Photographer Daryl Balfour gives us a glimpse into what it’s like photographing Grizzly and Black Bears on the Katmai Peninsula, Alaska. It’s an adventure that Daryl undertakes year after year with a select group of photographers. Venturing deep into the wilderness, they journey to capture one of greatest photographic events of the year, the salmon run.
The salmon run is the annual migration of salmon upstream. It is a difficult and dangerous journey where they must navigate numerous steams and falls, all in an attempt to ensure the next generation of salmon survive. They must overcome obstacles, strong currents and other perils. But what makes the salmon run truly a sight to behold, is the feeding frenzy, where large schools of salmon attempt to swim through a gauntlet of bears, eagerly waiting their arrival.
It’s one of nature’s most spectacular events, one that reveals the intricate circle of life and the true nature of the wilderness. A battle for survival, as the salmon try to ensure the survival of the next generation, and the bears try to eat enough to survive the winter. An action-packed ordeal of flying fish and famished bears.
Daryl Balfour is an expert at photographing this event. Over the years, Daryl has come to believe that the best way to capture this incredible scene is to increase your ISO. This will help you obtain the fast shutter speeds needed to capture their movements. In addition, he believes that hand-holding your lens will also give you the freedom and flexibility to follow the action, wherever it is.