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…
Details
I’ve just returned from a 16 day voyage from Ushuaia, Argentina to the Antarctic Peninsula with Cheesmans’ Ecology Safaris. As staff for Cheesemans on board the Russian Icebreaker “Ortelius”, the days were long and jammed full of logistical preparations and shore landings at many well known, and many less frequently visited landing sites. Overall, the…
DetailsHappy New Year There are only two hours remaining before I leave Ushuia, Argentina on an icebreaker headed for Antarctica, or referred to as the white continent down here. The sign in Tierra del Fuego National Park read about 11,000 miles to Alaska by road. Ushuia is to South America what Fairbanks is to North…
Details
Is the in-camera Long Exposure Noise Reduction necessary when using a camera in cold weather? This is a question I have wondered about for a long time so I finally did a more specific test. First of all, what is Long Exposure Noise Reduction? Here is the scoop: When LENR is turned on, the camera…
Details
To take a little break from winter and the subzero temperatures hovering over Alaska’s interior, I went back in my summer archives and reviewed some photos taken in June. This picture is from a great encounter with a young grizzly bear, that curiously posed for a long time, which in wildlife photography, is anything longer…
Details
For those of you who own or care about cold weather battery performance in the Canon 5D Mark III, I further optimized on the recent cold snap in Fairbanks and did another battery test to see how well the LP-E6 performed in colder weather. At minus -31 degrees F, the camera and battery still held…
Details
As I prepare for an upcoming trip to Antarctica, I was doing some photo reminiscing from my travels there two years ago. Since then, Lighrtoom 4 has been released so I went back to a few files to re process them with the new algorithms of LR4. I came across this photo of Adelie penguins launching off an iceberg.…
Details
A few years ago I witnessed and photographed an amazing natural history moment. The Grant Creek wolf pack in Denali Park attacked and killed a baby moose while the cow moose attempted to fend off the predators. Someone sent me a link yesterday to a video taken of that event, the first one that I’ve…
Details
I’m often asked about how my camera functions in the cold. So far, in my practical experience, I’ve never really experienced camera failure from the cold with Canon’s 1D and 5D series cameras. I usually fail first. So, for the curious ones out there who own a Canon 5D III and wonder how it may perform in…
Details
2012 camera lens use by percentage While the year is not over yet, it is shaping up to be one that measures among the least amount of pictures taken in a given year. While it was a very good year in many ways, I simply did not shoot as many frames. As one curious to some degree…
Details
If there is one excellent feature among the new genre of super telephoto lenses, i.e., the Canon 500mm in this case, it is the Image Stabilization technology. In many situations, I end up photographing without a tripod. It is counter-conventional wisdom for many, but when an effective method and style is learned, there is a…
Details
Its been quite on the blog here as I enjoyed a little vacation and have been completing my first E-Book, which I’m hoping to have ready before December 20. In the next few weeks I’ll be releasing the title and other details. This is one of the images from that book, that I took in…
Details
For those who have read this blog over time, you may remember that I shared some experiences from my trip to Antarctica two years ago. I’m repeating a similar, although slightly less extensive trip this year in January. The Expedition leader is a long time friend and colleague Hugh Rose, and the line up of…
Details
A young polar bear walks along a barrier island in Alaska’s arctic. To the south is the Alaska mainland and to the north is the expansive Beaufort Sea and the north pole. This bear straddles those two environments and soon will head northward as soon as the sea ice freezes solid. I use a variety…
Details
If you have spent any time on Alaska’s arctic coast, then you are familiar with wind, and usually lots of it. Standing on the edge of this cliff, looking out into the gray abyss of clouds, and the Beaufort Sea that extends northward as far as the open water exits, makes one feel pretty tiny.…
Details
That photography as a career and business has seen revolutionary changes in the last ten years is an understatement riddled with a complex layer of influencing factors. Decades seem to be designed for moments of pause and reflection. And so it is that this year marks the 10th year of my Fairbanks and Interior Alaska…
Details
As this red fox trotted across Alaska’s arctic coastal plain, I grabbed a quick burst of 5 frames. That it was a quick grab shot is revealed in my exposure, since I have no idea what I was doing at f/13. Not that it mattered much since the shutter speed was high enough thanks to…
Details
The very last light of an October day in Alaska’s high arctic is like blazing amber on these blades of grass. While often windy in this land, the clouds move with rapid changes. The sun slid through an opening in the clouds and dashed across the tundra making for a fun few minutes of photography.…
Details
During a recent photo tour the skies opened up to a magnificent and lengthy display of the aurora borealis. The group I was co-guiding with Hugh Rose started clicking frames about 9:00 p.m. and finally went to bed about 5:00 a.m. It was a great night of fun and fanciful color and light in the…
Details
In contrast to the last picture shared of the frosted leaves, this is a micro landscape as well, but on a little larger scale. Fresh snow along with the morning light made the ingredients of contrast and shadow strong along a distant hillside. I put down my wide angle lens and grabbed my 500mm along…
Details
If winter sends warnings, this is one of them. The frost-edged leaves signify chilly morning temperatures and the snowfall soon to come. Close-up photography is a micro landscape that requires thoughtful composition. I often wander a long time looking before deciding on a composition that seems to work within the tiny space. While waiting for others to…
Details
I just concluded guiding two trips into Alaska’s arctic with groups of photo enthusiasts on the quest to capture images of Alaska’s magical landscape. As always, the big spaces reveal new and different opportunities every year. The great wet and cloudy season that hung over much of the state this latter autumn gave way to…
Details
October is the month of ice in Alaska’s arctic. The season when the last remnants of heat leave the landscape as temperatures drop and the sun’s power fades away. Winds are also common in the far north and when combined with the right temperature, the plants surrounding small lakes and ponds become encased in ice…
Details
To me this scene, although un remarkable in its topographical definition, reveals an extreme beauty found in the arctic. The tundra of Alaska’s arctic slowly flattens out as you reach the coastal plains and ultimately the north coast. In the summer it is decorated with wildflowers and birds from all seven continents choose it as the…
Details
Off the far north arctic coast of Alaska lies the Beaufort Sea. On windy days the surf pounds the outer barrier islands which are inhabited by polar bears waiting for the sea ice to form. The broad sky in this composition hints at the wide open space that goes on for miles and miles beyond…
Details