Photos from Alaska’s southcentral region
The Matanuska Glacier is located on the North side of the Chugach mountains, along the Glenn Highway in southcentral, Alaska. It is one of the few road accessible glaciers in the state, and is beautifully situated against a dramatic mountain back drop. During my July visit, the eskimo potato blossoms were profuse and the pink…
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”…
The beaches of the outer perimeter of the Copper River Delta, in southcentral Alaska, are broad and sandy. They open to the Gulf of Alaska and the Pacific ocean, so weather can be tumultuous on its shores. On this pleasant day, I did some flying over the Copper River Delta region and we made a…
Growing up in the land-locked Midwest, and then living in the interior of Alaska for years, fresh seafood is rare for me. However, during a recent visit to Prince William Sound, a local fishermen was showing us his freshly caught spot shrimp (the largest shrimp of the west coast). They were as strikingly marked as…
Below are two common marine mammals found along the shores of Prince William Sound. Over the years I’ve gathered a collection of photos of the harbor seal and the Steller sea lion, mainly in the Sound. They are generally approachable, although the seals are bit more shy and require a slow and quite approach. Both…
Following a few days in the Copper River Delta, situated on the Eastern edge of Prince William Sound, and then 7 days on a boat throughout the islands of the Sound itself, I returned with handful of memorable photos. The weather in the Sound was nearly cloudless and sunny. If you know my take on…
The male harlequin duck is a distinctively marked, and colorful bird in its breeding plumage. We have seen hundreds of them on the voyage in Prince William Sound, although they are a bit wary from an approaching skiff. They seem to be a little less shy when they are in the interior rivers of Alaska…
Sunny skies in Prince William Sound have made the Spring Birding and Wildlife photography voyage on Discovery Voyages a great experience. So far we have seen all four species of the Loon. The common, the yellow-billed, the red-throated and the pacific. This common loon however, has been the lone bird that permitted some relatively close…
I’ve got just a quick moment to post a photo that I took during an aerial flight over the Copper River Delta and surrounding region over the weekend. Alaska is a big place, which is an understatement as large as the state. Getting views from above always help put things in some degree of perspective…