Male King Eider duck Earlier in the week I posted a photo of a male king eider duck that I took at midnight in Alaska ‘s arctic, under cloudy skies. In contrast, I wanted to share a photo of the same species, but under completely different lighting conditions. I took this picture at 12 noon,…
I’m often asked if I shoot black and white. The answer is no, in general. My world is one of color, and while I appreciate both the constraints and liberties of excluding color from an image, I generally prefer the invoked psychological elements that the inclusion of color creates. But throwing away color opens up…
The king eider is a bird I have long wanted to see. While it is hard to call out a favorite bird, it ranks up there with the best with its unique features, feathers, and colors. While in the very high arctic, I had only one evening to shoot due to a tight schedule and…
Over the years of travel across Alaska, I’ve watched many short-eared owls hunting and flying over the tundra landscape. They are artful flyers, often visible in the treeless environment in which they roam. On a trip last week however, I had the first really good opportunity to photograph an owl, that did not seem to…
While an increasing amount of the James Dalton Highway are getting paved, there are large sections that remain gravel. It’s no big deal when traveling– although your vehicle gets pretty caked in mud when it rains–unless perhaps you are on a motorcycle. Many bikers consider it an adventurous destination, and the mud is met with…
Spotted lady’s slipper orchid On a hike just north of Fairbanks, I came across this delicate blooming flower, the spotted lady’s slipper orchid, which I don’t see that often. It’s delicacy and vibrant colors make it distinctive and with a little imagination hints at its name lady’s slipper. It’s a member of the orchid family.…
The Hastings forest fire that started last Memorial day north of Fairbanks, has grown from the initial day of about 600 acres, to more than 12,000 acres by Tuesday, June 7, 2011. The crew fighting the fire now exceeds 550 people, and a crazy amount of resources which include an arsenal of air and ground…
Yesterday afternoon (Fri, June 3rd) I left the office for a few hours to check on the Hastings wildland forest fire burning about 10-15 miles from my home. Continued dry weather and strong winds caused the fire to advance and I sat on a hillside watching some amazing smoke columns form while an aerial assault…
Surprise glacier flows out of the Chugach mountains which border Prince William Sound to the north. It is a tidewater glacier and frequently calves ice chunks into Surprise Inlet which then drift out into Harriman Fjord. Along the top edge of the glacier terminus are some finger like seracs that will soon fall into the…
While cruising across the oil tanker shipping lane in northern Prince William Sound, I grabbed this shot of the “Polar Enterprise” oil tanker entering the Valdez Arm. It looks like I was a lot closer but the photo was taken with an equivalent of a 910mm lens. The man on the bow called the “watchman”…