The cold waters of the north pacific, where volcanoes rise from the abyss and tidewater glaciers still make the world anew, is home to the greatest diversity of marine mammals and seabirds in the northern hemisphere. Drawn to this region by a seemingly inexhaustible supply of food in the summer months, and driven by the famous midnight sun, the glacially carved fjords of this region are the Serengeti of the marine mammal and pelagic bird world.

Humpback whales bubble net feed before the bow of boats before launching their hulking mass skyward in jaw dropping aerial displays. Orcas cruise the waters in numbers unrivaled anywhere in the northern hemisphere as they hunt great schools of chinook salmon. Minke, gray, and the largest animal to every live on the planet, the blue whale, can be found taking part of the great summer feast while Dall’s porpoise surf the bow wakes of boats. And all set to the backdrop of towering snowcapped mountains and giant walls of azure blue ice.

And then there are the birds.

The great sea stacks play home to an extraordinary array of avian life you will likely never see elsewhere. Common murres, marbled murrelets, rhinoceros auklets, parakeet auklets, Kittlitz’s murrelets, red-faced cormorants, ancient murrelets, black legged kittiwakes, and so many more. But the puffins, my God the puffins. Both horned and tufted live here in seemingly impossible numbers. And we will fill memory card after memory card of frame filling flight shots of them all.

On the cliffs above the water, mountain goats can be found clinging to precipices while black and brown bears forage along the shoreline. Porcupines waddle about like miniature grizzly bears as harbor seals float by riding icebergs.

This workshop is 5 days of wildlife photography in one of the most beautiful seascapes on Earth.