Hartlove Photography

08/12/2025

Alaska 2025: Fjords and Bears

It has been quite a while since posting on this site and I thought it was about time. Having recently returned from my ninth visit to the lodge and the wonderful bears of the Alaska Coast, it seems like a good time to get started. Judi, my wonderful new wife, and I took our second trip to Alaska together and it was special.

Judi and I first visited Kenai Fjords National Park, taking a three-hour scenic boat ride from Seward to Kenai Fjords Wilderness Lodge and stayed only two of our three scheduled nights there, due to high seas. Situated away from sightline on the water, it is a half-mile walk to the lodge, sitting on the edge of a lagoon with the Kenai Mountains as our backdrop. The surrounding forests are entirely blanketed by Sphagnum Moss, covering the ground and all of the downed trees, surreal. We were able to kayak in the lagoon and were joined by four different Sea Otters, three of whom had large pups either partially or fully planted on top of them. What a wonderful experience spending time with these hardy creatures. They’re pretty cute too, as you can see in the accompanying photo album.

After overnighting in Anchorage, it was off to Silver Salmon Creek Lodge by floatplane, one of my most favorite places to be. All of the same guides and most of the kitchen staff greeted us warmly and after reconnecting with the owners, we were in the field with the bears. Spring cubs (their first year) are my favorite bears to see, they. Last year there were no cubs and this year there were two for the first day and a half. Going at virtually the same time every year, it is always different. 2019 was very dry, dusty and barely a bear to be seen. The following year was one of the best with six Spring cubs amongst three mothers while I was there. It was a banner year with a total of 15 Spring cubs making an appearance. This year everything started a little early and while we were there, the berries were already out ripe. The bears need the sugar the berries provide and have to take while the taking is good so are back in the woods and on the mountain slopes, eating blueberries, salmonberries and such.

Despite an overall lack of young cubs, the bears in general were plentiful and active. We again witnessed much mating, so there is always next year! Everyone that works at this lodge loves being there, the guides sharing their love and knowledge regarding these large beings as we witness their behavior for hours at a time at close range. The bears are used to people and hardly give us pause. The staff includes a fabulous chef, Andrew Maxwell, who served us some of the best meals I have ever had. He seems to improve every year. He has authored a recipe book, “Feasts of the Wild”, available on Amazon which includes many recipes we enjoyed as well as a gallery of images the guides have captured over the years. The staff are happy, dedicated and really good at what they do. We eat in a large room with the kitchen on one side. We are able to be with the kitchen crew during final prep, dishing and serving, which makes it an intimate experience. And they have the place spotless by the time we are done eating. David and Joanne, the owners, have created a wonderful place and I am glad to be their friends.

I hope you enjoy the accompanying images on the photo album and love hearing from you. The Summer here at the lake has been beautiful. Judi has been building amazing flower gardens and bountiful vegetable spaces and I am trying to capture interesting and intriguing images of the wildlife and flora at our home. A long overdue recap of the wildness here is forthcoming.

We are enduring the intermittent smoke and haze from annual Canadian wildfires. Enjoy the remaining Summer and be well.

Peter

08/12/2025

10/02/2024

Hello All and I hope this finds you doing well.

I am excited to let everyone know that I have finally finished a book I set out to do years ago. As many of you know, I spent six years photographing the Zweck Farm in Longmont, Colorado several years ago and meant to produce a photographic book sharing a journey of learning I never expected to have. After fits and starts, “Life Along the St. Vrain” is finally out and available at Barbed Wire Books in Longmont.

John Zweck became a good friend during the time I spent on the farm and sadly, he passed away last February. He was very happy with the book and I am so glad he had a chance to enjoy it.

Thank you for any interest and be well

Peter

09/01/2022

Alaska Brown Bears 2022

Once again, I returned to Alaska to observe and be among coastal brown bears at a wonderful lodge on the west shore of Cook Inlet. And again, it did not disappoint, seeing many bears, four spring cubs and wonderful behavior. A well known female named Agro had triplet spring cubs and an unnamed female had a single spring cub, its sibling having disappeared two weeks prior to my visit. This remaining cub was the most precocious cub anyone had seen and stole the heart of everyone there. I lobbied to have her named Feather as you will see why from the images. There were many single bears and a trio of adolescents loosely together for the company and protection of each other. It felt so good to get back and be among these majestic and wonderful creatures, living the cycle of life in the Alaskan wild.

This visit included more clouds, a couple days of rain and it was somewhat cooler and more moist than previous visits, the bears liking that. But if it’s not really raining, one dresses the body and camera appropriately and out you go, the bears certainly don’t mind some rain. There were many very close in proximity encounters with several bears, that being one of my favorite times. You see the intimate details of them; a scar on the cheek, a nose a bit different in shape and the color and texture of the fur. And there were a few times with Feather that just stirred one’s heart with her antics. One late afternoon we watched and smiled as she was hanging onto her mom’s ear and being dragged as mom walked along, then running and jumping all over mom’s face as she walked and then when they finally settled down, Feather slowly approached us and stood and stumbled around (see video). The encounter ended with them nursing fifteen feet away. It was agreed that we had witnessed a magical moment with Nature.

With mind-boggling food, great guests, accommodating and knowledgeable guides, owners that are just good people and bears doing what they do, it was a memorable visit to a wonderful piece of the natural world.

Please enjoy the accompanying images and please be well and be safe. Fall is approaching. More later

Peter

08/13/2022

This sow and cub were nursing right in front of me, also taken with my phone. It was an incredible moment.

08/13/2022

Before I post about the bears in Alaska this summer, I wonted to share a couple of videos taken up there. This is with my phone taken about ten feet in front of me! This cub stole the show.

08/13/2022

I had forgotten about this video taken last March on my deck. Just another critter living around my home, pretty adorable.

06/25/2022

I am lucky to have a drumming log of a Ruffed Grouse at my house and he is very busy in the Spring. I don't have a great microphone so you don't get the full experience but the sound is produced by a sonic boom from the wing motion. Look for a good audible version online if you are interested.

06/25/2022

Lake House - Part II

Since my last post, it has been late summer, fall, winter (that was something), spring and early summer. Looking back, I guess I would have to say a lot has happened. Please enjoy the accompanying photo album.

Summer brought sun, warmth, a multitude of flowers and a total immersion in green. A large variety of flowers grew amongst the ferns out front and on a warm, still evening in late summer, I was enthralled by fireflies flashing through the grasses between my house and the lake. Magical. Out at the end of the dock, yellow and white flowering water lilies were thick and afforded great foregrounds for the sunset shots. Almost daily dawn and dusk kayaking revealed many intimate views into life on a small lake: otters, beavers, dragonflies, a multitude of insects. Fall brought the reds, oranges and yellows of the surrounding trees and things quieted down. What birds that stayed behind for the winter were somewhat more sedate in their song, well, except for the chickadees. They are always happy and carrying on. Trumpeter and Mute Swans and large rafts of Common Mergansers made appearances before moving further south.

Although I felt I was prepared, the dark, cloudy days and the shortening of the days took adjustment. Before leaving Colorado, I appreciated my morning walks with clear skies, the beautiful mountain range seen from Longmont and the nice variety of bird life. Then here in the North Woods, at the Winter Solstice, sunrise wasn’t until 8:20 and a sunny day was few and far between. Some days it stayed so dark it seemed it was dusk all day.

Then there was snow, shoveling almost every day around the house and out onto the dock was physically challenging. The snow also afforded the opportunity for wonderful x-country skiing in the preserve at the end of my road. Then there was cold, many days staying in the teens and nights getting down to single digits, with the coldest night being -15 degrees. Cold weather gear that had not been used for years was resurrected and put to good use. Settling in by the fire with a warm beverage once the sun was down was an almost daily ritual.

As March arrived the days rapidly lengthened and I am surprised to say a part of me missed those long nights and the routine of snow almost every day. But I got over it. New bird songs started: A sweet simple song turned out to be a Tufted Titmouse, the churring of the Red-bellied Woodpecker, the unmistakable sweet song of the Northern Cardinal high in the trees, the rattling bugle of Sandhills Cranes echoing through the valley and the raucous call of the Pileated Woodpecker were all signs of things to come. And the Ruffed Grouse again started his drumming on his log (please see accompanying video) and began working over my garden area for bird seed and other tidbits. They are very territorial and he became interested in my activities. Whenever I would be out photographing or working on something in one spot for a while, I would hear quiet steps as he approached and would then circle me, trying to get behind me. Whenever my back was to him, he would bluff charge. They can be slightly aggressive but we have come to an understanding and it is wonderful to spend time close to him. But don’t turn your back on him…

Spring brought the promise of snow melting and warmer and longer days. As the ice began to break, I learned that the Hooded Mergansers gather at the first open water at the river's egress. A hide (blind) at that site enabled excellent opportunities for engaging images of my favorite duck (see accompanying images). As the lake fully opened, Wood Ducks and Common Mergansers arrived and a hide right out front of my house on the water’s edge was another great spot. Frogs and toads begin their croaking and bellowing, leeks, trillium and trout lilies came up from a seemingly dead forest floor after a covering of deep snow for months. And then one night in April, the haunting call of the loons made the transition complete.

Building bird houses is something I have found I really like and over the winter I built a Barred Owl box and a couple of bluebird boxes. I knew a pair of bluebirds used an old box the year before in a nearby field so I put them nearby. Setting up a hide and observing one morning revealed that, while the male preferred one of my new houses, she settled on a beautifully worn box with much more character. Better for my images as well!

Then, seemingly overnight, the world was again green and alive and Baltimore Orioles, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and Ruby-throated Hummers were seen as harbingers of summer having arrived once again. The cycle continues.

I again hope everyone is doing well and maybe finding some nature to help with these challenging times. More later.

PT