TITLE: The Summer Vigil of Long Nose

Each summer, coastal brown bears gather on the tidal flats of Lake Clark National Park, Alaska, to forage for clams. Food is plentiful, as is risk.

In the summer 2025, when this photographer made this series, the margin for error was particularly narrow. Only two cubs were born in the park that year. They were both born to a female known as Long Nose, who had lost her previous litter. She has just a narrow window in which to feed her 2 cubs sufficiently to double their weight every month, a key sign of whether they will survive. Made over multiple days at close range, this series observes how she feeds, teaches, and remains ever alert as large, territorial male bears move through the same space. The work reflects on a brief season of vigilance, ending with the hope that the lessons that she has passed on, will stick.

AUTHOR: Preeti and Prashant Chacko (India)

We are Preeti and Prashant Chacko, Indian photo artists. Together, we go by the handle “Composing the Wild”. Our work celebrates nature through the beauty of its wild animals, photographed in timeless black and white. We favour monochrome for its ability to distil emotion and to create a vision of a time past but hopefully never lost.

What inspires us is not just the visual drama of the wild, but the emotion it stirs. Over years of photography, we’ve learned that the images we cherish most are those that express beauty and emotion. Through our lens, we try to portray the grace of the wild and invite viewers to see these beings not as beasts, but as wonders worthy of awe, empathy, and protection.