Alaska’s fascinating wild creatures
Raven in the mist, Denali National Park, Alaska. Canon 1Ds Mark III, 500mm f4L IS, 1/640 sec @ f/4, ISO 400 While waiting on a hilltop in Denali Park, I watched and waited as fog moved through the boreal forest shortly after sunrise. The angle of light was still low enough for good shadows. After…
Caribou traverse a mountain ridge in the Alaska range, Denali National park, Alaska.Canon 1Ds Mark III, 500mm f4L IS, 1/1000 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 400 Canon’s 500mm f4L IS lens vies for the position of my favorite lens. It is always loaded with a camera in wildlife country and its tremendous image stabilization capability enables…
Erin Nicholsan with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game removes the earbone from a Sockeye salmon caught in the Copper River. The earbones are marked when the fish are fry at the Gulkana hatchery, and can be identified as adults. This post is part of the photo essay I’m working on about the hatchery…
Dipnet fishing in the Copper River Canyon, Alaska.Canon 1Ds Mark III, 16-35mm 2.8L, 1/400 sec @ f9.0, ISO 400 This is the fifth part of series I’m documenting on the Copper River red salmon, read the others here. For many Alaskans, the personal use dipnet fishery of the Copper River is an important event. Each…
Sandhill Cranes take flight on a thunderstorm weather front, Creamer’s Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge, Fairbanks, Alaska. Canon 1Ds Mark III, 500mm f4L IS, 1/640 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 400 Saturday night in Fairbanks (8PM) a dark and ominous cloud formed in the skies behind Creamer’s field. I was watching the Sandhill cranes gathered in groups…
Sea otters, Prince William Sound, AlaskaCanon 1Ds Mark III, 500mm f4L IS w/1.4x (700mm), 1/400 sec @ f/5.6, hand held I just returned from a 5 day trip in Prince William Sound. Typical to that region, I saw lots of rain and clouds. The last day opened up to beautiful blue skies and grand vistas…
Dall sheep ram on the mountain slopes of Denali National Park, Alaska.Canon 1Ds Mark III, 75-300mm 5.6 DO IS, (285mm), 1/320 @ f7.1, ISO 200 On a recent trip to Denali National Park, I hiked up a mountain to photograph a band of Dall sheep rams. About half way up, my brother and I were…
Brown bear sow and cubs of the year, Katmai National Park, Alaska.Canon 1Ds Mark III, 400mm f5.6L, 1/500 sec @ 5.6, ISO 400 Katmai National Park in southwest Alaska is home to many Brown bears. These bears are larger than the interior grizzly bears mainly due to the protein rich diet of fish, although they…
Horned Lark, Denali National Park, Alaska.Canon 1Ds Mark III, 500mm f4L w/2x converter, 1/200 sec. @ f/8, ISO 400 Horned larks are ground nesting birds that move quickly about the tundra collecting insects for their young. While hopefully waiting for the clouds to clear over Denali, I entertained myself photographing a pair of Horned larks…
Alpha female gray wolf, Denali National Park Canon 1Ds Mark III, 500mm f4.0L IS, 1/640 @ f6.3, ISO 400, hand held This alpha female wolf in Denali National Park is raising six hungry pups, and frequents the park road for easy travel when hunting for food. On a quite morning before 6am, I was driving…