AlaskaPhotoGraphics Blog

Visual explorations in Alaska with photographer Patrick Endres

Removing headlamp light pollution

Arctic, Aurora borealis, Digital Technique, Gear & TechnicalBy Patrick Endres December 23, 2015 2 Comments

If you have been on a venture to photograph the northern lights, then you have encountered the challenge of photographing in the dark while still being able to control your camera settings. A headlamp with a red filter can help provide the necessary light to assist with camera adjustments. However, that light can easily find its way into the picture if you are not careful. In order to avoid headlamp light pollution in your aurora photos, see headlamp etiquette practices on my blog article here.

Human Powered Highlights in 2015

Arctic, Bering Land Bridge, Camping, Denali National Park, Gates of the Arctic NP, Interior, Nature, Northern Living, White Mountains Rec AreaBy Patrick Endres December 11, 2015 Leave a comment

While browsing through my photos from 2015, I pulled a few to share from some memorable trips. In typical Alaska form, the weather varied greatly, ranging from blowing snow to blazing sunshine. Access points were made with a car or bush plane and travel methods included skis, hiking, biking, backpacking and packrafting.

20 Years with Alaska Magazine

Northern Living, Photography Process, PublicationsBy Patrick Endres December 2, 2015 Leave a comment

Reflections on Stock Photography I’ve recently been reflecting on the changes to the photography industry over the years, in particular, the stock photo industry–the one I’m engaged in. To say that the digital revolution has shaken things up is a monumental understatement. Combine the former with the advent of the world wide web and electronic…

A New Design

Arctic, Arctic Refuge, Polar bearsBy Patrick Endres November 16, 2015 Leave a comment

New Blog Theme After many months of multi-tasking between travel and website reviews and edits, my new site is now live. I purposely went with a color scheme that was bright and easier to read. After years with a dark color scheme, I either got tired of it, or felt that images should be presented…

Big Spaces, Wild Places

Arctic, Arctic Refuge, Aurora borealis, Polar bears, WildlifeBy Patrick Endres October 22, 2015 Leave a comment

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you may be aware that every October I co-guide photo tours to Alaska’s Arctic in search of all things “Alaska Special,” with a focus on the northern lights, polar bears and Arctic wildlife. I just returned from the first trip and leave tomorrow for the next one.…

Landscape of the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve

Arctic, Bering Land Bridge, NatureBy Patrick Endres September 14, 2015 11 Comments

On September 8, I returned to one of the Nation’s least visited areas of its Parks system, the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve. (see a post from last year’s visit) Located on Alaska’s Seward Peninsula, the Preserve’s coastal boundary lies along the Bering Sea, just 55 miles from Siberia. Many years ago, during the Pleistocene Ice…

Gates of the Arctic Landscapes – Arrigetch

Arctic, Gates of the Arctic NP, Landscapes, Mountains, Nature, Public LandsBy Patrick Endres July 14, 2015 5 Comments

I spent the fourth of July weekend trekking across one of Alaska’s, and the Nation’s least visited National Parks. Gates of the Arctic is situated in Alaska’s Arctic, and is not accessible by road, making for light visitation. I accessed the park on a float plane and then hiked the region with a pretty hefty…

The Arrigetch Peaks, Gates of the Arctic National Park

Arctic, Gates of the Arctic NP, Landscapes, Mountains, Nature, Public LandsBy Patrick Endres July 7, 2015 3 Comments

I just returned from an 8 day trip into Alaska’s Brooks Range with Heath Sandall, Jay Cable and Tom Moran. We spent most of the time in the Arrigetch Peaks in the Gates of the Arctic National Park. In due time, I’ll write a little more about that trip and the place. But since it is…

Wild sweet pea

Interior, Landscapes, Mountains, Nature, WildflowersBy Patrick Endres June 26, 2015 7 Comments

This time of year in the mountain regions of the Alaska Range, there are huge fields of blossoming wild sweet pea. They cover the gravel areas of river drainages, and hit their peak bloom about summer solstice. I took this photo last week while driving to Anchorage. The wild sweet pea is very fragrant, and…

Brooks Range Adventures

Arctic, Landscapes, Mountains, Nature, Northern LivingBy Patrick Endres June 24, 2015 5 Comments

Human powered adventures in Alaska’s Brooks Range are always just that…an adventure of sorts. I mean “adventure” in a wilderness context, i.e., a human powered travel mode that takes you across trail-less country, up and over mountains, while route-finding, problem solving and embracing the discovery of new sights all the way along. I shared a few photos in my…

Backpacking, Packrafting and Photography

Arctic, Landscapes, Mountains, NatureBy Patrick Endres June 15, 2015 5 Comments

There is a window of time in Alaska’s early summer where one can get out and explore after the snow has melted, but before the waves of mosquitoes emerge. It is a narrow time frame, and in the Southern Brooks Range mountains, it is usually before June 15. But the change in seasons is still in…

Blossoms in the Desert

Beyond AlaskaBy Patrick Endres June 5, 2015 3 Comments

After my return from Zion National Park, I’ve already rescheduled a trip to the Brooks Range twice due to weather. At this point, I’m hesitant to say what I’m “going” to do, and it may be best to tell it after the fact. But for the record, I am leaving for a week in the…

In the field with the Canon 11-24mm f/4L

Gear & Technical, NatureBy Patrick Endres May 29, 2015 9 Comments

In the field with the Canon 11-24mm f/4L My preference for landscape photography may suggest that acquiring the Canon 11-24mm f/4L would be an easy question for me to answer. The price tag of $3000 slowed me down a bit but I finally bought the lens and had a chance to test it when recently photographing in Utah (Zion National Park) and Arizona…

March Aurora in Alaska

Aurora borealis, Landscapes, NatureBy Patrick Endres March 31, 2015 8 Comments

If you live in Alaska, or have visited this March in pursuit of photographing the northern lights, then your opportunities have been abundant. With record warm temperatures, combined with clear skies and tons of electromagnetic activity in the atmosphere, it has been a banger month for aurora photography. And for anyone who has spent time…

2015 Iditarod

Dog Mushing, Northern LivingBy Patrick Endres March 12, 2015 3 Comments

Due to lack of snow in southcentral Alaska, the 2015 Iditarod started in Fairbanks this year for the second time in history. The last time this happened was 2003, and I remember photographing it with the real first professional model of Canon’s digital camera line-up, the 1D (4mp). Digital cameras have come a long way since…

eBook Update: Version 3 – How to Photograph the Northern Lights

Gear & TechnicalBy Patrick Endres March 9, 2015 2 Comments

I’ve been working away on some updates for the eBook I wrote on How to Photograph the Northern Lights. I just released the third version, which jumped from 280 to 319 pages. It is no small task keeping up to date on all the latest models and versions of cameras and lenses, and quite frankly,…

Camera Exposures for the Northern Lights

Aurora borealis, Gear & TechnicalBy Patrick Endres February 19, 2015 3 Comments

I’m often asked what the correct camera exposure is for the northern lights. And, like many answers to broad questions, the answer could be equally broad due to the many variables involved. However, there are some basic starting points, and I’m including an excerpt here from my eBook on How to Photograph the Northern Lights,…

2014 Camera Lens Use Graph

Gear & TechnicalBy Patrick Endres January 7, 2015 8 Comments

Being somewhat given to the metrics behind our lives, I usually do a quick analysis of the lenses that I used in the course of a year. 2014 showed quite a change over 2013, as I favored the 24-105mm lens considerably. This was in a large part due to all of the human powered trips…

2014 Top Ten photos

Arctic Refuge, Bering Land Bridge, Denali National Park, Gates of the Arctic NP, Kenai Fjords National Park, Landscapes, NatureBy Patrick Endres January 3, 2015 16 Comments

Picking 10 top photos from any year is an impossible task. But the process does provoke some fun reminiscence and thought. My last post included 100 favorites, but drilling that down to 10 led me on a path which resulted in all vertical images, and those that had a particular experience attached to them. Unfortunately, much of…

2014 Favorites

100 Yearly FavoritesBy Patrick Endres December 19, 2014 7 Comments

2014 delivered some fantastic photographic journeys. I browsed through the year’s photos and relived some of the good memories. I selected 100 images that were notable to me in some way, for a variety of reasons. My favorite trips were the self-powered adventures in Alaska’s Arctic, where the raw and rugged wilderness landscape of Alaska is as…

Selling lenses for aurora photography

Camera and Lenses, Gear & TechnicalBy Patrick Endres December 12, 2014 1 Comment

As the year comes to a close, I’m selling a few lenses that I no longer use. Instead of going to Ebay, I thought I’d post them here first. Both lenses are suitable for aurora photography, so if you are looking for a lens to capture the northern lights, these may work for you. Both…

Recovery of corrupted flash card

Arctic, Arctic Refuge, Bears, Gear & Technical, Polar bearsBy Patrick Endres November 25, 2014 5 Comments

During an October photo tour that I guide in Alaska’s Arctic, one of my type II flash cards got corrupted during a Lightroom import. I recently received it in the mail from www.datarecovery.com and had a chance to look at the pictures contained within. However, that process did not turn out to be a simple one. When attempting to…

Clean Room Data Recovery a Success

Gear & TechnicalBy Patrick Endres November 13, 2014 6 Comments

If you follow this blog, you may recall that I had a corrupted flash card from my recent trip in Alaska’s Arctic, and none of the images were accessible. After making a few inquiries upon my return, (thanks to Don Tredennick’s recommendation, one of the guests on the photo tour) I settled on www.datarecovery.com to…

2014 October Arctic Alaska photo gallery

Arctic, Arctic Refuge, Aurora borealis, Bears, Nature, Polar bearsBy Patrick Endres November 6, 2014 9 Comments

The two Arctic Alaska photo tours that I co-guide with Hugh Rose were full of weather adventure and logistical challenges this year. They were also filled with some fantastic photo opportunities. We always proclaim that the trips are different every year, and this held true once again. The first October, trip was slammed with a blizzard for three…

The northern lights, moon, and a wide angle lens

Arctic, Aurora borealis, LandscapesBy Patrick Endres October 27, 2014 17 Comments

I recently returned from guiding two photo adventures in Alaska’s Arctic, seeking the northern lights, polar bears and all the other magic that the great north delivers. The trips were wonderful adventures, full of the drama that Alaska is known for, including weather, wind, snow and wild sights. I’ll have a gallery of images to…