our office in Cape Town, we recycle, compost, and minimise the use of paper by predominantly working with digital files.
The Impacts of this Trip
Apart from supporting conservation initiatives through our photography, we also support social nonprofits. We provide free professional photography to charities that do valuable work and can use the images for fundraising purposes.
Through our Trust, we also run PhotoVoice workshops for youth in underprivileged South African communities. We identify talented young individuals with an interest in and talent for photography, and provide workshops where we encourage them to tell their stories, and the stories of their communities, through photography. We teach them creative self-expression, and the power visual images can have. Participants are encouraged to raise awareness about issues that matter most to them, which stimulates positive activism. We are currently running these workshops at Muizenberg High School in Cape Town; a program we aim to roll out at several schools in underprivileged communities around the city.
Supporting Local Economy:
We use locally-run accommodation and work with well-trained and well-paid local guides.


Ethical Practices during Game Drives:
Our guide is highly experienced and we keep conservation of the area and well-being of the wildlife a priority throughout the trip. The last thing we want to do is stress out an animal or cause it to behave unnaturally. When our group is photographing bears, we never push the animals; we set up at a distance from them and let them move around us. We don't try and push them to a spot I want them in, I want to let them move naturally where they want and we change our position based on what the animal is doing.
Waste Management:
During this trip, we use as little plastic as possible. We encourage our guests to bring only items that are reusable and recyclable. Our guide, Barrett Hedges, actively avoids anything plastic, and we only use reusable water bottles on this trip. We provide hardly any waste, because we take reusable containers, and what we do have for waste we gather all recyclables carefully.
At our office in Cape Town, we recycle, compost, and minimise the use of paper by predominantly working with digital files.

The Impacts of this Trip
Apart from supporting conservation initiatives through our photography, we also support social nonprofits. We provide free professional photography to charities that do valuable work and can use the images for fundraising purposes.
Through our Trust, we also run PhotoVoice workshops for youth in underprivileged South African communities. We identify talented young individuals with an interest in and talent for photography, and provide workshops where we encourage them to tell their stories, and the stories of their communities, through photography. We teach them creative self-expression, and the power visual images can have. Participants are encouraged to raise awareness about issues that matter most to them, which stimulates positive activism. We are currently running these workshops at Muizenberg High School in Cape Town; a program we aim to roll out at several schools in underprivileged communities around the city.
Supporting Local Economy:
We use locally-run accommodation and work with well-trained and well-paid local guides.

1 Reviews of Brown bear photography vacation in Alaska
Reviewed on 26 Jun 2019 by Cornelia Kinley
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
We spent almost every available hour looking for, finding and photographing bears. Being able to be so close to them, to watch their behaviour and get such good pictures in the process was amazing. It felt safe yet the bears were in their normal habitat, and we were not confined to a hide or platform which made the experience incredibly special.
2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Be prepared for all kinds of weather, both in terms of clothes and camera gear, as you will go and stay out even if it is pouring with rain. A 400mm lens is sufficient but it needs to be able to handle low light. The trip is suitable for photo experts and beginners, and help is at hand with camera equipment and composition.
3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Lake Clark is an incredibly special place, and there are restrictions on the number of people who can stay in lodges within it. The lodge guides were careful to restrict the numbers photographing individual bears and made sure people kept a respectful distance from the bears. The bears therefore seemed at ease with us and continued their usual behaviour.
4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
An amazing experience which surpassed all my expectations. I would love to return!
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