For those who have had their eyes on the weather in Alaska this autumn, it has been unusually wet in many regions. This has been true in the Brooks range area also and northward into the arctic coastal plains. The water soaked tundra is now freezing as the temps begin to drop. A light covering of snow…
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Polar bears embody a beautiful blend of power and elegance. This is one reason they are so interesting to observe and photograph. And there are few mammal species that move so fluidly both on land and in the water. This bear rested along the shore of an island in the Beaufort Sea, along Alaska’s eastern…
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The polar bears are abundant along Alaska’s arctic coast as they wait for the ice to form on the Beaufort Sea. Warm weather has kept the snow at bay, at least at this point. This curious polar bear stood up for a better view and I’ve learned by their posture when this is about to…
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Whenever I pass Kluane Lake in Kluane National Park, Yukon Territory (just 100 mile or so from the Alaska border) I can’t resist a crack at photography. It is a beautiful location. On this evening, the first snow of the year had just decorated the surrounding hillsides but the lake water had yet to freeze.…
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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…
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This classic view of the AlCan Highway weaves its way through British Columbia and the Yukon Territory about 400 hundred miles from the Alaska border. I’ve traveled the highway many times over the past three decades, and while it has changed significantly, it still holds that charm of remote and unpopulated feel. Early to mid…
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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…
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Within 24 hours this weekend, 80% of the leaves were stripped from the trees in the vicinity of my house in Fairbanks. Powerful winds swept across Alaska’s interior advancing the look of winter on the landscape considerably. These winds also offered oxygen to a wildfire burning south of Fairbanks in the Tanana Valley. It was…
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It is upon us. The edge of winter that is. It’s a beautiful time of year with autumn colors broacasted across the hillsides and mountain slopes. It is especially beautiful when a snowfall comes a little early, before the leaves have fallen, and the white decorates the leafed out trees. This happened when I was…
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The crimson red color that inflames the Alaska alpine tundra in autumn is so intense it sometimes hurts to look at it. I grabbed this photo while out on a day hike with some friends in the Alaska range. Labor day weekend is a pretty good target date to capture autumn color in its splendor in the…
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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…
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While driving from Fairbanks to McCarthy, Alaska with friends, for a combined 1/2 marathon race and music festival, we happened upon two bull caribou foraging along the autumn covered tundra just north of the Alaska Range mountains. The colors of the tundra were nearly peaked, in that they included all phases of the green, yellows…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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While driving through Hatcher Pass on a late July evening, a group of para gliders were having fun riding the wind currents at this mountainous area. It looked like a lot of fun!
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…
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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.…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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A big thank you to all who have contributed your thoughts on which picture I should use on the cover of my 2014 Profiles in Nature Calendar. I have capitulated extensively in the process, but in the end have chosen the sleeping polar bear. The Muskox was a personal favorite, but I think it has…
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Thanks to all of you who responded last year in my calendar cover selection process. It is that time again, and I’ve thrown together a few mock ups for a possible cover for my 2014 Alaska Profiles in Nature Calendar. The design will see some tweaks for sure, but what I’m looking for is the…
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If you have watched bears along the coast of Alaska in the summer, it is clear that they have busy days filled with eating. This is particularly true when salmon are not available and their intake consists of the ubiquitous flora that fills the lush meadows. While photographing this particular bear for hours, or rather…
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After a rainy night along the Katmai National Park coast, I was startled by a brown bear when walking from my sleep tent to the cook tent. Both tents were encircled with a portable, battery powered electric fence. The bear curiously walked around the cook tent and I took this shot after quickly grabbing the…
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