The main regions of Alaska divided up, and special places
Snow is falling in Fairbanks right now, and autumn drifted by a few strong weeks ago. The change of seasons brought this photo to mind. Some argue that Alaska has two seasons, some argue three, few argue four. Spring happens very fast, as does autumn, and the leaves can burst forth in spring faster than…
Finding the all-round vehicle that suits multiple purposes, including photographic adventures, is not only difficult, but ultimately a compromise somewhere. I decided to own just one vehicle due to a proclivity towards minimalism (I’ll save breaking that rule for camera gear). In my search for a car there were a few important aspects I looked…
What are the best night sky conditions in which to photograph the northern lights? It is a question that can be answered in variations, but I’ve resorted to the simplest answer…whenever the northern lights are visible! Brushing that comment aside, I really don’t think there are “best conditions”, it really depends on your interest. I’ve…
A few comments about photographing white subjects in white environments; in particular the issue of exposure and post production adjustments in Lightroom 2.5. Let me first state that I’ve always utilized an expose-to-the-right shooting style (you can explore that concept on luminous-landscape if you are unfamiliar with it). To summarize that briefly, it is a…
This is another frame taken on a recent Arctic photo tour that I co-guide with Hugh Rose. We expanded to two trips this year, due to increased interest. This female polar bear was looking pretty healthy, and had been feeding on carcasses left over from the Autumn Bowhead whale hunt in the native village of…
In my observations and photography in nature, I consider the polar bear to be one of the most amazing animals, exhibiting tremendous adaptation which has made them fit for survival in a harsh climate. They are generally a solitary animal, with a tremendous range of up to 1000 miles. Much of their life on the…
According to my GPS coordinates for Barter Island, Alaska on Oct 12, 2009, the maximum high angle of the sun is a mere 9 degrees. This is part of the magic of the arctic at this time of year, having a low angle of light for the entire day of shooting. However, photos can continue…
I’ve been posting a few photos and comments from a recent photo tour in Alaska’s arctic. Here is a link to a gallery of a few shots I quickly processed before heading back in the field for the second photo tour. http://alaskaphotographics.com/galleries/2009-photo-tour1/
One of the beauties of photographing in Alaska in October is that the quality of light stays relatively warm and angle-appropriate for shooting most of the day. However, there is nothing quite as dynamic as the first and last light of any day. This shot was taken about 1 hour before actual sunset, but the…
People have a keen interest in the Aurora borealis images, so I’m posting another one from my recent Arctic photo tour. We had unusually warm temperatures, and in some parts of Western Alaska, all time record high temps were set. This is usually not favorable, since the snow melts and things look pretty brown. However,…