One of my favorite locations to photograph wildlife is Silver Salmon Creek, a coastal area of Lake Clark National Park and Preserve located in Port Alsworth, Alaska. This area features a large population of coastal brown bears grazing, clamming, and fishing. Several sows were always raising their young, and the cubs were entertaining as they played with their siblings.

Silver Salmon Creek is located along Cook Inlet, and because of its isolation, the number of visitors is low. There are no roads, and the only way to get there is by using a small plane that uses the beach as a landing strip. I traveled there four times, and the flight over the amazing Alaskan landscape was always a great opportunity to create beautiful aerial photos.

Shooting through the plane's less-than-clear glass made getting sharp, high-contrast photos a challenge. I needed a fast shutter speed to overcome the plane's motion and vibration, and manual focusing helped ensure that each photo was sharp. I referred to my histogram to make sure I was “shooting to the right,” so when it was time to edit, I knew I had the best RAW image possible to work with.

As the landscape passed below me, I looked for elements of composition, waiting to see a harmony of lines, colors, patterns, and light. Once an earthly work of art presented itself, I took several shots until the scene was out of view.

With the proliferation of drone photography, aerial photos are much easier to achieve today. Some areas are so remote that a plane or helicopter may be the only way to photograph the natural art waiting to be discovered in our remaining wilderness areas.