Mink Last week I photographed this mink along a stream in interior Alaska. It was my first series of photos of a mink in the wild, and they are animals that rarely stop moving. While hunting along the bank on the opposite side of the river, the mink suddenly ran on the ice across the…
Yesterday concluded our photo venture with Alaska’s polar bears and it was a great day of viewing and a challenging day of photography. Winds that gusted to 50mph were sweeping across the coast blowing snow and salt spray. This in conjunction with the lens shake caused by such force made shooting difficult. However, I think…
Alaska polar bears While guiding a group of photographers on a recent tour for Alaska polar bears, aurora and other opportunistic arctic subjects, we had the wonderful opportunity to spend some time with these playful polar bear cubs. Like many young animals, they are curious, playful and active, when the parents often sleep or rest.…
If you have followed this blog at all, you will see that the Brooks Range mountains that arc across Alaska’s arctic are a common subject. The range is massive and equally amazing visually, in its diversity of geography and geology. After a successful photo session with the polar bears along the coast, our current photo…
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…
Every year in early October I co-guide a photo tour to Alaska’s arctic with friend and colleague Hugh Rose. We do two trips back to back actually, taking 8 photo and nature enthusiasts on a venture for the magic of the emerging arctic winter. While we are omnivorous regarding subject material, the aurora borealis, polar…
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,…
Every once in a while I get a little feedback from a photo buyer and let me place an emphasis on “once in a while”. Yesterday, I received an e-mail from a designer (ChadMicahel Morrisette) who purchased a photo for use in a store front window display. The photo–a snow covered boreal forest of birch…
The pre-sunrise light in Fairbanks this morning was of a particular brilliance. Some fear the thought of a residence in this reputedly dark winter region of the northern hemisphere. The former two adjectives are somewhat accurate, but mostly in that they serve to keep the general population growth in check. In my opinion, they are…
While I spend my share of time traveling to exotic locations to photograph, I still contend that photographing in one’s backyard is viable for the average photographer. Now I confess that I have a fine backyard for this–8 acres of boreal forest, and not all backyards are the same. But, you don’t need acres really,…