Polar Bear Adventure
October 17 - 23, 2024
Join Jim for a spectacular five and a half days of polar bear photography. Instead of shooting from those monster tundra buggies where you are 15 to 20 feet above the ground and photographing down on the bears -- a terrible vantage -- with Jim you'll be shooting at ground level to get unbelievably impressive images. Low angled perspectives give greater stature to the bears. The staging area is Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, and we will seek out the bears in four-wheeled drive vehicles. You will be able to get out of the cars and take pictures from a tripod, and if you want, you can even lie on the ground to shoot. We will have to be next to the vehicles for safety, but this kind of opportunity to photograph bears at eye level makes this trip particularly exciting. We should average 3 to 5 bears per day, and our local guide knows where all the best photography spots are. This trip is priced thousands of dollars less than most others, so this is an amazing opportunity for passionate wildlife photographers. Limited to 9 people.
What you will learn on this photo tour:
Camera settings for wildlife photography
How to expose for snow
Shooting in the cold
Best focus point arrangment
How the autofocus mechanism is fooled
How to shoot with a fast frame rate
The best white balance setting to use
Depth of field issues with long lenses
Itinerary
Day 1, Thursday, October 17
Arrive in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on this day. The hotel is a 2 to 3 minute walk from the terminal. Meet Jim in the lobby of the hotel at 6 pm for a discussion of the photo tour as well as dealing with shooting in snow conditions. This is followed by a welcome dinner. Overnight at the Grand Hotel Winnipeg Airport.
Day 2, Friday, October 18
Depart Winnipeg Manitoba on this morning on Calm Air flight to Churchill (the flight time and flight number won't be announced until summer, 2024). You will have to book this flight yourself as part of your flight to Canada. Arrival time in Churchill is usually in the afternoon. We will be met by our local guide and driven directly to our lodging. We will continue our discussion of winter photography and bear safety. We begin to lose light at this time of year early, and we normally eat dinner around 6:30 pm. Overnight in a family-owned guest house.
Days 3 to 6, Saturday to Tuesday, October 19 - 22
We spend the next several days eating, sleeping, and photographing polar bears, ptarmigan, red fox, silver fox, and possibly arctic fox. If Northern Lights are displaying, we will photograph them after dinner. Only one night is set aside for the aurora if the nights are clear because we all need our sleep to be on our toes when the world’s largest carnivore is in front of us. Nowhere in the world, and nowhere in Canada, will you have better opportunities to photograph these spectacular animals than on this trip. During any part of the trip, Jim offers group critiques as well as one-on-one time to evaluate your photographs and to give you professional feedback. Overnight in a family-owned guest house.
Day 7, Wednesday, October 23. Departure
Schedule your flight from Churchill to Winnipeg as soon as possible. From there you can connect with a flight to your home town. Please remember to book a refundable hotel night in Winnipeg for your return, just in case. Some people will try and fly out of Winnipeg the same day, and if the weather cooperates, that's fine. Be prepared, however, because weather in Churchill may delay your flight. Trip cancellation or interruption insurance is strongly recommended.
Tour fee: $8850. For this photo tour only, a $3000 non-refundable deposit is required upon booking a spot. The tour operator in Canada requires this amount from each client.
Single supplement: $990
Includes: Hotel night in Winnipeg, all night's lodging in Churchill, daily outings in 4-wheel drive vehicles in search of polar bears and other wildlife, all breakfasts beginning in Winnipeg, the welcome and farewell dinners, photo instruction and critiques.