I'm a student studying in the US, and I would really like to go and take some memorable photos of polar bears before I go back to my native country. I did some checks, and it seems that Alaska and Churchill (Canada) are the best places to view the bears. Unfortunately though the prices of photo tours to either place are very high (US$2500 and above, and excluding flight to the location), which is way beyond what I can afford as a student. I was thus thinking of doing it myself - is it wise to do so, and has anyone else done it before (i.e. went on a photographic tour of these polar bears by themselves, and not on a guided tour) and can share their experience?
Churchill is out of the question unless you're on a tour. If you walked out on the tundra, that time of the year, you'd be bait. I don't think you'd do much better in Alaska, but I haven't been there that time of year.
