Category Archives: Denali National Park

Photos of Denali National Park, Mt. McKinley, tundra, mountains, wildlife, birds and more from Denali National Park, Alaska.

2012 – a Photo Review

Hey Folks,

Just to wrap up the year for 2012, here’s a quick slideshow from the year – 30 photos from various trips. Good times and good memories. I hope you all enjoy the pictures. If you like, take a quick look at my “Year in Alaska” on video, over at Expeditions Alaska – some nice clips from the past 12 months; it’s pretty cool, if I must say so myself! 🙂

Thanks so much,

Cheers

Carl Continue reading

RAW files and stock photo sales

Bull Moose in fall color, Denali National Park, Alaska.

A bull moose standing on the fall tundra in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Vegetation includes Dwarf Birch and Alaska Willow. Please click on the image to view a larger version of the photo.

Hey Folks

Recently I saw a tweet the other day from photographer Richard Bernabe: “Just had a photo editor demand raw files to process as they see fit. I turned the deal down.”

I saw and enjoyed at least some of the following conversation. We discussed the merit of sending out a RAW file to a photo editor instead of some other file format, such as a tiff or a jpeg.

For myself, I can’t see any reason to not send a RAW file if an editor or graphic artist requests it, unless there was some very highly unusual and extenuating circumstance; the only one that springs to mind is if the final image was a manual blend of multiple exposures, and/or a panoramic stitch that I’d put together. Even in those circumstances, I suspect I’d most likely explain to the person I was dealing with about the amount of time involved in finishing the product from camera to computer screen, and suggest they simply use the finished 8-bit tif or jpeg file, but if they felt they really wanted the RAW files, I can’t see why not; it’d mean they have to do (in some cases) a whole lot of work I’d already done, but if that’s what they wanted, I can’t see a good reason to refuse. Continue reading

Photography; does it get in the way

Aurora borealis and Denali, Denali State Park, Alaska.

Aurora borealis lights up the winter night sky over Mt McKinley, highest mountain in North America, also called Denali. Viewpoint from Denali State Park, Alaska. Click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

One topic I’ve often heard discussed relating to nature and outdoor photography pertains to the value of the experience itself. Does photography “get in the way”, and limit the photographers’ realization of the experience itself, or does it add to it?

I have friends, for example, that don’t like to bring a camera on a backpacking trip because they feel it hinders how they are able to soak up the actual experience. They’d rather sit and watch that glorious sunrise than fiddle with the camera and try to get a good composition. They’d rather sit back and stare in awe at the Aurora borealis do its thing over Denali than take their gloves off and tweak camera settings. Continue reading

Dall Sheep Ram, Denali National Park

A dall sheep ram approaches while it grazes on the high alpine tundra, DenalI National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

A dall sheep ram approaches while it grazes on the high alpine tundra, Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Here’s a Dall sheep ram I photographed a few years back, when I was doing a hike in Denali National Park and Preserve. It’s been a couple of years now since I spent any time in Denali National Park (the last time I was beyond Savage River was on a trip with my parents, in 07). As much as I enjoy my project in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, I do miss photographing in Denali. Hopefully this next year my schedule will work out such that I can squeeze in some time in Denali – and find this Dall sheep ram again.

It’s quite an experience having a full curl ram approach within inches of your eyeball. I remember I was lying down (as I wrote about here in an earlier post), and this ram got up from his slumber, Continue reading

Sunset over the Alaska Range, Alaska

sunset over the Alaska Range, Alaska.

hey Folks,

Here’s an old image I dug up last night .. going through some old files for editing. I shot it a couple of years ago, returning from a trip to Denali National Park one fall. The sky began to clear up late in the afternoon, and I was driving back towards Anchorage. A week or so in the park with clouds and rain and on my way home, a sunset! I pulled over to the side of the road, wandered off into the woods, got completely SOAKED in this marshy area, and set up my gear near this Dward Birch (Betula pumila or Betula borealis), glowing orange in late autumn colors, and the clouds began to catch the last of the day’s rays. Then i walked back to my truck, and got my feet even more wet.

Cheers

Carl

Wild Wolf photo, Denali National Park, Alaska

Wild black wolf, alpha male, howling, Denali National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Well, it seems those pesky wolves are in the news up here yet again.

This time it’s not the F&WS and their infinite wisdom declaring a population to be ‘experimental’, or a bunch of anti-wolf people shooting wolves from airplanes.

This time, the news is about the National Park Service tracking down a wolf in Denali National Park, anesthetizing the animal, and removing a snare from its neck. You can read more about the story (the pictures are pretty gross, don’t visit these links if you might be upset by some nasty wounds on a wolf) here and the update here.

Basically, 2 wolves had been trapped this past winter, and escaped, but with the snares on their necks. The snares dug in deep, and caused some ugly wounds. The park service, getting ready for the opening of the park and influx on countless visitors, has no interest in having a bunch of tourists see wolves in this condition, so they’ve been hunting high and low for these 2 wolves, to try to remove the snares. Continue reading

Denali, Mt. McKinley and reflection, Denali National Park, Alaska

Denali, Mt. McKinley and reflection, Denali National Park, Alaska.

hey Folks,

So, here’s an image of Denali I don’t think I’ve posted here before. Mount McKinley is simply one big grand mountain that is ALWAYS a treat to see. I saw it a few days ago. This photo though, was taken last August when I spent a week camped out on the tundra, not far from this pond. Actually, this little pond was my water source. Every morning, after I’d do some shooting, I’d saunter down, ever so casually, fill up my one quart pot, stroll back over to the ‘kitchen’ and make breakfast – Continue reading

Wild Wolf photo, Denali National Park, Alaska

A female wolf, alpha female of the Grant Creek Pack, in Denali national Park, stands with the head of a small caribou she hunted and killed earlier that day.

Hey Folks,

Recently some of the environmental news has be regarding the delisting of the Gray Wolves in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Hence you can see, I post a picture of a wolf from Denali National Park.

As you can see from the image, the wolf was collared by the Park Service biologists, to track and record her movements and to help them learn more about wolves. She’s dead now, apparently killed by wolves in another pack last winter, wandering onto some turf that didn’t belong to her. Such seems to be the way with wolves. Continue reading

Denali photo, Mt McKinley, Denali National Park

Denali, Mt. McKinley, Denali National Park, Alaska.

hey Folks,

What an awesome day. A walk down along the coastal trail, Denali, or Mt. McKinley in full view is a treat. Absolutely gorgeous. There’s probably not too many towns in the world you can walk along the beach and be looking at a 20 000′ tall mountain. Here’s a picture in honor of ‘the mountain’ – ain’t it something!

Cheers

Carl