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Meares tidewater glacier, Prince William Sound, Alaska

Prince William Sound is located in south central Alaska, and is home to many active glaciers that crawl out of the surrounding Chugach mountains, calving huge chunks of blue into the sea. Meares glacier, located at the end of a long, narrow fjord in northern Prince William Sound has an ice face about 200 feet high.

I’ve spent many years in this area, and capturing a great glacier calving is not easy. Being in the right place, at the right time, with the right light are not all easily aligned. Especially since access to this region is by boat only.

I traveled to shore where is set up my camera hoping that some calving action would launch in the nice light that was so far holding out. Many slow crumbling chunks of ice began to fall from the glacier face, indicative of a larger one soon coming. I got set up with my camera and when the big one came, I just held the shutter down!

The sunlight is critical in this scene since it provide some means of contrast to highlight the spraying water and flying ice.

Subject: Meares tidewater glacier

Location: Prince William Sound, Alaska

Camera - film - gear:

• Canon EOS3
• 100-400mmL IS
• f8 @ 1/320 second
• 100 ISO Provia
• Gitzo Tripod

Field Notes