Alaskan Brown Bears - Katmai

August 2-11, 2026

Limited to just eight guests, our workshop will begin and end in Kodiak, Alaska. On the afternoon of August 2, we will check into our hotel in Kodiak, and then meet for an introductory dinner. (Please consider arrive a day early, (on August 1), to prevent unexpected travel delays from causing you to miss our August 3 float plan flight out of Kodiak.

We will transfer by float plane to our privately chartered yacht, the Alaskan Dream Catcher, which will be positioned in Geographic Harbor along the Katmai coast. With the Dream Catcher as our base, we will spend seven days and six nights with Captain Rob and his crew, eating delicious home cooking, and, most importantly, exploring the best locations along the Katmai coast to photography brown bear feeding on salmon and eating sedge grass as the prepare for winter. Expect to see and photograph young cubs, mothers, and large male brown bears. Other wildlife we may see include eagles, sea otters, wolves, and puffins.

Captain Rob will from time to time reposition the Dream Catcher, taking us to other scenic locations where the salmon are running and the bear are feeding. Our shooting times will begin early each day, and conclude well after dinner, as the summer sun rises early and sets late in Alaska. Typically, mid-day will be for resting, image editing, and image reviews. On each outing, we will transfer from the Dream Catcher to zodiacs and then to the shore. Typically, we will walk as much as a mile to reach good locations for photographing the bear active in their environment. The hikes, done in fishing waders, will take us over uneven, muddy ground. A level of fitness necessary for this kind of hiking is a prerequisite.

After a week of making images and having an experience you will cherish for a lifetime, we will return to Kodiak by float plane on August 10, spending that night at our hotel there. Our workshop will conclude morning of August 11, with flights out of Kodiak.

The registration fee of $11,500 includes workshop tuition, single-occupancy accommodations in Kodiak, meals, (excluding alcohol), from dinner on August 2 through dinner August 10, transportation during the workshop, chest waders and boots, and gratuities for local guides. (As your workshop leader, I do not expect or accept gratuities.) This workshop is limited to eight guests.

Not included: airfare and transportation to Kodiak, travel insurance, which is recommended, but not required, medical evacuation insurance, which is required.

A non-refundable deposit of $1000 will secure your place in this workshop. And additional non-refundable deposit of $5000 is due by January 1, 2026, with the non-refundable $6000 balance due on March 1, 2026. For more information, or to register, contact me at mark@schumannphoto.com, or call 505.901.2544. If I am unable to answer your call immediately, please leave a voice message and I will return your call as soon a possible.

505.901.2544 mark@schumannphoto.com