One of my life goals was to travel to all 50 states before my 40th birthday. My trip this past summer to the beautiful state of Alaska allowed me to check it off my list! The natural beauty in Alaska is incredible and was a fun to photograph. I don’t consider myself a landscape or wildlife photographer, but Alaska will turn you into one quickly.
I took my oldest son, Landon, with me to explore this amazing state. We spent most of our time on the Kenai Peninsula and enjoyed the breathtaking drives and the fishing towns of Homer and Seward.
The highlight of the trip was taking a float plane from Homer to Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park to watch the brown bears feeding on the spawning salmon. We saw about 15 bears that day and were able to get within 20 feet of some of them. It was a wonderful experience and a day that I will never forget.
We followed that up with a great day of whale watching and saw over 30 whales, both humpback and orcas, and the opportunity to watch the humpback whales bubble net feeding.
After touring the Kenai we headed up to Denali National Park where we saw more bears, moose and caribou. Unfortunately Denali kept its head in the clouds the entire time we were there, but the area was still great to explore.
Alaska rose up very high on my list of favorite places and the trip was even more special because of my time with my son. I look forward to returning someday! – McCory
