Katmai National Park

It is the famous bear viewing platform by Brooks Falls.

One of the first grizzly bears that I saw on this trip. I nicknamed it "Butt Crack" because of the way its rear looks.

It was a very large brown bear but probably not a grizzly.

Salmon runs normally end in August. I was very lucky to still be able to see it in August.

Sockeye salmons are one of my most favorite photography subjects.

There are normally no bears near Brooks Falls in August. I was very fortunate to see 6-7 bears everyday when I was there. More importantly I was able to see them catching live fish instead of picking up dead fish after the salmon runs.

This mother and her two cubs were roaming around the campsite where I slept. I bet that I heard her one night from just a few feet away from my tent.

My dream was to take pictures of grizzly bears waiting for fish to fall into their mouths while they stood on the top of the waterfall. I would have gotten those shots if I came in July instead of August. But I still got something close to that.

I surprised a grizzly bear on the trail. It is usually a death sentence. The bear did make noise that was the prelude of an attack. But it decided to let me live and walked away. It was very unusual for the bear to do that.

Brooks River is where men and bears fish at the same time. I was fly fishing for the first time with a guide. A bear sneaked up right behind us. We had to hustle to cross the river to escape from the bear.

It was my first time fly fishing. It was the biggest rainbow trout that I got that day.