Cloudy skies, although not good for aurora, offered some good light for afternoon photography of this family of polar bears. The sow with two cubs take shelter from the winds common to the north coast of Alaska’s arctic. Shooting directly into the wind with lightly blowing snow at temperatures around freezing present some problems with…
Selecting cameras and lenses for a photo trip usually takes me longer than anticipated. If I’m working from my car, that’s a different story, since I can take everything I need, and pick and choose a subset of lenses or camera’s based on the day or moment’s activity. I own a lot of Canon lenses,…
I’ll be making a few more entries about my recent trip to Antarctica, along with some photos and notable stories. While there is much to see and many experiences to embrace in Antarctica, there is certainly one that should be avoided at all costs. We traveled in very reliable 260+ foot icebreaker, but that can…
A few comments about photographing white subjects in white environments; in particular the issue of exposure and post production adjustments in Lightroom 2.5. Let me first state that I’ve always utilized an expose-to-the-right shooting style (you can explore that concept on luminous-landscape if you are unfamiliar with it). To summarize that briefly, it is a…
In my observations and photography in nature, I consider the polar bear to be one of the most amazing animals, exhibiting tremendous adaptation which has made them fit for survival in a harsh climate. They are generally a solitary animal, with a tremendous range of up to 1000 miles. Much of their life on the…
Late September and early October bring the first snow to Fairbanks, generally. A light dusting on the trees which still retain a few of the autumn leaves offers a beautiful contrast of soft white and colorful autumn colors. This frame was taken in the undulating hills on the north west side of Fairbanks, just a…
Mid day shadows across birch trees, Fairbanks, AlaskaCanon 1Ds Mark III, 400mm f5.6L, 1/15 sec @ f32, 100 ISO Fresh snow has cleansed the ground of the boreal forest surrounding my house, and the stark mid day shadows cast by the strengthening sun create a pattern of contrast. For some altitude, I took this frame…
Photography in Alaska’s arctic, particularly in the snowy months, presents many subjects and scenes filled with white, and often a white subject on a white background. While traveling with a photo tour group, one of the sharp-eyed guests (thank you Skip) spotted this arctic fox curled up in a snow drift on a frozen lake.…
The mountain hut flanked by Mount Dickey. The Mountain House:Few are the people that have not seen pictures or heard of the Don Sheldon Mountain House. Situated in the splendor of the Alaska Mountain range, perched on a rock outcrop in the middle of glacier at 6,000 ft, it commands superlative stretching views in every…
Don Sheldon Mountain House, Alaska Range Canon 1Ds Mark III, 24-105mm f4L, Panorama stitch of three photos Don Sheldon Mountain House, Alaska Range Canon 1Ds Mark III, 24-105mm f4L, 13 sec. @ f/6.3, ISO 800 I just returned from a little photo adventure at the Don Sheldon Mountain House in the Alaska Range. Accesses to…