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| PHOTO LOCATIONS |
We would like to share our thoughts with you on where
you might plan a photographic
trip to film some of the subjects
that appear on our web site. The following
is a guide to several locations that offer outstanding
opportunities to view and photograph
wildlife and landscapes.
Although
the wildlife species identified under each
heading can be found in many other areas in the same
region or park, the chances are greater that they
will be seen
more often and at closer range in those locations
noted below .
We welcome your questions or suggestions of
locations that have provided you with unique photographic
opportunities.
Email us at myakkariver@hotmail.com
or click on 'CONTACT
US'
on the web pages.
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POLAR BEARS
There are several locations where polar bears can be found and photographed
but the one place that is most accessible and also best known, is Churchill in
Northern Manitoba, Canada. Each fall polar bears in large numbers congregate
along the west shore of Hudson Bay buying time until the Bay begins to freeze
over allowing them to venture out onto the ice in search of seals, which
constitutes their primary food source. While they remain in a holding pattern
on shore they can be observed and photographed from the specially equipped
"Tundra Buggies" that patrol the tundra each day at this time of the year. These huge, very comfortable vehicles are heated, offer restroom
facilities and are the only permitted method of travel on the tundra in this
area for purposes of observing and filming these spectacular creatures. One
member of the group of photographers that we accompanied maintained a record
of the number and approximate age of the bears that we sighted during the week
that we were in Churchill. The total was 136 animals of all ages including
several sows with one or more cubs. In addition, we photographed countless
artic fox', willow ptarmigan and artic hare. Our week in the Artic was a
wonderful experience and one that we won't soon forget. A tour of the web
under "Tundra buggy polar bear tours" will produce a number
of services that offer this trip. These buggies provide photo opps from within
the vehicle as well as from an outdoor rear deck. Because I was concerned that
heat waves escaping from the open windows might distort images, I elected to
film from the rear deck. A work of advice, if space permits and you chose to
set up your tripod on the outer rear deck OVERDRESS! EQUIPMENT: A 500mm
or 600mm is the lens of choice on this excursion but keep a 100/400 zoom handy
for those bears that venture closer to the buggy.
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SAFARI: EAST AFRICA
There is a long list of tour services on the African Continent. Because
like many people, I prefer to travel and film with as small a group as
possible, I selected a company named Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT). This
tour organizer books a maximum of thirteen individuals at a time on their
Kenya/Tanzania tour. On a recent trip we had a total of nine plus the Land
Cruiser driver and our guide. Both the driver and the guide were native
African and each was conversant in English as well as Swahili. The length of the
trip was nineteen days and included travel to a number of National Parks in
southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. A partial list of the parks that we
visited included Lake Naivasha and Nakuru north of Nairobi, Amboseli at the base of
Mt. Kilimanjaro on the Kenya/Tanzania border and Tarangire, Lake Manyara,
Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Parks in Tanzania. The travel
arrangements with OAT are door to door from any one of a number of major U.S.
airports and include airfare, all meals and lodging. With the exception of the
first two nights at a hotel in Nairobi and two nights as a guest on a coffee
plantation in Tanzania, all other accommodations were in National Parks at
lodges or in luxury tents. In addition to providing ample photo opportunities,
the tour included travel to a remote section of the "bush" to spend
several hours visiting and talking with members of a Maasai tribe at their
"wall of thorns" enclosed village of stick and mud homes, visits with two
fascinating native families at their homes in Tanzania and stops at two
schools one in Kenya and the other in Tanzania to spend time with the
students. There is no other experience in any other part of the world that is
even similar to travels in Africa. Wildlife and spectacular scenery abound at
every turn in the road. EQUIPMENT: I didn't take a large lens due to the
difficulty of managing a lens of that size in the relatively tight quarters in
the Land Cruiser. A 100mm/400mm, image stabilized lens turned out to be the
ideal glass for a trip of this type.
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BLACK
BEARS: Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary; Orr, Minnesota
Black bears are far more numerous in
North America then their larger cousins the grizzly
and can be photographed throughout Canada
and much of the United States.
However, we have found that one area in particular
offers outstanding opportunities to photograph adults
as well as cubs of all ages, in both the black and
cinnamon color phases.
The Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary, a wilderness
area managed
by the American Black Bear Association, is located west
of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, Superior National
Forest and the little hamlet of Orr, MN. on U.S. Route
53 about 100 miles south of the Canadian
border.
Photographers from all corners of North America
travel to this little known sanctuary to film these
fascinating and entertaining creatures in their natural
habitat. The
American Black Bear Association has recently constructed
a large, raised viewing platform
to observe and film the bears and their cubs.
The sanctuary is
open from 5:00 PM until dark each day and operates
on the basis of donations only. There is no entry
fee to
visit and photograph the bears from the platform,
but donations are greatly appreciated. Additional information on this preserve is available on the
Minnesota Green Pages web site.
Enter 'American Black Bear Association/Vince Shute
Wildlife Sanctuary' on a search engine to learn more
about black bears and this unique opportunity to view
and photograph an interesting member of the bear family
in its natural habitat.
(Suggested lenses: 100-400mm zoom & 500mm
or 600mm for the occasional distant shot.)
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| PRONGHORN ANTELOPE: Custer
State Park, South Dakota
There
are a numbers of areas in the western U.S. to observe
pronghorns. However,
one of the better locations to view and photograph the
fastest animal on the North American continent (clocked
at speeds in excess of 60 mph) is the 73,000 acre
Custer State Park located in the beautiful South
Dakota Black Hills south of Rapid City.
Custer is home to a small
but easily photographed
herd of antelope. A spring visit
to the park provides
opportunities to observe does and their new born fawns,
as well as the stately and more elusive bucks.
Because the parks Wildlife Loop traverses their
feeding grounds,
and hunting has not occurred for years, they have adjusted
to the presence of humans and can be approached to within
camera range more easily then almost any other of the
many places that we have seen pronghorns. (Suggested lenses: 100-400mm zoom & 500mm or 600mm with
a teleconverter
at times to capture
distant subjects.)
Custer Park also offers outstanding opportunities
to photograph unique and very beautiful landscapes on
the 'Needles Highway', Sylvan Lake and any number of other
scenic locations in the park.
(Suggested lenses: 20-35mm; 28-105mm)
Custer is also home to several large
prairie dog villages and a
roaming herd of semi-wild donkeys.
The prairie dog is a sociable, thoroughly fascinating
and delightful little creature that will entertain you
for hours and entice you to keep your shutter clicking.
The
herd of begging donkeys and their young
set up a road block on the wildlife loop and
will not move until they are convinced that you are
not going to feed them another morsel.
(Both
the prairie dogs and
donkeys can be photographed with relatively short
lenses) |
BISON:
Custer State Park, South Dakota: Yellowstone National
Park, Wyoming
Although the huge, thundering herds
of bison that once roamed the plains of the western
U.S. and Canada
have long since disappeared, there are by today's
standards, a number of sizable herds in many locations
throughout western and central North America.
We have found that two locations, Custer State
Park and Yellowstone National Park, provide excellent
opportunities to view and photograph
bulls, cows and calves at relatively close
range in a natural setting.
Both of these parks are home to large, well
managed herds that are accustomed to humans. (Suggested
lenses: 100-400mm zoom at both locations)
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NORTH
AMERICAN
ELK:
Yellowstone National Park, WY; Niobrara State Park,
NE
and the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta
in Canada
Smaller than the moose and bison, the
elk, one of the largest members of the deer family,
is found throughout western North America. Autumn from mid September through mid December, is the period
of the 'Rut' when bulls and their 'Harems' are the most
active and consequently the most visible.
It is at this time of the year that mature bulls
stake their claim to as many cows as they are able to
defend against their male challengers.
The bull elk's 'bugling' during the rut, is an
awesome sound
and one that helps the cow elk determine who might be
an eligible suitor and other bulls to gauge the size
of a potential adversary.
Yellowstone Park with some of the largest
herds of elk in the lower forty eight states, offers
some of
the best photo opportunities to be found anywhere
in the U.S.
Because the elk in Yellowstone have lived with
humans and without hunting pressure for many generations, the adults in particular,
can be approached
to within camera range quite easily.
The foothills of the Canadian Rockies
in and around the communities of Banff, Lake Louise
and Jasper in Alberta, Canada offer some of the best
elk photo opportunities to be found anywhere in Canada.
We have filmed
very large bulls displaying an impressive set
of antlers in this region of Canada.
(Suggested lens: 100-400MM zoom, longer lenses
if and when necessary.)
ROOSEVELT ELK,
one of the five subspecies of
the North American elk, inhabit the coastal and Cascade
region of the Pacific Northwest. One of the better viewing
areas for the Roosevelt elk is along the Umpqua River
in coastal Oregon.
There is a viewing shelter located on State Route
38 west of Reedsport, OR. (Suggested lenses; 600mm minimum
with teleconverter. All of the animals that we observed were
a considerable distance from the viewing
location.)
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MOUNTAIN
GOATS: Icefields Parkway
(Route 93) Alberta, Canada
& Logan Pass in Glacier National Park, MT.
This
surefooted and very impressive cliff dwelling ungulate
inhabits the mountainous regions of the western U.S.
and Canada, primarily at elevations above the tree line.
It is often very difficult to locate the mountain
goat and an even greater challenge to move
to within camera
range of this elusive animal. Most
mountain goat sightings are fleeting glimpses
on a distant mountain side.
However, we discovered several years ago that
two locations offer the best
photo opportunities that we have
found anywhere.
In the U.S. on the 'Road
to the Sun'
highway at Logan Pass in Glacier National Park and on
the 'Icefields
Parkway',
(Route 93) between Lake Louise and Jasper in Alberta,
Canada.
In both locations, adults and their young frequent
hiking trails, mineral licks and at times, the road
sides and are relatively easy
to photograph.
(Suggested lens: 100-400mm zoom, long lenses
for the distant shots.)
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MOOSE:
Yellowstone & Teton National
Parks, WY.
Second only to
the bison in weight and the largest member of the deer family, a bull moose
can weigh upwards of 1,200 to
1,500 pounds. Looking like it
was designed by committee, a mature bull moose, with a rack spread of four
to five feet, is never- the-less an awesome creature and one that deserves
considerable respect. (More
humans are killed in North America each year by moose than by bears.)
We have filmed
moose at a number of locations but our favorite,
particularly in the fall of the year, is the Lewis River area along the
Yellowstone Park south entrance road, close
to the Yellowstone & Teton National Parks boundary.
Another location in Yellowstone that can sometimes be productive is
Moose Meadows on the road between
Norris and Mammoth. (Suggested Lenses: 500mm to 600mm, often with a
teleconverter.)
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BIG
HORN SHEEP: Alberta, Canada &
Logan Pass, MT.
Another of the
sure footed cliff dwelling ungulates, the big horn and its close cousins, the
Rocky Mountain and California Bighorn, inhabit the high meadows and steep
cliffs in the mountainous regions of western North America.
This species of the cloven-hoofed family is believed to be a descendant
of the Asian Marco Polo sheep that migrated to North America via the Bering
land bridge about 500,000 years ago. The
Dahl sheep, a white, slender horned relative of the bighorn, is found only
in Alaska and the Yukon Territory.
We have observed the
the bighorn in a number of locations from Arizona
to British Columbia and Alberta, Canada.
However, we have had our best luck filming them
in three locations; on the trails at Logan Pass at the
top of the 'Road
to the Sun' in Glacier National Park, Montana;
the mountain sides and valleys around
Jasper in Alberta, Canada and in Custer State
Park in South Dakota. (Suggested lenses: 100-400mm zoom & 500mm or 600mm with a teleconverter for distant shots.)
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BROWN
BEAR:
Knight Inlet; British Columbia, Canada & Katmai
National Park,
Alaska
There has been considerable discussion
and confusion over the taxonomy of the brown bear.
However, it
is generally
agreed that there are at least two subspecies in North
America, the grizzly and the Kodiak.
The former can be found throughout western
North America over a wide area from Alaska to the
northwestern U.S.
The Kodiak bear can be found only on three islands
in southwestern Alaska; Kodiak, Afognak and Shuyak..
Grizzlies inhabiting the coastal regions of
Canada and Alaska are commonly referred to as Coastal
Brown Bears, while those that inhabit the mountainous
interior of Canada and the northwestern U.S. are referred
to as grizzlies.
Grizzlies have been hunted to near extinction
in the lower forty eight states with only small populations
remaining in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Washington.
Coastal brown bears due to their
consumption of fish and other foods high in
protein, are generally larger and heavier than their
inland cousin.
We have filmed brown bears at two very photo productive
sites; one in Canada and another in Alaska.
Knight
Inlet: Knight Inlet is one of a number
of spectacular fiords that penetrate the beautiful
British Columbia coastline. Knight Inlet Lodge, a
small complex of floating buildings located on remote
Glendale Cove in the Great Bear Rain Forest, offers
first class accommodations for a limited number of
guests. Each day experienced guides transport a small
group of guests across Glendale Cove by skiff, to
a waiting mini-bus for a twenty minute ride on an
old logging road, to the confluence of two small rivers
and a raised and covered viewing platform. Spawning
salmon choke the waters of the streams that border
the platform and brown bears and their cubs spend
their days chasing and devouring as many as they can
catch. The photo opportunities are limitless. (Suggested
lenses: 400mm or 600mm for the long shots and
100mnm-400mm
zoom for the close in shots)
Katmai
National Park:
There are a number of organized tours
that will take you to Katmai in Alaska. We chose
to schedule our own trip by way of Kodiak island. We flew Alaska Airlines from Seattle to Fairbanks and then
to Kodiak Island.
In Kodiak, we arranged lodging in one of the
several B&B homes where we met a number of very
interesting and informative individuals.
From Kodiak we chartered a small float
plane for a short flight over the island and
across Shelikof Strait to a remote location on the
south shore of Katmai.
The pilot landed on the strait and taxied around
a mountain into
a small bay.
Two small rivers full of spawning salmon, entered
the bay and both were full of brown bears chasing salmon.
The pilot supplied hip boots and after wading
toward shore to a location where the water was shallow
enough to set up the tripod,
I spent the next several hours surrounded by
salmon and salmon chasing
bears of every age and size, at distances ranging
from from
75 feet to 100 yards. (Suggested lenses:
400mm to 600mm)
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KILLER
WHALES (ORCAS):
Discovery Passage/ Johnstone Strait, British
Columbia, Canada
The killer whale or orca is an awe inspiring
creature. The largest member of the dolphin family, the males (bulls)
can reach a weight of over ten tons and a length in
excess of thirty feet and display a dorsal fin that
can be as much as six feet in height.
Orca on the British Columbia coast are classified
in three types;
resident, transient and offshore.
The resident whales inhabit
inland waters among the hundreds of coastal islands,
and feed primarily on fish and small mammals.
The transient pods travel in the open Pacific
as well as the inland waters and feed primarily on larger
mammals such as harbor and elephant seals, sea lions,
porpoise and other whales. Little is known of the feeding
habits or movements of the offshore whales. Orca
travel and live in
close knit family group called pods. Each pod
communicates through the use of its own pod specific
dialect.
Orca=
are the only known mammal other than humans, to demonstrate
specific dialects for the purpose of relaying messages
to one another. We have experienced the greatest number of sightings and the
best photo
opportunities in Johnstone Strait and Discovery Passage
among the islands off the west coast of British Columbia.
(Suggested lens: 100-400mm zoom and a
camera that has rapid fire capability. At the first
sign of a dorsal fin depress the shutter button and
hold it down until the whale has surfaced and submerged.
One or more frames in the sequence should produce
a good photograph.
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WADING
& WATER BIRD ROOKERY: Venice,
FL.
In Florida, the period from mid December
through mid to late February is an ideal time to film
wading and water birds engaged in nest building and
'child' care.
There are many rookeries throughout the state.
A nesting
site in South Venice that appears on the Audubon
Society' list of rookeries, offers outstanding opportunities
to film everything from eggs and newborns to fledglings
attempting a maiden flight.
The nesting birds include Great, Snowy and Cattle
egrets, Great Blue and Black Crowned Night Herons, Cormorant
and Anhinga, all crowded onto a relatively small island
located approximately 75' to 100' from your lens. (Suggested
lens: 400mm to 600mm with teleconverter)
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GENERAL
In addition to
the wildlife viewing and photographic opportunities that the above locations
offer, most of these sites also
offer some of the most spectacular scenery you will ever observe if filming
landscapes is your calling.
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