Tag: Photography

Torch Bay Sea Otters 6

Torch Bay Sea Otters 6

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Most photographers do not appreciate how difficult it is to photograph sea otters in Southeast Alaska. Plenty of people, myself included, have photographed the approachable sea otters in California, but the “wild” ones in Alaska see you coming from a mile away and want nothing to do with you. This is probably a good thing, since sea otters were previously hunted for their fur almost to the point of extinction. I have watched rafts of hundreds of sea otters in Glacier Bay National Park, near Cape Spencer, and in Frederick Sound, but none of them have allowed me to get close enough for a decent picture, even with a long lens. After being frustrated so often by their elusive nature, I was surprised to find this cooperative mother & baby during my brief visit to Torch Bay last June while returning from my amazing Lituya Bay visit. It was pouring rain, but fortunately I was able to set up my 500mm lens & tripod underneath the rain canopy on the back deck of my 22′ C-Dory while my friend Dominik Modlinksi manned the helm. The mother repeatedly dove to the bottom to catch some food. When she returned to the surface, it was all she could do to grab a bite of her catch before her little one voraciously snatched it away from her. (It was kinda like me trying to eat ice cream around my daughters.) After stealing mom’s food, the baby would climb on top of her for comfort & bonding. It was a beautiful wildlife experience in a unique setting and I am happy that I came away with a few images.

Alaska Airlines February 2010 Cover

Alaska Airlines February 2010 Cover

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I am pleased to announce that my image is featured on the cover of the February 2010 issue of Alaska Airlines magazine! Be sure to check it out if you are on an Alaska Airlines flight this month. Also, the opening double page image to the humpback whale article was photographed by my friend Brandon Cole during a previous trip that we took together. I have the exact same image, since we were next to each other in the water when we both almost got run over by a humpback whale mother & calf. Photographing whales above or below water is my favorite kind of photography. It also helps that I am comfortable swimming in the open ocean in 10,000 feet of water and enjoy staring down into the blue depths underneath my fins.

This is a great blog post to transition from my dramatic landscape photography to more of my new wildlife images from the last year. I’ve been tightly editing my image archives the last few weeks and have come across a few keepers that are worth sharing in the days ahead. If you are like me and admire these creatures, check out my gallery of available humpback whale photos.

Backpacker March 2010 Cover

Backpacker Magazine March 2010 Cover

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For the third time this year, one of my images graces the cover of Backpacker magazine. The March 2010 issue’s cover shot is my image “Lago Pehoe Fiery Sunrise”. I also give tips on photographing wide-angle landscape scenes in the article “Shoot Like a Pro” on pages 36-42, and my image “Spray Park Wildflowers 1” is featured on page 37.

In other news, I am currently updating my website to make it is easier to sign up for my photography tours, purchase my fine art prints, and license my images. The overall design is going to stay the same, I just need to simplify access for my customers. I also need to add several new galleries and update my older ones with the new images that I have created during the past 16 months.

Badwater Sunrise 2

Badwater Sunrise 2

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This is another image that I created during my recent Death Valley National Park Photo Tour. My 3 LA based clients unfortunately missed this photo opportunity because they drove home the day before. My remaining client & I left the Badwater parking lot in the dark an hour before sunrise. We wore our headlamps and hiked towards the center of the salt flats. After 40 minutes, we stumbled upon these salt patterns and set up our cameras to capture the magnificent scene. I like the textures on the salt flats, but I love the puffy sunrise clouds over the mountains.

Badwater Salt Crust Sunrise 1

Badwater Salt Crust Sunrise 1

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I created this dramatic image on the Badwater salt flats during the 2nd morning of my recent Death Valley National Park Photo Tour. My favorite landscape lighting scenario is the one that you see here, when sunrise light illuminates a mountain range underneath ominous clouds. I could not have asked for anything more. Over the next hour, the light interacted with the clouds giving me some very different images, but this early one is my favorite. On my way to Death Valley, California photographer G Dan Mitchell was kind enough to send me a Facebook comment about looking for nice salt crust patterns around the first corner south of the Badwater parking lot. I’m not sure if I found the exact spot that he was referring to, but I probably would not have parked in that area and walked the short distance from the road to these bizarre salt crust eruptions without his recommendation. As the sunrise began, I was mostly walking back & forth answering my 4 clients questions, but I still managed to briefly set up my camera to capture the wondrous scene unfolding before me.

Mobius Arch Incredible Sunrise 1

Mobius Arch Incredible Sunrise 1

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Here it is!  My “epic” sunrise image of Mobius Arch, created last week in California’s Alabama Hills. I spent over 1 hour photographing this arch as the color of the sunrise light intensified from pink to yellow and the clouds swirled in different textures. This was the most dramatic sunrise that I have witnessed from this location. I had visited Mobius Arch a half dozen times over the last 10 years hoping to create an image more dramatic than the typical one involving blue sky. I am happy that my persistence finally paid off with this incredible opportunity.

San Elijo New Years Sunset 1

San Elijo New Years Sunset 1

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As promised, I am finally posting one of my incredible sunset images from New Years Day here at San Elijo State Beach in California. Not only was the sunset one of the most spectacular that I have ever witnessed, but there was also an extreme low tide that afternoon that exposed the reef & eel grass beds just in time to make an interesting foreground. I’ve got a few more that I will eventually share, but this will have to do for right now. I don’t have great internet access while traveling in California. Hopefully, I will see many more sunrises or sunsets like this during my Death Valley Tour this week. Wish me luck!

Place of Refuge Sunset 2

Place of Refuge Sunset 2

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This is my favorite (and 1 of my only!) landscape images from my recent trip to Hawaii’s Big Island.  I was fortunate to photograph this amazing sunset early in my trip during one of the few vog free days.  I created it near Pu’uhonau o Honaunau (Place of Refuge) National Park, which is just south of Capt Cook.  The park is one of my favorite places near Kona to spend the day snorkeling, hiking, & exploring.  It has a long history & powerful spiritual presence.  In ancient Hawaii, kapu (laws) governed every aspect of Hawaiian society.  If  you violated a kapu, the penalty was death.  Your only option for survival was to elude your pursuers and reach the nearest puuhonua, or place of refuge, where you would be safe.  Fortunately, I was not on the run from anyone, but I did have to quickly set up my camera to capture these brilliant clouds before the sun dropped below the tropical horizon.

Place of Refuge Wave 1

Place of Refuge Wave 1

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Yesterday was my last day in Hawaii. Overall, the trip was exciting and adventurous, yet the photo opportunities were limited. The volcanic haze (vog) foiled almost every sunset landscape image that I tried to shoot. I also went boating 4 days to try and shoot some underwater wildlife. Even though I encountered spinner dolphins, pilot whales, and oceanic white tip sharks, none of them came close enough to me in the water to capture a publishable image. I always say that you better enjoy the boat ride when you are looking for pelagic critters. The chances of finding them are few and far between, yet when you do, it is an incredible experience.

I lucked into this image yesterday morning while snorkeling near the Place of Refuge. My flight home was not until the afternoon, so I decided to go for one last swim. Almost immediately, I found some green sea turtles feeding underwater, but soon turned my attention to a large school of yellow tangs that were moving back and forth in the wave surge. I noticed how dramatic the waves appeared in the background of my useless fish photos, so I turned my attention to capturing the drama of the large waves breaking over the coral reef. After some trial and error, I got my timing down for when I should dive underneath the surface and how to angle my camera up to shoot as the waves boiled over the reef. Of course right after the waves hit me, I felt like I was on the inside of a washing machine! It was challenging, but I had a lot of fun shooting something different.

Ae'o 1

Ae’o 1 (Native Hawaiian Stilt)

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There are only an estimated 1500 endangered ae’o or Hawaiian stilts in the world. I saw about 10 of them yesterday afternoon when I drove down to the Koloko-Honokohau National Park fishponds. I thought about throwing the 500 f4 lens in the car as I left my room, but decided not to bring it. After I pulled into the parking area and got out to look around, I immediately observed the stilts lined up on the edge of the fishpond. After about 15 minutes, I decided to drive back to my room and get the big lens. When I returned with the 500, the ae’o let me approach close enough to take some nice portraits. I like this image because the bird’s long leg is out of the water as it is hunting for prey.