Parks, refuges, preserves & special places.
The layered and forested hills, accentuated by the misty and foggy weather of southeast Alaska truly define the Tongass National Forest. This was taken near Hyder, Alaska, a tiny town on the Alaska panhandle. Believe it or not, there was a slight splash of blue sky above these clouds but I purposefully cropped it out both to…
Fish creek is located in near Hyder, Alaska, the only mainland accessible town along Alaska’s southern portion of the panhandle. It is a tiny place and accessed from the Cassiar Highway in British Columbia, Canada. Fish creek is a popular destination for bears who come in search of the salmon that lay in its clear…
McCarthy is a very small town located in the bowels of the Wrangell St. Elias National Park, near the old historic Kennicott copper mine. It’s a quirky town and it has the license to be so due to its remoteness and the handful of folks that chose to reside there. There is a foot bridge…
I spent 5 days in Denali in latter August this year. The skies were at times to void of clouds, but one can’t complain when Denali reveals itself in it’s typical dramatic fashion. Here is a gallery collection of a few from that trip. I purposely focused on the mountain, and had good luck with…
The region of Polychrome Pass in Denali National Park is known for its steeply bordered road and for the many colors that appear in the Alaska Range mountains. The morning light leaked through a few clouds that were brewing around the Polychrome mountains on this August morning, and a mix of warm and cool colors…
It is that time of year in interior Alaska when the skies begin to darken once again, and those brilliant stars appear in the late night sky. They are a welcomed sight for me, and on my last trip into Denali Park, I woke at 2am to go to the bathroom and looked up into…
This is a cropped version of a photo I took on coastal Katmai last month. Even at 700mm, I could have been closer, but thanks to the great quality of the 500mm lens and the file of the 5D Mark III, I am able to crop in and still have substantial file size for reproduction.…
An open grassy meadow, with white daisies dotting the perimeter serves as a good spot for this brown bear to scratch its back by rolling around on the surface. I liked the display of both the pads of the bear’s feet, and its long, distinctive claws. Those claws can do some serious dirt removal, in…
Coastal Katmai is famous for its large brown bear population. They forage voraciously during the rich and productive summer season, enjoying clams, fish, berries, and other plants, as they pack on the fat for a winter hibernation. This bear had walked through camp early one morning, so we grabbed our camera gear and followed it…
During the summer months, the Savannah sparrow is commonly seen and heard in the meadows around much of Alaska. They like to perch on the tall plants which, if your timings is right, can be fireweed or lupine. While photographing brown bears in a meadow along the Katmai coast (bears that were so busy feeding…