Archive for the ‘Adventures’ Category
Adventures and adventure photography. Could be travels and trips to remote places like Alaska or Patagonia, or it could be outside sports, such as whitewater kayaking, mountain biking, backpacking and hiking, dog mushing, trail running etc.
Wednesday, October 5th, 2011
Brown bear eating a Sockeye Salmon. Brown bears love to eat the fat rich skin first, consuming much needed calories for their own winter hibernation. The brown bear here has it's tongue poking out. Brown bear, Ursus arctos, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.
Hey Folks,
Just back from 2 weeks shooting brown bears here in Alaska, and I hardly have time to unpack before I’m heading out on my next trip, but I wanted to post at lease something from the bear photo tour before leaving.
This year I wanted to concentrate on some different kinds of images than I normally shoot, so I shot a lot less, and threw out even more than usual; but I did come away with some photos, I think, that I’ll be happy with. I still haven’t looked over all of them yet, but I know I made at least a couple I will like. Once I get down to editing I’ll try to post a few. (more…)
Tags: Alaska, Brooks River, Brown bears, Grizzly Bears, Katmai National Park, salmon, Skolai Images
Posted in Adventures, Alaska, Katmai National Park, Photo Tours | 3 Comments »
Monday, October 3rd, 2011
Fall colors along Arrigetch Creek in Gates of the Arctic National Park, Sunrise over the Brooks Mountains, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.
Hey Folks,
Here’s an image I took in August on a trip to the Arrigetch Peaks, in Alaska’s Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve. We’d had a great early morning hike up in to and around the Maidens Valley for sunrise, and I shot a few nice images of the peaks catching early light. Afterward we hiked back to camp to catch an hour or so of sleep before breakfast, but I took a few shots along the creek before my nap.
I really liked the warm light striking the top of this ridge above camp, but didn’t have long to find a complimentary foreground before the low-lying clouds blocked the light. A pretty good rule of thumb for any landscape photographer in the backcountry is to always camp by water; one can USUALLY find some kind of foreground with a water source, be it a pond, a stream, a lake, the ocean, a glacier, etc.
Here I added some color by setting up near this patch of bear berry, strikingly red in peak fall color. The whole process for this shot took maybe 5 minutes, from walking over to the stream and scratching around to find the composition I liked, checking exposure, etc, and shooting the frame. 10 minutes later I was in my sleeping bag, toasty warm, and the light had dropped from the ridge altogether. I was able to grab some sleep before getting up again for breakfast with the group to a cloudy and somewhat drab day. (more…)
Tags: Alaska, Arrigetch creek, Arrigetch Peaks, Gates of the Arctic National Park, Landscapes, scenics
Posted in Adventures, Alaska, Backpacking and Hiking, Fall, Gates of the Arctic National Park, Landscapes | No Comments »
Friday, September 30th, 2011
3 young grizzly bear cubs wait by a river, fall colors in the forest. Grizzly bears, or brown bears, (Ursus arctos). Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.
Hey Folks,
By now, all going according to plan, I should be almost getting back from the Katmai National Park Grizzly Bear Photo Tour; here’s an image from last year’s tour, just in case we don’t have much luck this fall. 3 gorgeous young cubs slipping down to water’s edge for a look around, before slinking back to the forest.
Next photo should be from 2011. See ya soon.
Cheers
Carl
Tags: Brown bears, grizzlies, Grizzly Bears, Katmai National Park, photo tours, Skolai Images, Wildlife
Posted in Adventures, Alaska, Fall, Grizzly Bears, Katmai National Park, Photo Tours, Wildlife | 4 Comments »
Tuesday, September 27th, 2011
Northern lights over the Mentasta Mountains, tundra, boreal forest and a small kettle pond on a moonlit night. Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.
Hey Folks,
From the recent trip to shoot the northern lights in Wrangell – St. Elias National Park. I’ve never seen clouds move in quite so quickly as they did this particular evening. I’d se up to shoot over in the Glennallen area, and before long, high clouds rolled in from the southwest. In order to keep shooting, I had to figure which would be the best direction to head.
I chose north and east, toward the Nabesna Road, partly because I wanted to be in that area for sunrise. So I spent the evening trying to stay ahead of the lights and catch what images I could along the way. Finally, I made it to where I wanted to be, and then set off to find a composition I wanted.
For any Alaskans out there, or anyone else who’s hiked over muskeg before, you’ll appreciate this one.; try setting out at night time to hike over the muskeg for your photos. I guarantee that WILL kick your a$$.
Then I spent the rest of the evening waiting for the lights to turn on. They popped out a few times, but never really strongly, though they were pretty active. The full moon made for plenty of light for the foreground. I wish I could’ve gotten a little closer to the water’s edge here, but all that long grass in the foreground sits in about 10 inches of water. If the lights had offered something really dazzling, I might have ventured out, but for staying dry and warm seemed a better option given the circumstances.
Finally I fell asleep under a spruce tree, woke up to a clouded sky, and stumbled my way backward camp and my superwarm, absolutely amazing, Western Mountaineering Lynx sleeping bag. life was good. I didn’t get up for sunrise.
Cheers
Carl
Tags: Alaska, aurora borealis, Northern Lights, scenics, Skolai Images, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park
Posted in Adventures, Alaska, Fall, Landscapes, Musings, Northern Lights, Photo Tours, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park | 2 Comments »
Monday, September 19th, 2011
Mount Sanford, early morning, fall colors and a kettle pond, boreal forest, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click the image above to view a larger version of this photo.
Hey Folks,
So while I’m off in Katmai photographing the bears, I’ll schedule a post or 2 from the summer. Here’s a shot of Mt. Sanford not long after sunrise one gorgeous sunny fall morning. What a view!
Cheers
Carl
Tags: Alaska, Fall, Landscapes, Mount Sanford, Mt Sanford, photo tours, scenics, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park
Posted in Adventures, Alaska, Fall, Landscapes, Photo Tours, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park | 2 Comments »
Friday, September 16th, 2011
Tags: bears, Brown bears, Katmai National Park, Skolai Images, Wildlife
Posted in Adventures, Alaska, Grizzly Bears, Katmai National Park, Photo Tours, Photos Only, Wildlife | 4 Comments »
Tuesday, September 13th, 2011
Tags: aurora borealis, Copper River, Mount Drum, Mount Sanford, Mount Wrangell, Mount Zanetti, Northern Lights, scenics, Skolai Images, Wrangell Mountains
Posted in Adventures, Alaska, Fall, Landscapes, Northern Lights, Photo Tours, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park | 11 Comments »
Wednesday, September 7th, 2011
Arrigetch Creek and reflection of the Arrigetch Peaks, Albatross, Xanadu, and Ariel. Early morning light, just after sunrise, fall, Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.
Hey Folks,
Here’s another from the Arrigetch Peaks trip we did last month, August. This was our first morning up in the valley; really a treat to wake up to something like this. Of course, waking up at 4:30am isn’t such a treat, but such is the life of photography in the Arctic summer.
The 3 peaks in this frame are Xanadu, the largest in the background, with Albatross in front of it, and Ariel on the right hand side of the frame. Going out of the frame to the right is Caliban.
A mile or so up the creek from here we saw a, wait for it .. a beaver. That was pretty wild, I never thought they’d be up in rock climbing territory. Animals are just full of surprises.
Cheers
Carl
Tags: Ariel, Arrigetch creek, Arrigetch Peaks, Caliban, Gates of the Arctic National Park, Landscapes, scenics, Skolai Images, Xanadu
Posted in Adventures, Alaska, Backpacking and Hiking, Fall, Gates of the Arctic National Park, Landscapes | 1 Comment »
Sunday, September 4th, 2011
Alaska Cotton, and glacier, near Iceberg Lake, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.
Hey Folks,
We just got off a great hike in the Chugach Mountain Range, Wrangell – St. Elias National Park; the Iceberg Lake to Bremner Mines route, a popular hike I’ve done a number of times now. This trip was an exciting adventure, as always, with a mixture of weather, some great folks to hike with, tons of cool stuff to see.
We actually took what is for me a new route part of the way, and skipped one of the climbs; heading straight for a glacier moraine and on to the ice instead. That was kinda cool, and I did find a great spot to camp that I hadn’t been to before, which is always a treat.
This image is from the first morning of the trip, when the skies cleared and we had some nice morning light. The day before it had been drizzly and overcast, and we hiked along the now empty lakebed of Iceberg Lake; it drains every summer.
After a hearty breakfast and packing up camp we headed off across a glacier and up higher to another campsite, where we did a short dayhike down to a few small alpine lakes. Great day indeed. The weather changed a lot during the 8 days of our trip, and we were constantly layering clothes on and off. The wind was cold, even on the sunniest of days, and fall is most definitely here in Alaska.Fresh snow on the peaks around us, the locals calls “Termination Dust” (i.e., the termination of summer) greeted us a number of mornings.
We made it to our pickup at Bremner Mines on time, and then had to wait for a break in the weather before our pilots came and got us, ferrying us quickly back to McCarthy, hot food, showers, chairs with backs, and all the comforts of the a small town. Good times.
Great trip, all in all.
Cheers
Carl
Tags: Alaska Cotton, Chugach mountains, Glaciers, Landscapes, scenics
Posted in Adventures, Alaska, Backpacking and Hiking, Landscapes, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 31st, 2011
Hiking in the Valley of the Maidens, Arrigetch Peaks, Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.
hey Folks,
So here’s another self-portrait. Me on a dayhike up into the Maidens, in the Arrigetch Peaks, Gates of the Arctic National Park. The talus and moraine in the area was pretty intimidating for most folks on the even trip, even though they’re all strong, experienced hikers. walking over endless fields of boulders and rocks is wearisome. but being so close to such amazing granite outcrops as the Arrigetch Peaks is so worth the effort.
The peak to my right is, I believe, “Parabola”.
The small pack I’m carrying is a Marmot Komperdell pack, a great little summit pack I take on my most backpacking trips; saves carrying my heavier Mystery Ranch G5000 when I go out for the afternoon; and it looks FABULOUS!
Cheers
Carl
Tags: Arrigetch Peaks, backpacking, Gates of the Arctic National Park, hiking, Skolai Images
Posted in Adventures, Backpacking and Hiking | No Comments »
