A Visitor Comments & Google Reviews
Some of the longer reviews have been shortened here but no words changed.
Click here to go to the Google Review page
“This was hands down the best photo tour experience I’ve ever had! I had a tour with Ron in August, and got to see breathtaking views and exciting encounters with wildlife, specially bears! Ron’s expertise and passion for the area and wildlife protection added so much value to the tour, I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for both adventure and great photo opportunities! Hope to go back to Alaska as soon as possible and do another tour with him!”
Andrea,
Thank you so much for your 5-star review. You were a great traveler and friend on this tour, and it seems everywhere we went, the animals came out for you! Especially the big bull moose and all the bears!
See you next time,
Ron
“This experience was the highlight of our trip to Alaska! Ron definitely knows his stuff. He has been doing this work for decades [and] understands where the bears will be and when. On top of this, he’s a professional photographer, so he was able to provide helpful tips. His son and assistant Alec is an expert bear spotter, pointing them out before anyone else ever saw them … allowing us those precious seconds we needed to set up for perfect shots. We can’t recommend this company — and Ron in particular –highly enough!”
Alaska Photo Adventures:
H,
You two were some of the luckiest I’ve had for the day tours! Bears up close and personal! Thanks for your trust and patience, it paid off big time.
Ron
Thanks again Ron for a great tour (my third with you)! You nailed it again, we saw plenty of bears, and got the shots I wanted! Highly recommended and I’ll post it to all my facebook followers!
P. Rompf
Alaska Photo Adventures:
Pete,
Thank you so much for your great review. You are a great traveler and shooter. Your third Alaska tour now!! It seems everywhere we went, the animals came out for us, especially the big bull moose and all the bears!
Maybe walruses or polar bears next time?
Ron
Thank you Ron for an adventure of a lifetime! Your hospitality and organizational skills are legendary! Thank you for a wonderful time!!
P. Phelps,
Alaska Photo Adventures:
P. P,
Glad you had a blast and really enjoyed your company. You are a good traveler, patient with some of the logistics of our tour (weather delay for flight to bears) and it all worked out beautifully! You got some terrific photos!
Ron
Thank you Ron for our adventure — we never could have had such a fine experience in Alaska…It was the best!!
M&M Salwesser,
Alaska Photo Adventures:
M & M,
You are excellent travelers and a joy to be with — light packers, patient with the animals and weather, and your terrific pictures reflect this. It all worked out beautifully!
(And Maureen is an absolutely terrific painter — your painting of the lake reflects the joy you feel in life).
Ron
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My wife and I celebrated our anniversary with a 7-day, 6-night photo tour with Ron Levy and Alaskan Photo Adventures (APA). We were fortunate to have Ron as the leader of our tour – with his background as a biologist, national forest service professional, and worldwide, award-winning professional photographer, no question went unanswered whether it regarded flora, fauna, or photography. He was a wealth of knowledge and knew the area well.
There were many highlights of our photo tour – the bears lunching on salmon in Lake Clark and Katmai National Parks, flights where we saw glaciers, volcanic lakes, and caribou herds running across snow packs, the lodge in Lake Clark National Park, hikes viewing the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, the Valley of 10,000 Smokes, and salmon fishing along the Russian River, a helicopter tour of Kenai Fjords National Park and its glaciers, and the boat trip out of Seward and into Kenai Fjords.
We photographed brown bears (“grizzlies” on the interior as Ron informed us) at Funnel Creek in Lake Clark NP and at Hallo Bay in Katmai NP – shots ranged from bears chasing down salmon in the streams to sows nursing their cubs in the grasses alongside streams. We were flown out to these sites from our isolated lodging in Lake Clark NP by our lodge host and pilot, Preston Cavner. Preston, his wife Stacie, who cooks and runs the lodge, and their family were great hosts in a beautiful, well-equipped lodge right on the shoreline of Lake Clark. Spectacular views from there. Ron and Preston were with us every step while we were out photographing the bears offering suggestions and keeping us safe. Stacie had snacks/appetizers ready whenever we flew back to the lodge and tasty, hot meals served within minutes.
Ron set us up for the 6-hour Kenai Fjords Tours boat trip into Kenai Fjord National Park. The tour featured a mixture of wildlife and spectacular scenery. The quantity of wildlife was not a shot a second like the bears but we saw humpback whales, seals, sea otters, puffins, eagles, and a bazillion other sea birds whose names I don’t remember. The best part of this trip though was sitting in front of the Aialik Glacier for 20 minutes with the engines off, surrounded by a thousand miniature ice bergs, listening to the ice moan and hearing/watching the glacier calving into the waters. Being outside, we could not always hear the PA system, where they kept a non-stop litany on the nature and sights around us. The burrito for lunch tasted surprisingly good. Get to the boat very early to get a seat/table – if you get on at the end of boarding, you will be standing or sitting on the deck the entire trip (other than the short lunch time where the staff will force the table holders to share).
Seeing the Kenai Fjords National Park from the air gave a totally different appreciation of the glaciers – their size, ruggedness, and beauty. Ron contracted us on Seward Helicopter Tours. The regular APA half-hour tour covers Bear Glacier and the Harding Ice Field. We paid at the heliport to extend our tour by 15 minutes and spend time flying down, then across the face of the Aialik Glacier. After the tour, we wished we had paid extra and done the 1-hour grand tour.
It did rain about half the time we were on the tour. So pay attention to the ‘what to bring’ pages on the APA website especially on rain gear and protection for your photo equipment. Ron and Eva seem to have covered the bases.
During our trip, the wildlife other than the brown bears was hunkered down during the rain much of the time. We did photograph moose, black bears, sandhill cranes, and trumpeter swans, all with youngsters, on the Kenai Peninsula.
Mike & Maura B.,
Alaska Photo Adventures:
Thank you Mike/Maura for such a great time and in depth review. Your enjoyment means everything to me and I’m sure and I’m sure others will appreciate your honesty and excitement.
Ron was great, fitting us in on a 1-day tour between longer tours. Then, when our airline reservations was a bust, Ron changed our 1-day tour to focus on finding Brown bears. This was great as we got some up close photos that are one of the highlights of our trip!
C. Bowne
Alaska Photo Adventures:
So glad we could get you so close to the brown bears on a day tour! Your trust and patience made it happen! Thanks for your review and wishing you more happy travels!
Ron
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for sharing your knowledge, connections and insight to making our Alaska Adventure dream come true…What a magical time, exceeding all expectations…You knocked it out of the park for us!
J & B Rubin
Alaska Photo Adventures
J & B,
Your group of 7 was like family the entire tour. Enjoyed every moment –we saw lots of bears, had great flights, a fun Kenai river raft trip, and great weather!! I hope to see you again soon.
Ron
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Words can’t express what a wonderful trip this has been. Glaciers, whales, bears, flying adventures, rafting, hiking — all superb! We are all blessed and our lives are richer for our friendship.
K & P, Australia
Alaska Photo Adventures:
K & P,
All of our activities worked out so well, despite some weather delays. We saw lots of bears, had great flights over glaciers and Lake Clark Pass, and the animals came out for us all over! And I truly enjoyed learning about all the birds and animals in Australia and at your daughter’s home! Hope to see you again.
Ron
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Ron,
I just wanted to thank you again for sharing your beautiful corner of Alaska with us.
We had another week on our own and actually got to see Denali, so I included a pic of that and the moose we saw on our last day as we drove back to our hotel to prove that we saw them. :) Talk about last chance! I saw them on the side of the fwy, by the fence, so we got off at the next exit and found a side road back to them.
The other two pics are the moose we saw on our way to the bear excursion. I included before and after pics of your van just for fun, and window cleaning, lol.
One of my favorite pics of you is when you are all in the boat and you are focused on something off in the distance while the bear swims by the boat 10 feet away!
I sent a separate file to Marion and John with pics of them. Again, we enjoyed our trip immensely,
Thank you,
Sandy and Mark
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Alaska Photo Adventures:
Sandy & Mark,
I really enjoyed sharing time with the two of you on one of our shorter tours. We had great weather and covered a lot of ground! You are great travelers and I especially enjoyed our in-depth conversations about photography and wildlife during your short time here!
Ron
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D. Chen
I enjoyed Alaska Photo Adventures tour. Ron is a true professional guide for wildlife. Due to his expertise, I was able to see numerous animals and catch lots of beautiful pictures. Thank you Ron!
Alaska Photo Adventures:
D.,
Thank you for your review…The Google time stamp says 40 weeks ago at this moment, but you came up here about 6-7 years ago! I really enjoyed your sense of humor and getting such a great perspective on China and your young life there.
Ron
That was a tremendous tour with Alaska Photo Adventures. Ron has expertise, having lived in this part of Alaska for many years and taken so many professional photos! If you’re planning a trip there, want to see great wildlife and take photos you can cherish forever, definitely do it with this company. Highly recommendable!
S. Levine
Alaska Photo Adventures:
S.
Thank you for such a glowing review. You were a great, fun traveler to be with, and we had some great moments!!
Ron
I recently joined a photography tour with Alaska Photo Adventures & it was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience! …our guide was incredibly knowledgeable and patient, helping me capture some of the most breathtaking shots I’ve ever taken.
The entire trip was well-organized and the small group made it feel personal… I’ll definitely be back for another adventure!
D. Das
Alaska Photo Adventures:
D. D,
Thank you for joining us and your kind comments. We had a terrific time and hope to see you again with more of your friends!
Ron
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