DAY 1: Arrival in Anchorage
Independent travel to Ted Stevens International Airport (ANC) in Anchorage. You should arrive in Anchorage no later than 3 pm on August 6, 2021. From the airport, the hotel’s free shuttle service will deliver you to your accommodation with the minimum of fuss.
Later in the afternoon, you will meet the other tour participants, your photography guide, Jeff Schultz, and a further guide from Amazing Views. Jeff will give you an introduction to wildlife and landscape photography and the details on your upcoming trip. Then we all head off for dinner together. To help you get over the jetlag, we STRONGLY urge you to arrive a day or two early. We will be happy to help you with hotel bookings in Anchorage.
DAY 2: Onward journey to Lake Clark National Park
After breakfast, we take a quick shuttle to the Lake Hood float plane base near the hotel. This is the busiest take-off and landing point for float planes in the world. A typical Alaskan bush plane takes us directly to our lodge in Lake Clark National Park.
After a flight of just under an hour, we land on the sandy beach near the lodge where we will spend the next three nights. Each guest cabin and lodge room is unique, modern, spacious and very comfortable with a combination of queen and twin beds, full baths, sitting areas, individual heat sources, and electricity. The fully furnished cabins have one, two or three bedrooms and all have private decks with views of the tidal flats and Cook Inlet.
Upon arrival, we will head to look for bears, accompanied by two highly trained guides who are responsible for your safety. To allow us to move through the area rapidly, transport from one location to the next will make use of ATVs/quad bikes.
With any luck, we’ll capture our first images of the impressive bears. After breaks for lunch and dinner, we will set out to look for bears again, taking the time to observe them and take photos as long as the light permits.
DAY 3 – 4: Lake Clark National Park
We spend two entire days in the Lake Clark National Park following bear tracks, and with plenty of time to observe and take photos. In this region, it is common to see bears digging up mussels on the beach, feeding on sedge grass or catching salmon in the river that flows to the sea. We will return to the lodge for lunch and breaks.
DAY 5: From Lake Clark to Girdwood
After breakfast, we have more time for bear watching and photography. In the late morning, we are picked up by bush plane for the return journey to Anchorage.
Our own private 15-passenger, high-roof van then takes us South along Turnagain Arm to the quaint town of Girdwood, stopping for photography along the way. After arriving to our Bed & Breakfast you will have the afternoon free to do whatever you wish. We'll meet again in the early evening for landscape and potential wildlife photography in the area, hopefully with beautiful evening light. After dinner there is a possibility to do more photography, to take part in a Jeff’s tutorial of landscape photography or just enjoy the evening.
DAY 6: Prince William Sound
Today you’ll enjoy a full-day boat trip, photographing tidewater glaciers, ice bergs, bald eagles, seals, sea otters and various species of birds and marine wildlife in Prince William Sound. We board a boat which is exclusively chartered for our group. We will spend the entire day on the water in Prince William Sound including one or two shore excursions. With some luck, we will get an opportunity to observe & photograph whales, porpoise or orcas. The landscape and the giant, tidewater glaciers will fascinate you. At the end of our day will return to our same cozy Bed & Breakfast in Girdwood for another overnight stay.
In the evening, there will be another opportunity to do landscape and potential wildlife photography in the area.
DAY 7: Turnagain Arm & Matanuska River Valley
After breakfast, we leave Girdwood and travel back North along Turnagain Arm with potential for Dall Sheep, moose and landscapes. We pass through Anchorage and into in the Eagle River Valley and Matanuska River valley, flanked by the Talkeetna Mountains on one side and the Chugach Mountains on the other. We overnight at a lodge nestled at the base of the Talkeetna Mountains with spectacular views of both the Chugach and Talkeetna Mountains.
DAY 8: Matanuska Valley
Spend the whole day in the Matanuska Valley and make pictures of the great scenery that this region has to offer. Look forward to idyllic valleys, impressive glaciers, rushing streams and impressive mountain panoramas.
DAY 9: Palmer Hatcher Pass & Talkeetna
Morning photo session in the Matanuska Valley area. After breakfast, we leave the Matanuska valley and head into the beautifully scenic Hatcher Pass and Talkeetna Mountains. In the evening we are in the small town of Palmer.
DAY 10: Enjoy an unforgettable Helicopter adventure
Today we rise early for our helicopter flight over a glacier to the shores of a stunning remote glacial lake.
The lake, the icebergs, the glacier and the mountain range in the background offer truly unique scenery. The helicopter will enable you to get the best birds’ eye view images. Weather and conditions permitting we will fly with the doors off of the helicopter for better aerial images. After landing, the helicopter flies off and you will spend time with Jeff and our second guide, photographing the glacier, lake, icebergs, wildflowers and much more.
In the afternoon we fly back to our private van where we then travel north to the quaint town of Talkeetna. After arriving at the hotel, you are free to do whatever you wish. You will have the option of taking a flight-seeing tour with a glacier landing to view Denali (formerly Mt. McKinley) over Denali National Park (weather permitting).
Day 11: Talkeetna
Today is a complete relaxing day in and around Talkeetna. If the weather was not conducive to partake in the flight-seeing airplane trip last night, it is possible to do it this day.
The program includes photo sessions and time to relax. The historic and quaint town of Talkeetna has retained much of its early Alaska flair from the gold rush era. Log cabins and shingle-clad shop facades line up along unpaved roads. Main Street has galleries, restaurants and cafés. The evening has the potential for nigh-sky photography.
Day 12: From Talkeetna to Denali National Park
Before breakfast, early birds can capture some images of the beautiful scenery in the dawn light. After breakfast, we drive along the idyllic Parks Highway in the direction of Denali National Park.
Denali National Park is one of the absolute highlights of North America and provides the ideal conditions for landscape and wildlife photography. Shortly after noon, we start on a 7-hour drive by private lodge bus our destination lodge through the centre of the national park. The countryside along the route is incredibly beautiful and with some luck, you will see wildlife, such as bears, moose, caribou, Dall sheep and more. We will stop at particularly beautiful viewpoints to give you the opportunity to capture special images.
The next 4 nights will be spent exclusively in a small, remote lodge in the middle of Denali National Park, far from the hustle and bustle of the park entrance. Enjoy a unique experience in the center of Denali National Park. During appropriate weather conditions, you can enjoy a direct view of North America´s highest mountain, Denali right from your cabin porch. The peaceful location, in the midst of nature, is balm for the heart and soul.
Essential information about our accommodations in Denali National Park
The visit to Denali National Park is highly regulated by the National Park Service. Only the first 14 miles of the 90-mile park route can be accessed by private vehicles. Only official park vehicles, buses, equipment and other special transports are allowed beyond Mile 14. Subsequently, only shuttle buses are available, with fixed routes and stops to explore Denali National Park. Most visitors must leave the park in the evening. This implies that only a few will have the opportunity to take photographs during the best lighting conditions and at the best time of the day in the park.
During this tour, you will stay overnight at one of the few lodges in the heart of the national park. Its idyllic location offers a direct view of Mount Denali. With the lodge's own minibus, we have the possibility to explore the park individually and to photograph at the heart of the national park. This is a unique experience you’ll never forget.
Note: This lodge is not for everyone. It is not a luxurious resort. It does not have internet connection, cell service, T.V. (no other Denali lodges do either) or even unlimited electricity. Instead, creative handwork, attention to detail, and careful stewardship of the land create a simple elegance that does not detract from the wildlands you come to explore. Long-standing family ownership is committed to preserving and refining these fundamental elements. The experience of staying at Camp Denali is a unique blend of camaraderie among fellow adventurers and staff in a wilderness setting without parallel. Your private cabin may be up to a 5-minute walk to the main lodge where the dining room, shared modern shower facility and library are located. Each cabin has a short path to a private, meticulously maintained outhouse, and sink basin. Drinking water comes from a spigot just outside your door and may be heated on your cabin’s propane hotplate. Heat to your cabin is in the form of a wood-fired stove.
DAY 13 - 15: Denali National Park
During the 3 full days of your tour of the Denali National Park, you will have ample opportunity for landscape- and wildlife photography. The lodge bus will take us to interesting sites, where we will be able to photograph tundra, forest and wildlife. Various short hikes will be arranged, during which you will be able to access the best spots. On one morning, we will drive to Wonder Lake before sunrise and with a bit of luck, we will get a chance to photograph Mount Denali, which is reflected in the lake.
Due to the reduced size of the group and the accompaniment by two photo tour guides, there will be sufficient time to meet the individual needs and wishes of all participants. Our photo tour guide Jeff is available for individual coaching. As during the entire tour, we will also offer brief, practice-oriented tutorials on relevant photography topics.
DAY 16: From Denali National Park to Talkeetna
After three eventful days in the heart of the Denali National Park, our private lodge bus returns us to the park’s entrance around noon. At this point our private tour van takes us back to Talkeetna. You then have the late afternoon free to do whatever you wish including the opportunity for a participant slide show and critique. In the evening we meet for our last dinner on this fantastic photo tour.
DAY 17: Back to Anchorage
Today is the end of our fascinating Alaska photo trip. After enjoying breakfast together, we take a leisurely trip in our minibus back to Anchorage in time for your late-afternoon flight or follow-up itinerary.
