This Alaska photo expedition is a fully immersive wildlife photography workshop designed to help you return home with gallery-quality images and the skills to create them again. Led by award-winning photographer Michelle Theall, Alaska Magazine’s executive editor, this small-group expedition offers hands-on instruction, personalized feedback, and intentional time with wildlife in the right place at the right time.

Long days are spent among coastal brown bears and cubs, puffins, sea otters, and Alaskan landscapes, giving you the chance to study behavior, understand habitat, and photograph in varied light and conditions. From bears foraging on rivers and beaches to puffins feeding chicks on islands, this expedition is designed for photographers seeking depth, patience, and repeated opportunities.

Charter flights carry the small group to our comfortable backcountry lodge, offering unobstructed aerial views of volcanoes and rivers during flights on clear days. Evenings at the lodge are devoted to image review, tutorials, and discussions.

Lake Clark National Park hosts one of the densest populations of coastal brown bears in the world. July is ideal for observing spring cubs playing, riding on mothers, and learning to clam. Purple lupine and other wildflowers provide stunning foregrounds for photography. Hundreds of horned and tufted puffins fly to their nests with fish, while while moose, fox, wolf, bald eagle, and sea otter sightings are also likely.

This expedition allows intimate, safe wildlife access without disturbing natural behavior.

Guests stay five nights at a well-appointed backcountry lodge, with comfortable rooms, porches, electricity, heat, Wi-Fi, and full bathrooms (some shared). Bears often visit the lodge.

Travel includes charter flights from Anchorage, ATV rides along rivers and beaches, and a boat trip to Puffin Island to photograph puffins, kittiwakes, sea otters, and bald eagles. Daily instruction by Michelle Theall includes image review and optional one-on-one Lightroom tutorials. Excursions are timed for tides, light, and wildlife behavior, including multiple bear-viewing trips per day. Optional activities include fly-fishing, hiking, kayaking, canoeing, clam digging, and berry picking. Gourmet meals accommodate dietary restrictions.

Michelle Theall is a professional wildlife photographer and the editor-in-chief of Alaska Magazine, where she has spent decades capturing the state’s iconic landscapes and wildlife. Her images have appeared in national publications, private galleries, and on television, with profiles in Oprah Magazine, the Travel Channel, and the Today Show.

Her photography has been recognized for its storytelling and technical excellence, and she is celebrated for her ability to place viewers in the midst of unforgettable wildlife encounters. Michelle is now a guide with Reefs to Rockies, leading small groups to extraordinary wildlife destinations around the globe, from Alaska’s grizzlies to Australia’s koalas and kangaroos.

As an instructor, Michelle is known for her approachable, enthusiastic teaching style. She combines decades of field experience with practical, in-the-moment guidance, helping photographers of all levels improve not only their images, but their understanding of wildlife behavior, light, and composition.

Guests should plan arrive to arrive to Anchorage by July 15. Accommodations the night of July 15 are to be booked separately. Reach out for recommendations. The expedition begins with a group dinner at 5:30 PM on July 15 at Lakefront Millennium to meet your guide and fellow travelers.

Meals: Dinner

This morning we’ll gather at Lakefront Millennium before departing for charter flights to Lake Clark, with stunning aerial views along the way. Upon arrival, orientation and initial photography opportunities take place, followed by dinner at the lodge.

Accommodations: Backcountry Lodge

Meals: Lunch and Dinner

Full days are spent photographing bears and cubs along rivers and beaches. Cubs can be seen playing, nursing, and riding on mothers, while adults forage for fish. One day includes a boat trip to Puffin Island to photograph puffins, kittiwakes, sea otters, and bald eagles. Optional activities include hiking, kayaking, canoeing, fly-fishing, clam digging, and berry picking. Evenings are for image review, tutorials, and discussions of wildlife and habitat.

Accommodations: Backcountry Lodge

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

After a morning photography session, charter flights return the group to Anchorage. Guests depart independently for home. For anyone wanting more time in Alaska, contact us for extension recommendations.

Meals: Breakfast