Last year I asked the advice of many of my blog readers for input on the selection of a cover image for my 2011 Fairbanks and Interior Alaska Wall Calendar. Many thanks to you all for your votes as it was the above image that won by a long shot. It is that time of…
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On the edge of the ice formation in the Beaufort Sea, these two polar bear cubs played in and out of the water. It’s amazing watching them jump directly into the icy water and be so sufficient in both land and sea environments. The photo was taken from some distance, in blowing wind, and if…
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Dall Sheep Dall sheep are currently in the rut season, when the rams are mingling with the ewes. I’ve made a few attempts at photographing these animals in the snow, but the logistical sequences never worked out. It can be a challenge because it often requires hiking, some times high, in snowy mountain terrain. In…
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Koyukuk River In general, mid October marks the time when the Koyukuk river, which flows out of the Brooks Range, freezes over. The ice formation on the river creates interesting patterns and shapes during its freeze-thaw-freeze phase. The crystal clear water seems about as pure as water can get. This picture was taken on Oct…
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Mink Last week I photographed this mink along a stream in interior Alaska. It was my first series of photos of a mink in the wild, and they are animals that rarely stop moving. While hunting along the bank on the opposite side of the river, the mink suddenly ran on the ice across the…
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Yesterday concluded our photo venture with Alaska’s polar bears and it was a great day of viewing and a challenging day of photography. Winds that gusted to 50mph were sweeping across the coast blowing snow and salt spray. This in conjunction with the lens shake caused by such force made shooting difficult. However, I think…
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Today proved to be an amazing photographic venture. I woke at 5:00am to an amazing aurora display, and only had time to snap a few pictures before traveling north to the arctic coast for polar bear photography. Our group arrived just in time to catch some golden sunset light on a female polar bear with…
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Before leaving for another 10 day venture in the arctic, here is one photo taken during my previous trip last week, late one evening when the aurora spilled across the sky. It was taken about 2:00am, in the Brooks Range, on a nearly new moon evening. In retrospect I would have shortened the exposure a…
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Alaska polar bears While guiding a group of photographers on a recent tour for Alaska polar bears, aurora and other opportunistic arctic subjects, we had the wonderful opportunity to spend some time with these playful polar bear cubs. Like many young animals, they are curious, playful and active, when the parents often sleep or rest.…
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If you have followed this blog at all, you will see that the Brooks Range mountains that arc across Alaska’s arctic are a common subject. The range is massive and equally amazing visually, in its diversity of geography and geology. After a successful photo session with the polar bears along the coast, our current photo…
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Cloudy skies, although not good for aurora, offered some good light for afternoon photography of this family of polar bears. The sow with two cubs take shelter from the winds common to the north coast of Alaska’s arctic. Shooting directly into the wind with lightly blowing snow at temperatures around freezing present some problems with…
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The arctic photo tour I’m guiding was off to a good start on the first evening as clear skies eventually revealed some aurora activity. What was particularly interesting about the display was not it’s brightness but rather the color reflection in the Koyukuk river. It’s been a busy few days and hopes are high for…
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Every year in early October I co-guide a photo tour to Alaska’s arctic with friend and colleague Hugh Rose. We do two trips back to back actually, taking 8 photo and nature enthusiasts on a venture for the magic of the emerging arctic winter. While we are omnivorous regarding subject material, the aurora borealis, polar…
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The cool weather and colorless landscape is the exit sign for autumn in Alaska’s interior. Fairbanks had an unrivaled stretch of clear skies and balmy weather for much of September. As the transition now moves quickly into the darker and cooler months of the year I’m posting this colorful photo as a goodbye to that…
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A few days ago when I left my home for a trail run through the boreal forest, I saw a grouse in my front yard. But not the usual grouse, i.e. spruce or the roughed grouse, both commonly observed. But this one looked a little different. It was a sharp-tailed grouse, which has been seen…
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Based on my last post and some interest in the process of applying split grads in LR3, I decided to show a simple illustration of that process with this landscape photo that I took in Polychrome Pass, late one night in August. A video might be better to explain all this, but there is some…
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Why do I like the mountains so much? Because they deliver such quickly changing weather. The Alaska range arcs across the south central region of the state and tends to serve as a moisture block forcing the dump of precipitation on its southern side, leaving the interior of the state a more dry climate. This…
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In keeping with the theme of wildlife in a contextual landscape, I took this photo in Sable Pass, which is a region of Denali Park that is off limits to hiking. From the road, I watched this bull caribou on a distant ridge and the late evening light sprinkled in a little. I was hoping…
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On a very gray day with low lying clouds, a little opening in the sky dropped some light on a mountain dome along the base of Sable Mountain in Denali Park. I quickly grabbed my 100-400 and captured this fleeting moment from the sun roof of my car. The light was gone in a few…
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There exist many “almost” shots in my photo experiences over the years. An adage says that “almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades”, and I don’t deal with either of those. While the “almost” encounter does not result in the acquisition of a photo, at least the photographer is left with the process, and…
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This vista in Denali Park is a popular one, and I’ve photographed it in many phases of light and seasons. The vibrancy of the tundra colors in Alaska’s short autumn season are mesmerizing to say the least. First light happened on two out of 9 mornings and I chose to be at this location for…
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I don’t know how many photos of Denali I have, but I know its a lot. On this morning, the second of two mornings of light in my 9 days in Denali, I decided to target Polychrome Pass for first light instead of the mountain. That was moderately successful and I’ll share that image in…
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I could watch clouds all day long. For my soul, being able to see the big sky is like what oxygen is to the lungs. And Alaska, with its epic vistas and prolific mountains create weather that is frequently dramatic, sometimes treacherous, and commonly spellbinding. Cloudless days are boring. During my recent trip in Denali…
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The wet autumn season in Alaska has coughed up only a few clear sky days. My nine day stint in Denali Park during Aug/Sept saw many dark gray clouds and rain. However, there were a few moments of brilliance, with an emphasis on the “few”. The fall colors in the park were magnificent, vibrant and…
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One Giant Salad Bull moose in August are finalizing their summer season of gorging themselves on vegetation to fuel the growth of their massive antlers which will serve them in establishing dominance during the autumn rut (or mating season). I photographed this bull moose browsing on alder leaves along the drainages in the tundra landscape…
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