With each successive year, I become increasingly more fascinated, intrigued and concerned about the the arctic itself and the inhabitants that live in that beautiful but austere landscape. I was proud to participate in a book project over the past few years that sought to help bring public awareness to some sensitive areas in the…
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Come to me aurora … it never obeyed … but if it did!
Each year, schools of Pacific Herring arrive in Sitka in late March to early April to spawn in the nearby waters. I spent a few days there recently but the weather and fish conditions never timed themselves in my favor. The photo shows conditions not favorable for aerial photography, which was my hope. One singular…
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While the clouds and snow were abundant during a recent photo tour I was guiding in Alaska’s arctic, the skies opened up and poured out the green cascading curtains of the northern lights along with chilly air that dipped to -34 below at the coldest hour of the night. The aurora show went on for…
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I’ve just returned from another successful aurora photo tour into Alaska’s arctic, but to give a little break from aurora pictures, which I’ve been posting a lot of lately, here is a little creature of the boreal forest that takes shelter from its predators in the shrubby willow thickets. The snowshoe hare turns white in…
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Home sweet home for a night in the White Mountains. I took this photo on March 17th in Alaska’s interior during an amazing aurora display. The cozy feel of this cabin situated in the mountains with the aurora dancing overhead renders the most classic iconic Alaska scene.
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The colors revealed in aurora borealis photography are often not what the human eye observes. The camera sensor’s sensitivity in conjunction with the data collected over a mulit-second exposure result in some stunning and colorful aurora displays should the solar output be strong enough. In my recently published eBook on How to Photograph the Northern…
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If you follow aurora borealis activity at all, you have likely seen many pictures already posted on the web from the explosive northern lights display on March 17th. I was in Alaska’s backcountry on a ski trip, and spent a long night watching and photographing that amazing and colorful display. While I’m a little blurry…
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Why the Zeiss 21mm Distagon T* lens Rocks for aurora photography I’ve always liked Don McLean’s song “Starry, starry night”, about Vincent van Gogh. This scene made me think of it, with the profusion of stars broadcast across the sky. I love the night sky and am so glad I live in a place that offers a…
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After writing and talking a lot about the aurora recently, I finally vacated the office and spent a few nights trying out some new lenses on the northern lights. I’ll be testing these lenses more thoroughly over the next few weeks, but at first glance I was happy with the results. More specifically, when my…
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I took this picture just 30 seconds before midnight in the summer January light of Antarctica. The beautiful soft pastel tones are very reminiscent of Alaska under similar low-angle light conditions. As our icebreaker cruised through this beautiful scene along the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula, I resisted sleep long enough to enjoy such…
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2013 is reported to be a great year for aurora borealis photography because the sun is at a peak in the 11 year solar cycle. This has inspired many to make quests to destinations that offer high aurora viewing probabilities. In Alaska, Fairbanks becomes a landing point for many because of its northern latitude and…
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Both the patterns in the clouds above and the ice below create an interesting presentation of a penguins habitat – life on icebergs. Photographing with wider angle lenses help show the environment. Tunnel vision is a common propensity when photographing wildlife and it is a learning process to back off a bit and show the viewer what…
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In keeping with the theme of penguins, per my post a few days ago, here is another photo from a favorite encounter I had a few years ago. Adelie penguins seem to be the most curious of all the penguins I encountered in Antarctica. When photographing, it is both a challenge and a concern of…
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Penguins are funny to watch. There is something intrinsic about their movement on land that seems awkward and humorous, yet at the same time, they are remarkably mobile. In the water, they are nothing less than amazing as they seem to move with effortlessness, efficiency and grace. This Gentoo penguin was one of many that…
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Warm evening light bathed this distinctive mountain ridge near Booth Island on the Antarctic Peninsula. Two gentoo penguins are standing on the rocks in the foreground, showing the drastic contrast of size and the unique habitat in which these birds live. The mountains had been in flat light until the clouds along the western horizon…
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This was home for a few weeks while venturing the Southern Ocean and the Antarctic Peninsula. The M/V Ortelius was built in Poland in 1989 and it was designed for polar expeditions. I took this photo at 11:10 p.m., and it shows the scale of the environment of Antarctica, with the 302 foot ship situated among the icebergs.
While cruising through the ice late one evening in Antarctica, I tried to communicate a sense of movement in this image, as the viewing experience of watching pans of ice separate before the ice breaker’s bow was both mesmerizing and other-worldly. I used a 16-35mm lens and experimented with many shutter speeds. While the horizon in the picture is…
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I took this photo from the top of Danco island, of a small island on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula, at approximately 9:45 p.m. Like Alaska in the summer time, Antarctica enjoys a lot of daylight. I did not visit this location on my last excursion to Antarctica, but when looking at this…
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Penguins and icebergs must be the two greatest hallmark subjects of Antarctica, and they are fun to photograph. We only saw one Chinstrap penguin in Paradise Harbour during an afternoon of exploring the region in a small zodiac. In some regions of the Antarctic Peninsula, populations are declining, although the reasons why are not yet fully understood.
Mixed clouds and sun is my favorite type of weather for landscape photography. It creates a dynamic light that often affords something interesting. The top and back light falling on this group of Adelie penguins gives contrast and separation, and the clouds add a sense of drama to the scene. Placing wildlife contextually in their…
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In contrast to the last photo I shared from Port Charcot, on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula, this image was taken in the opposite direction, about 15 minutes later. The sun had just set and we were closing out the night at about 11:40 p.m. One general piece of advice for landscape photography…
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This image invokes the great expanse of ocean wilderness and the solitude of a lone penguin, preening itself on a floating iceberg. Antarctica, because of it’s great remoteness and unique and extreme environment is a true wilderness. Moving through it’s waters on an the deck of an icebreaker is one continuous amphitheater experience. With a few lenses…
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As a long time Alaska resident, I’ve spent a lot of time around glaciers and icebergs. Antarctica however, is Alaska on steroids plus a little more. The size and quantity of icebergs seem unending, and beautiful. I took this photo about two weeks ago, at 11:15 p.m., along the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula in a…
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The final days of 2012 left no time for the gathering of favorite images, so it comes a few weeks late, in the wake of my 3 weeks of travel to Antarctica. 2012 offered some great views and experiences, and I’ve grouped them here, many of which have been posted on my blog throughout the…
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