The location of the frames below were taken shortly after the confluence of the Marsh Fork of the Canning with main Fork of the Canning river, on the western border of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
On the final evening of my Marsh fork/Canning river trip in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, after a wild and windy storm squall of rain passed through, the skies cleared to the north and that long sought after golden summer sunshine poured across the landscape. The mosquitoes however, were abusive. After setting up camp in a pair of shorts that I had worn on the river all day, and doing a crazy mosquito dance for about 5 minutes, I dove into my tent and considered staying there for the night. But that buttery light, along with a hunger pang, lured me out quickly.
I used my bug shirt (a necessity for travel in this region), and while it makes photography a bit difficult looking through the mesh net, (especially shooting into the sun) it offers the gift of relief. Managing bugs requires more than your own bug net however. The swarms were so bad that they crowded my camera and lens and were constantly in the picture. I resorted to using my 10 second self timer, then slowly backing away from the camera, luring the cloud with me so the actual shot would contain fewer bugs. It worked pretty effectively, although I still had to stamp out a few bugs that showed up as blur streaks in the picture.
We found the bull caribou antler along the river bank and threw it our raft to use as a photo prop along the way. But when the river rose overnight early on during the trip, it washed the antlers away. Fortunately, we found the same set of antlers downriver on our very last day of travel. Both of these frames are single exposures, although I shot a variety of images in which to blend for better dynamic range and detail management if necessary.
12:50 AM, July 9, 2010. Bull caribou antlers along the Canning River, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. Canon 5D Mark II, 16-35mm f/2.8L (22mm), 1/2 sec @ f/20, ISO 50.
12:50 AM, July 9, 2010. Bull caribou antlers along the Canning River, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. Canon 5D Mark II, 16-35mm f/2.8L (22mm), 1/8 sec @ f/22, ISO 100.
You did it again! Gorgeous photos. I would love to travel around the state this much someday.
Eli,
You are a young lad, with many years of exploration on the horizon. As in much of life, the tyranny of the will may produce a few bleeps along the graph, but a dedicated pursuit of that which really interests you will eventually frame the architecture of your ventures and your pursuits. Carpe Diem, for the brevity of life begins with the first breath.
Wanted to add a comment earlier, but didn’t only wanted to say: wow, amazing!
But still going to do that, haha!
I absolutely love these photos! And love all the other ones on the blog.
Been to Alaska last June, but wasn’t able to spend too many time to wait for some times of the day to take photos.
Took quite a lot photos, but really need to go back very soon for more, haha!
I’ll keep following this blog!
Patrick, the second image caught my eye. The contrast in the complimentary tones is stunning. The touch of blue sky really nails the perspective and balance. The image conveys the sheer wilderness well also. Well done! Looking forward to more please.
Troy,
I’m always looking for that contrast between warm and cool colors, it seems to do so much for a photo, and you are perceptive to note that observation. I like the sun star dynamic in the second image, but in the conditions, i.e. shooting into the sun, exhausted, and being swarmed by mosquitoes. Those discoveries come after the fact in this case. Managing flare was a big issue in this shot.
Suzanne,
Thanks for visiting, enjoying the photos, and letting me know you enjoy the blog.
I can never get enough of the great light in this part of Alaska. Great use of the antlers as a focal point. As for flare have you seen Ron Niebrugge’s solution for that? Not sure it would have worked in this situation, but his solution is amazingly simple.
http://www.my-photo-blog.com/how-to-avoid-lens-flare
Jim,
That golden light is like liquid in the high arctic. I have used my fingers to block light sources and then blend images for a long time and it works pretty well in most cases. I’ve thought however that a little dodging tool circle on a wire attached to the lens that you could bend bend into position might work better in some situations (bu one more thing to mess with-you always have the hands available). The problem with shooting into the sun, which I do all the time, is not going blind, and having some accurate idea of where the flare is happening. Of course, it all looks so simple when you get back and view the images on a big computer. In the field, with mosquitoes attacking you, dots floating all over from staring at the sun, and so on…. is a different story! Thanks for your comment.
Do you ever have intern opportunities? I am moving to Alaska next year (Fairbanks) for graduate school and you are such an inspiration! Would love to learn from a master!
Thanks!!
Heather,
My schedule is pretty crazy and I’ve never developed any intern options, but occasionally speak on photo related subjects and would be happy to let you know should something come up on the calendar. All the best in your scholastic endeavors in Fairbanks, it is a great University.
That last image is outstanding. Love the two sunstars along with the full set of antlers. Great work.
Thank you Ron
Wow that was odd. I just wrote an incredibly long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t appear.
Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyway, just
wanted to say excellent blog!