Last year (2023) I decided to photograph the "three Ps," penguins, polar bears and puffins. I was able to photograph several species of penguins in the Falkland Islands and Antarctica last November, Atlantic Puffins this year in August in Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve in Canada, and just recently I walked with polar bears at Seal River Lodge north of Churchill, Canada.
I wanted to take a polar bear trip where I was able to walk out on the tundra, not be confined to riding in a vehicle, and a group called Churchill Wild provided that opportunity. They have several lodges in the Churchill area and they offer opportunities to photograph both polar bears and wolves, on different trips, among other animals and the family-owned business has been operating in the area for many years. I cannot say enough good about this group. I've taken many photography trips through the years and this group outdid all of them, the guides were wonderful, the food was fantastic, the lodge both beautiful and comfortable, and the polar bears easy to find and photograph. Walking on the tundra was a bit rough at times as Hudson Bay was just starting to freeze over and it was both icy and slushy. The tundra walking could be a bit hazardous with a lot of brush and uneven ground along with icy spots but all 14 of us, plus four guides, managed to get through it all, although one guide did back up a bit too far and ended up on his back, unhurt, due to a rock behind him.
I wanted to take a polar bear trip where I was able to walk out on the tundra, not be confined to riding in a vehicle, and a group called Churchill Wild provided that opportunity. They have several lodges in the Churchill area and they offer opportunities to photograph both polar bears and wolves, on different trips, among other animals and the family-owned business has been operating in the area for many years. I cannot say enough good about this group. I've taken many photography trips through the years and this group outdid all of them, the guides were wonderful, the food was fantastic, the lodge both beautiful and comfortable, and the polar bears easy to find and photograph. Walking on the tundra was a bit rough at times as Hudson Bay was just starting to freeze over and it was both icy and slushy. The tundra walking could be a bit hazardous with a lot of brush and uneven ground along with icy spots but all 14 of us, plus four guides, managed to get through it all, although one guide did back up a bit too far and ended up on his back, unhurt, due to a rock behind him.
The company provided rental parkas, pants, and boots as part of the initial fee and I sent them my sizes ahead of time. When I arrived in Winnipeg I was fitted at the hotel that evening and then attended an orientation dinner after the fitting. To get all the gear on the plane we had been instructed to leave room in our checked bag for the pants and told to carry on the coat and wear the huge, heavy boots. I think the parka and boots together must have easily weighed 15 pounds, it was like wearing weight-lifting clothes! Since the weather was fairly warm, 25-30 degrees, I sweated in the clothes most every day but if there had been a blizzard I was fully prepared!
The next morning we were escorted as a group to the airport to jump on an airplane to Churchill. The 70-passenger CRJ-900 operated by Delta had strict guidelines for weight and my photo backpack carry-on could weigh no more than 20 pounds (they weighed all bags) and my one checked bag no more than 50 pounds. The airline, however, did provide valet service for the photo backpack but the pack's total weight as a valet item was added to the checked-on bag weight, so the photo backpack and the checked bag could weigh no more than 50 pounds together and any carry-on not more than 20 pounds. This was not a problem as my checked bag, the airline specified certain dimensions which limited what I could pack, only weighed about 25 pounds (I did not take a tripod). On the way there I did take my backpack on the plane and it just fit in the overhead bin, but the bin was fairly small. My backpack is thinner and longer rather than bulky. On the way back I used the valet service. I carried my laptop in the backpack. The hotel in Winnipeg allowed people to check in any excess luggage.
Once in Churchill, after pulling on our waterproof pants, we were transported by bus a short distance away to our two waiting bush planes. The group was split up into two groups to board the planes and the carry-on items were stowed at the back of the plane. We put on headsets to deaden the noise and took off for the lodge located at the edge of Hudson Bay, about 25 minutes away by plane. On arrival, we were transported to the lodge located just at the end of the runway. We started our trek on the tundra for polar bears that first afternoon after arrival. Each day we would go on a hike in the morning and late afternoon. Most of the time I carried two Nikon Z8 cameras, one with a 600PF and one with a 100-400 lens (most shots were taken with the 600PF but sometimes the bears were very close to the lodge and the 100-400 came in handy for that). Carrying two lenses in all those heavy clothes was not easy. In between we were fed gourmet food and treated to presentations by our very knowledgeable and good-humored guides.
On each hike we had four guides with us, all carrying firearms. We hiked in a line to appear as a larger animal to the bears, although a couple of bears were fairly curious about us and had to be shooed away. The guides used various non lethal ways to shoo the bears and told us that no one had ever shot a bear on any trip at the lodge over the many years they had been in operation.
This is a trip I can highly recommend to anyone wanting to photograph or to simply walk among polar bears in Churchill, Canada. You can check their webpage out by using the link below:
Our guides on the trip, all of whom were very knowledgeable and easy to be with, keeping us safe and teaching us about polar bears and the tundra as we hiked the area.
The stars of the show below, the polar bears...please note that the bears were not actually in combat, they were sparring. Young male bears do this to get ready for when they will do battle to mate with a female. Male bears are normally around eight years old when that starts to occur, although prime breeding age is around 10 years old, most likely because the bear is then able at that point to hold its own to fight to mate.
