Alaska’s fascinating wild creatures
Alpha female gray wolf, Denali National Park Canon 1Ds Mark III, 500mm f4.0L IS, 1/640 @ f6.3, ISO 400, hand held This alpha female wolf in Denali National Park is raising six hungry pups, and frequents the park road for easy travel when hunting for food. On a quite morning before 6am, I was driving…
On a late evening (10:00pm) while traveling through the shadowed cliffs of Polychrome Pass in Denali National park, I came upon this grizzly bear transecting the steep slopes. After watching it for about 5 minutes and seeing that it wanted to cross the road, I pulled over and opened the sun roof on my car…
Miles lake sonar station located along the Copper River near the historic Million Dollar Bridge. Submersed sonar transmits visual data to computer terminals enabling technicians to count fish passing by.The commercial fisheries management procedure is a complicated one. Mainly because there are so many factors that can influence the health of a salmon run in…
Bow picker Gill net fishing on the Copper River Delta As part of an ongoing assignment (see part one and part two) covering the copper river red salmon, I traveled to Cordova, Alaska to join a commercial fishermen during the current, once a week 12 hour period for the Copper River gillnet fishery. The great…
Male Harlequin duck resting on rocks, headwaters of the Gulkana river, interior, Alaska.Canon 1Ds Mark III, 500mm f4L w/1.4x, 1/2 sec @f45, ISO 100 Harlequin duck males are colorful birds with distinct markings. They favor fast moving water for feeding and can often be found resting on rocks along stream shores. They are attentive birds…
American Dipper fishing underwater – not quite sharp This is a story of attempt, not of success; of progress but not achievement–as I would prefer. On a previous blog I showed a few pictures of an aquatic passerine called the American Dipper, a very fascinating bird that hunts for bugs, grubs and fish underwater. I…
Nowadays, digital composites are everywhere. While editorial images should be honest and unmodified, there seems to be no limit with advertising and promotional works. We received a recent example of this when we got our copy of a Russian calendar featuring some of our polar bear photos. Our photo as it appears in a Russian…
Young bull moose along the Alaska Highway Canon 1Ds Mark III, 500mm f4L, 1/125 sec @ f6.3, ISO 640 On a trip into the Alaska range, about 150 miles from Fairbanks, I saw more than 10 moose feeding along the roadside about 9-10:30pm or so. Interestingly, they were predominantly young bulls. Those that travel the…
Heading for the Ocean Sockeye salmon smolt head for the salt water after feeding and growing in Summit lake for one year.This is part two of a lengthy photo series I’ll be doing through the summer and autumn, focusing on the Gulkana hatchery and its role in enhancing the Copper river Sockeye salmon that migrate…
American Dipper hunts for small insects in fast moving water. Canon 1Ds Mark III, 500mm f4L IS w/1.4x (700mm) 1/400 sec @ f8, ISO 400 Closeup crop almost reveals the eye of the bird. The American Dipper is an aquatic passerine. What is that? For those who don’t know, the order of Passeriformes are more…