Tag: Alaska

Fords Terror Mist

My Top 10 Favorite Photos of 2008, #9

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2008 was not my most productive year for landscape photography. I spent most of the summer getting rained on in Southeast Alaska. It was not the kind of weather that allowed me to create the spectacular images that I am known for. However, it was still an incredible experience navigating my small boat around in the ocean wilderness and into the fjords that few other photographers are able to visit. I typically move Serenity, my 22′ C-Dory, into a remote location and then spend a week or more using my 12′ inflatable to motor around in search of wildlife and unique landscape scenes to photograph. During a particularly wet solo trip in June into the Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness, I visited Fords Terror several different days before I finally got the right amount of bad weather and low hanging clouds to capture the spirit of the place. My image “Fords Terror Mist” was created in the pouring rain using my Pentax 67II camera, 45mm lens, Singh-Ray LB Warming Polarizer, Gitzo Basalt tripod, Acratech Ultimate ballhead, and Fuji Velvia 50 film at f22 and 8 seconds.

Humpback Whales Bubble Feeding 59

2008 International Conservation Photography Awards

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One of my most spectacular images of humpback whales bubble-feeding in Southeast Alaska is included in the 2008 International Conservation Photography Awards exhibit at the MOHAI in Seattle, WA. The exhibit has gone by several different names over the years but it’s main sponsor has always been Art Wolfe. I’m friends with Art and talked to him the night of the exhibit about the direction the ICPA was taking in the years ahead. The next competition will not be until 2010, and it will go on display at the Burke Museum at the UW in Seattle. It is getting harder to get an image into the exhibit as the competition is getting much tougher. I still feel proud that I was able to be part of it. Please visit more of my humpback whale photography.

Fern Harbor Sea Otter 5

Fern Harbor Sea Otter 5

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I spent 2 very wet days following an incredibly friendly sea otter around a bay that I was anchored in on the outer coast of Glacier Bay National Park. I have never had any luck getting within 100 yards of a sea otter, let alone take it’s picture. The moms and babies especially want nothing to do with me. But this little guy was a whole different story. When I first found him, he did not react and swim away, rather he just continued his swimming and feeding routine. I spent about 8 hours 2 days in a row following him around and observing his behavior. He was so incredibly cute and tolerant of my presence. This is one of my favorite images of him scratching his head with the beautiful green forest reflection all around him. Please visit more of my Sea Otter Photography.

Fern Harbor Sea Otter 14

Fern Harbor Sea Otter 14

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Every time that this sea otter went to the far end of the bay at low tide, he would drop down to the bottom and grab 2 crabs to eat. He must have eaten 20-30 crabs in an hour. It was very cool watching him, and he could have cared less about my inflatable following him around all day. Please visit more of my Sea Otter Photography.

Taylor Bay Beach Sunset

Taylor Bay Beach Sunset

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I first visited Taylor Bay near Cape Spencer in May and knew that I had to come back. The Fairweather Mountains and the Brady Glacier are just incredible to look at, if you can see them. I am still trying to figure out how to photograph them if the conditions ever allowed for it. In the meantime, I’ve spent a lot of time exploring the rocky shoreline and moraine flats. This composition came together very quickly for me. It was the only golden sunset light image I got in 15 days of getting rained on in SE Alaska. Please visit more of my Glacier Bay National Park Photography.

Chichagof Coast Reflection

Chichagof Coast Reflection

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The coastal landscape on Chicagof Island really surprised me. I would have thought that it would have been all tall trees and rainforest, but instead it was all these stunted little trees and bogs. I scouted this location above Mirror Harbor after several days of being boat bound due to a gale in the Gulf of Alaska. I found the landscape reminded me of images I have seen from the Amazon or Coast Rica and not Alaska. This gnarled tree reminded me of a Japanese painting. I think the mountain in the distance must be a volcano. Please visit more of my Southeast Alaska Photography.

Johns Hopkins Inlet Sunrise 6

2008 Nature’s Best Ocean Views Photography Exhibit

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I submitted several of my landscape and wildlife images from the marine environment this past January to Nature’s Best for consideration in their inaugural Ocean Views competition. This image of glacial ice in Johns Hopkins Inlet at sunrise was awarded an Honorable Mention in the Landscape category and is currently on display at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC through December. Please take a look at more of my images from Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska.

Tracy Arm Harbor Seal 28

Tracy Arm Harbor Seal 28

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I visited Tracy Arm for the first time in 2007. I had wanted to try and photograph the harbor seals and their babies on the ice flows, but was not successful. I knew that I would have to come back and spend more time, as well as figure out how to get closer without spooking them. I thought about it all winter and new that I was going to have to conceal my red inflatable in order to use it as a blind. I bought a couple of white shower curtains that I cut in half and used to cover my boat’s tubes. The other thing I did was I let the wind blow me in the right direction while laying down on my boat’s floorboards. My plan worked exceptionally well this time and I was able to capture some very beautiful portraits of the harbor seals without disturbing them. Please visit more of my Harbor Seal Photography.

Tracy Arm Harbor Seal 3

Tracy Arm Harbor Seal 3

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This mother harbor seal was very tolerant of my somewhat concealed presence. I must have looked very funny and out of place. I was a big white thing floating by like any other iceberg, but with my big lens held up to my face. This mom kept glancing in my direction, but couldn’t figure out what I was, and not feeling threatened, she went back to resting with her newborn baby. Note the umbilical cord on the baby’s stomache. Please visit more of my Harbor Seal Photography.