Bears of Alaska with Tom Mangelsen

Bears of Alaska with Tom Mangelsen
Dates: Aug 13 - 18, 2007

Thomas D. Mangelsen announces his inaugural photo workshop - an exciting opportunity to photograph wild brown bears, eagles, and puffins at one of the premier locations in Alaska. Intended for the experienced wildlife photographer, the workshop will be held at a remote lodge in Lake Clark National Park with access only by airplane or boat. Limited to no more than 10 participants, this workshop offers the opportunity to photograph brown bears fishing for salmon with the world's most successful wildlife photographer. Workshop participants will be the only photographic group at the lodge and have the facilities almost completely dedicated to their workshop. Offering excellent meals, guides, and a remote location, this rustic Alaskan lodge photo experience is an opportunity to spend 5 days and 4 nights learning composition, lighting, exposure and digital processing techniques from Tom and his staff.

The workshop begins in Anchorage on August 13 at dinner with Tom. The next morning you will be flown by bush plane for a landing on the shores of Cook Inlet, where the lodge staff will transport you a short distance to the lodge. Grab your gear and it's off to look for your first photo opportunity! You'll spend 5 days and 4 nights filling your viewfinder with images of the Alaskan coastal plains and Mt Illiamna rising 10,016 feet to the west in the Aleutian Range. The lodge location puts you at the mouth of two rivers on the western shores of Cook Inlet, where the bears gather to fish for salmon. There is a shallow lake behind the lodge, where you may find loons, beavers, Trumpeter swans, and possibly Sandhill cranes.

All proceeds from this workshop will benefit The Cougar Fund, a nonprofit organization based in Jackson, WY. The mission of The Cougar Fund is to protect the cougar throughout the Americas. The Cougar Fund educates the public on the value of cougars in nature and promotes the gathering and application of sound science in their management. By advocating thriving populations of cougars, The Cougar Fund ensures that these beautiful, legendary creatures may exist in ways that enjoy long-lasting public support. (www.cougarfund.org) Each participant will receive a statement for tax deduction purposes from The Cougar Fund.

Thomas D. Mangelsen operates 16 Images of Nature galleries across the western United States, showcasing his images from 40 years of photographing wildlife in North America, Africa, South America, India, and Antarctica. In 2005, Tom was named one of the 100 most important people in photography by American Photo Magazine as well as being honored with Nikon's Legend Behind the Lens recognition. He has received an Honorary Fellowship from The Royal Photographic Society in 2002, named North American Nature Photographer Association's (NANPA) Outstanding Nature Photographer of the Year in 2000 and in 1994, Mangelsen received the prestigious BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award. His work has also been published in leading magazines such as Audubon, Smithsonian, Nature's Best, National Geographic, Life, Wildlife Art, American Photo and National Wildlife. He has been featured on television programs from The Today Show and Good Morning America, to CNN's World News. He has published numerous books, including Images of Nature, Polar Dance, and his most recent - The Natural World.