White nostalgia

Although a few snow showers have occurred in the recent weeks, the amplitude of these have been far from when I arrived in April. With some more time recently, I have been looking back at some of my photos from when I first arrived. I will share a few more edits here. A tribute of sorts as the snow won't be back for almost 8 months. 

There are three different male bears shown here, the one above is a younger male, he moved very quickly and cautiously around the area, constantly moving his eyes around the landscape searching for danger. He was being bothered by the hooded crows at every step and his irritation of that was clearly evident in his movements and behaviour. 

My sleeping bear photo above was taken on my very first evening in the hides. This very large male was first out from hibernation and clearly the dominant individual in the area. On several occasions, including this night, he slept in the area. A sign that he was comfortable with dealing with any dangers posed by other predators in the area.

A walk in the woods

After returning from what can only be described as a perfect night in the hide, a welcome change of pace was needed, both from the excitement from the back-lit beasts and the back wrenching seating arrangements (by the time you arrive I will have fixed this situation!).

Two Spanish photographers were staying at the lodge and had hiked a few trails earlier in the week, they discussed trying a newer path over breakfast and I thought it sounded like a great idea, to help walk off the night spent in the chair. As we had all filled our quota of wildlife the night before, we were not after any particular species, but took our harem of 70-200's out nonetheless. 

The route cut into the taiga forest and past areas of new pine woodland, where moose tracks were abundant. The trail we used is an active boarder control route for the Finnish-Russian boarder, and when they are not frequenting our espresso machine, they patrol the line using jeeps, snowmobiles and even helicopters. 

After a few kilometres of frozen track, stopping often to listen out for the mating call of black grouse, we took a right turn deeper into the forest, heading towards the boarder. Over time the snowmobiles had slowly carved out a deep path and the tracks were still obvious from recent use. Arctic hare and Red Fox tracks littered the pathway as we hiked on through sunlight patches of moss and pine.

We came across an ants nest that Oscar and Marc showed to me, a species that I would not know off by heart, but extremely abundant in this area. After this natural landmark the track passed directly in-line with no man's land and ran parallel for at least 1 km. This border line, as Oscar vividly remembers, is strictly enforced by the regional authorities. On the spot fines are freely offered to the customers if they don't regard the official warning signs!

"The best April in 15 years" - Ari Sääski

Last night was nothing short of spectacular. As the title suggests, Spring this year at Wild Brown Bear has been incredibly active, with Brown Bear, Wolverine and even a Wolf sighting giving visitors photography opportunities to die for. For many guests the images they have made greatly exceeded their expectations, and last night was no different. The night of the 25th/26th April carried this trend forward, and for everyone it was most definitely a night to remember and not one to forget. 

After emerging from hibernation, a steady flow of new characters and personalities have been filling the surrounding wetlands and forest. For the first few weeks only a solitary male seemed bold enough to venture into the open, although recently however, 4-5 others have joined, and are becoming regulars in the hide area.  

The opportunity to photograph multiple bears, all demonstrating unique and personal behaviour, in evening, sunset, moonlit, sunrise and morning mist conditions is something that can take months of tenacity and determination to achieve. Last night 9 photographers, luckily including myself bared witness to just that, a perfect display of nature and wilderness all rolled into one epic 12 hour photography marathon.

As the day transitioned to dusk, the light was magical. The first young individual arrived early at 16:50, and although I was still setting out my equipment, I still managed to take a few frames as the bear waded through the wetland towards me. After a brief exhibition, the bear left and all was quiet on what is left of the winters grasp.
It was a short two hour wait until the wilderness revealed all, in one non-stop 12 hour firework display.

Two large and dominant males pounded the ground just as I was considering jumping into the 'bag' for the night, although the light was poor at this time, I was able to document the dominance of the largest male as he walked proudly around the area 'marking' his territory. The other male then continued to follow, re marking and announcing his disgust. Although out of view and mostly out of light, the confrontation heightened to a few moments of blatant aggression between the pair, which reverberated around the sleeping pines and deep into the valley. I usually prefer a light jazz in the evenings but you get used to it.

The entire experience was breathtaking from start to finish and I have never felt compelled to take more frames in one sitting ever before. Although the conditions are promising as I write this, I opted for a night away from the bears and withdrawn from the wilds. As much a I love it, my back is bent over double, and my left eyeball is still recovering from 12 hours spent jammed against the non-ergonomic viewfinder of my camera. Until tomorrow. 

Kajaani

After announcing a valid drivers license I have been first pick to drive the 250Km round trip to Kajaani, to receive customers and run errands. The scenery is much the same, rolling hills covered in thick spruce pines and broken only by frozen lakes and the odd, very odd, red timber lodge. Yesterday I drove to collect two Spanish photographers who were flying in from Helsinki on the 18:35. They were coming up for a week in the hides, and as usual I was eager to find out more about their hobby and where it had taken them.

On the route home the sun was beginning to dip towards the horizon and the light was incredible, shining a soft golden light over pines as we sped along. At this time of the year it is possible to see Elk (Moose) and Wild Forest Reindeer roaming the forest openings in the evening, and I was keeping a keen eye on the blurred landscape. About half way into the journey I spotted two 'Reindeer' and the photographers agreed we should turn back as the light was good and the subject matter potentially even better. As we drew alongside the 'Reindeer' they in fact turned out to be a pair of Common Cranes, although a little disappointed, the light was indeed perfect and I snapped a few frames nonetheless before heading back for a warm broth.