GIVE US YOUR SUGGESTIONS & FEEDBACK ABOUT THE SITE
We will send you an E-mail every time there is a new article in your favorite section. Sign-Up For ALERTS.

World Photo

The Alaskan Wilderness - by Jim Oltersdorf We recently received the following Alaskan photo essay from our good friend Jim Oltersdorf. Article rating: 9.47

Recently, we received an update from our good friend Jim Oltersdorf, who is known for his extreme style of wilderness photography, often taking shots while hanging out of his airplane using a specially designed rig.  You can even catch his special on the Discovery Channel HD Theater's "The Risk Takers" (check local listings).  We were lucky enough to have Jim share the following images and hope you enjoy them as much as we did.

We just got back from our "Living with the Grizzlies" trip. So, receiving this e-mail means we came back safe and sound!

This journey was to collect photographic stock in which my agents will be dispersing to the various vendors around the nation. We also made many notes on the multitudinous behaviors of the giant Alaskan brown bears in which we were so privileged to experience, up close and very personal. All in all, we saw over two hundred bears, of course, counting some twice and maybe three times...kinda difficult to keep track of them all over the period of time we spent in the Alaskan wilderness. Needless to say, we had a number of "giant heart attacks" when these animals would come right up to us and stare us down. I can only say, it isn't a good feeling to say the least. Standing just 25 feel away from an 8 foot tall Alaskan brown bear gives new meaning to life.

Our camp was about 165 air miles into the wilderness with us having to change aircraft a number of times to get there, finally arriving on a floatplane. Its deep into the heart of what Alaska is all about and few have ever seen it like we did. Camping in grizzly country is not for the faint of heart, these bears are huge (next to the polar bear, these animals are the largest meat eaters on earth. Both Lisa and I knew what we were getting into before we left, or, so we thought. At night, when one HAS to get up, you cannot imagine what that is like going outside by oneself. It was ink black due to the new moon so I would sure put on my "ears" and listen to anything as I walked to the "bathroom". There was hardly a night (or morning) that we didn't have at least 4-5 bears in camp. I "slept" with my Smith & Wesson .45 semi automatic along with a large canister of red pepper bear spray. Imagine with all those giant bears around (most were between 7-9 feet tall and would weight anywhere between 700 pounds and 1,000 pounds) and trying to sleep or for that matter, sit and have just a cup of coffee. But, we delighted in all of this and are just a handful of people who have experienced this spectacle. But, this isn't just about bears, with the thousands and thousands of square miles of Alaskan wilderness as our "TV set", a spectacle that has no equal. We ate freeze-dried dinner each night on the remote lakefront, and watched the bears along with the salmon as our "movie of the week". The silence, the sounds, the scent of the wildflowers gave memories for a lifetime.

The river and streams we hiked to (we hiked about 40 miles in total) were teeming with tens and tens of thousands of spawning salmon, nothing on earth matches this. From their long journeys that has taken them years and thousands of miles, their lives end where we stood as they laid and fertilized their pinkish eggs for a new generation of fry to hatch.It was here that they themselves were hatched in the icy cold Alaskan waters far from anything else to begin the lifecycle as it has been doing for hundreds of thousands of years. It is the purest water on earth.

In the end, I shot over 2,200 photographic images and managed to keep us both alive, alive as we have ever been. The irony of it all was in the beginning, Lisa didn't really wish to go out and live with those giant bears and most people we talked to agreed with her. However, it was with a deepened heart and new awareness of the wilderness that she began to realize over those long Alaskan days and miles-long mountain hikes, how wonderful it really is.

When the drone of the floatplane yesterday morning was faintly heard in the vast blue sky at our camp, Lisa had a wistfulness in her heart. We had to leave.

Moments later, as the tent and camping gear were stowed in the airplane, she turned to me and whispered, "I really don't want to leave now Jim, can we come back again next year?". I smiled back to her and said without question, we'll be back. This time as filmmakers.

^ Back to top

	Wow! What an experience! I couldn't imagine camping in the middle of all those brownies. Humans are just another item on their food chain, you know. I guess they weren't interested at the time with of the abundance of salmon. It was definitely to your gain. What awesome pictures! You captured the movement and emotion not only in the bears and fish, but your brave wife, Lisa, too. The pictures and story are very impressive. Thank you so much for sharing your adventure! Posted by: Pat Lytle Nov 4, 2007 @ 1:39 PM EST
	Congratulations. Wow, it is great. What a life time adventure ( it is your everyday living among bears!). Great article Posted by: Gustavo Alvarez Nov 4, 2007 @ 7:19 PM EST
	Hi Jim Can I come too next year :) Martin Posted by: Martin Hadley Nov 6, 2007 @ 9:42 PM EST
	Wow that was great.. super job Posted by: Laura Nov 7, 2007 @ 2:30 AM EST
	Your bride is a lucky Women Posted by: Lisa May 30, 2008 @ 2:3 PM EST

* Your Name:
* Email address:
	(Enter the code shown)
	(Your e-mail address will not show on the site and is used so that we can contact you back if needed)
* Your Comment about this article::
	Include me in the TGP Monthly Newsletter