Life in the northern landscape
The arctic photo tour I’m guiding was off to a good start on the first evening as clear skies eventually revealed some aurora activity. What was particularly interesting about the display was not it’s brightness but rather the color reflection in the Koyukuk river. It’s been a busy few days and hopes are high for…
I watched the summit of Mt McKinley (Denali) slowly clear off one evening in Denali National Park, while the lower portion was still enshrouded in clouds. So I set my telephoto lens up on a tripod and thought I’d shoot the summits. Many are not aware that there are two summits to the mountain, the…
I’ve had a canister of bear pepper spray for a long time and fortunately have never used it. Before replacing it with a new one, I decided to see what kind of spray range it retained. It functioned surprisingly well, although I did not test the efficacy of the solution. The new one came with…
The day after my return from a photo trip in Alaska’s arctic, I quickly switched gears from grizzly bears and caribou photography for a scheduled commercial assignment job for a local utilities company in Fairbanks (Friday June 25). Portraiture was the primary focus, which presented employees doing their work in a respective context to the…
Going off the grid I’m preparing for a 7 day solo, fly-in trip into Alaska’s remote western arctic. It is the result of many planning iterations, previous ones including more people, but this is what shook out in the end. While I have a preference for working solo, since I feel I do the best…
If you can’t beat em, join em. That was my thought over the Memorial Day weekend-sort of. This is in context to the wildland forest fires and subsequent smoke that is plaguing much of interior Alaska. Intsead of running from the smoke, I figured what the heck, I might as well run to it, and…
About 12 years ago, while building my house, I suffered a traumatic brain injury during a fall on concrete, in which I landed on my head. Fortunately, no permanent damage was done, but I did acquire a good excuse for which to blame my seemingly increasing loss of memory. That experience piqued my interest in…
There is a new mode of travel available in Fairbanks this summer. Although populous in other locations around the nation, the magically balanced Segway can now be rented for a tour around town. On a photo shoot for www.EcoSegAlaska.com, I had a chance to not only photograph them, but ride one as well. Virtually silent,…
One would think that far away from the masses of humanity, in a remote wilderness setting, without road access, that one might not need to lock the door of their cabin. However, bush living introduces a different type of security concern. It is the time of year across Alaska when bears are waking. They are…
F/8 and be there is a common phrase among the photography community, implying that half of the job is being somewhere at the right time. And it is true in many respects, but there is often a lot more that goes into a capturing a creative image. I’ve admired photographers that successfully employ some degree…