The spring and summer wildflowers on Alaska’s tundra are nothing but spectacular. I’ve been documenting a few that I have for one reason or another, never photographed before. This is one of them, an early blooming arctic version of the common Jacobs ladder found in Alaska’s interior. The aperture of f/5.6 helps diffuse the background…
The first few weeks of June in Alaska is the time when the newborn animals of the year begin showing up. They are pure cuteness in most respects, and they are also very susceptible to hungry predators as the circle of life takes its course in the wilderness landscape. For the latter, it means that adults with…
I’ve had a few exceptional grizzly bear photo encounters in Denali Park over the years, and the session I recently had with this bear ranks up there with them. There are many factors that play into what distinguishes an interesting and enjoyable wildlife sighting between a good photographic one. While I’ve photographed countless bears, they…
Gray wolf portrait, Denali National Park, Alaska Generally, getting too close to a wild wolf is not a problem I encounter often when photographing. However, in this case, a wolf from the Grant Creek pack in Denali National Park walked directly towards the vehicle I was traveling in late one evening. They often travel down…
My experience photographing grizzly bears in Denali National park has been mixed over the years. I’ve observed lots of interesting behaviour, and had many fortunate opportunities to make some great photos. On my recent trip into the park, following a rainy night and misty morning, the wet tundra grasses glowed under the bright overcast skies.…
As soon as the snow melts, the tundra comes alive with spring blooming wildflowers. This spring in Denali National Park, the lapland rosebay, a brilliant pink, early blooming tundra plant, seemed more abundant than usual. The colorful patches are often mixed with mountain aven, and a few other early blooming flowers. I saw this particular…
The lime green tundra and newly budding leafs of a poplar tree along the Denali Park road are tell-tale signs of spring. This young grizzly bear takes a break from foraging on the new grass shoots and vegetation along the roadside by scratching its back on the bark of a balsam poplar tree on a…
It is springtime in Denali National Park, and the remnant covering of snow still remains in the high country and mountain passes. But in typical June fashion, that big and ever present sun has lured many flowering plant into profusion of blossom. This cluster of wind flowers, or narcissus flowered anemones, caught my attention while looking…
I’ll be in Denali National park in a few days on a photography permit and it was disheartening to learn of the recent trapping death of the alpha female from the Grant Creek wolf pack. She was snared by a trapper just outside the park boundary. I, like many photographers and visitors to Denali have…
I’ve been photographing regions of Alaska’s arctic for a book project that came to completion recently. On Arctic Ground is authored by Debbie Miller, a long time Alaskan author, and published by the Mountaineers Books. During two specific trips over the past few years, I photographed regions within the National Petroleum Reserve, a giant section…