Posts Tagged ‘Winter’
Winter Landscape, Denali National Park
Saturday, January 14th, 2012Mount Sanford Photo
Monday, March 14th, 2011
Black and white photo of Mount Sanford, one of the highest peaks in the Wrangell Mountains, at dawn, from a small frozen kettle pond. Winter snow creates patterns on the frozen lake. Mt. Sanford, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the thumbnail above to view a larger version of this photo.
Hey Folks,
Here’s an image of Mount Sanford, Wrangell – St. Elias National Park and Preserve, I took a while ago, that I converted to black and white in photoshop. I shot this after the alpenglow had faded, and the sun rose high enough in the sky to light up not just Mount Sanford’s massive peak, but the entire floor of the Copper River Basin.
It’s very easy to be tempted to pack up and head off after the alpenglow on a mountain wanes; I often find the light immediately following the alpenglow to be unappealing to me. The sky has a weird yellowish tint to it, and the contrast between the dark, shaded foreground and the brightly lit peak is too great to really photograph well; for me, anyway. (more…)
Aurora borealis last night
Thursday, March 10th, 2011
Aurora borealis and setting moon, in the Waxing Crescent phase, light up the winter night sky, Alaska. To view a larger version of this photo, please click on the image above.
Hey Folks,
Just a quick shot from last night’s Aurora. It wasn’t the greatest Aurora, but any aurora is a treat to witness. Here I managed to capture the slowly sinking moon, in the Waxing Crescent phase, before it disappeared beneath the horizon.
One piece of advice I’ll offer folks visiting Alaska to see/photograph the aurora – don’t drive around Alaska at night with under a half a tank of gas. And remember to bring a warm sleeping bag and sleeping pad in your vehicle.
Cheers
Carl
The Wrangell Mountains
Wednesday, March 9th, 2011
Willow Lake and the Wrangell Mountains, wintertime, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, Alaska. From left to right, Mt Drum, Mt Sanford, Mt Zanetti, Mt Wrangell. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.
Hey Folks
Well, maybe not all of them, but some of the stars, for sure.
Mt Drum, Mt Sanford, Mt Zanetti and Mt Wrangell, viewed from Willow Lake, along the Richardson Highway. It’s not always this clear, however, and so many of the people who drive by this scene have no idea what they’re missing. Perhaps more amazingly, when it IS clear, some people drive right by without so much as a glance.
Cheers
Carl
Mount Blackburn Photo
Monday, February 28th, 2011Hey Folks,
Mount Blackburn - Winter in Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Wrangell Mountains, Mount Blackburn, Kuskulana River, Winter, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.
Mount Blackburn, the 5th highest peak in the US; a grand mountain!
Sometimes those moments in the mountains are just too grand to describe; This is one of those views that is beyond the sublime. The Great Horned Owls hooting behind me only added to the ambience. The more time I spend in Wrangell – St. Elias National Park and Preserve, the more impressive the place appears.
As the light faded, I quietly breathed my “thank you”, turned the skis around, and eased toward the night.
Cheers
Carl
Mount Blackburn Photo
Thursday, January 20th, 2011
Mount Blackburn Photo, Wrangell Mountains and the Copper River Basin, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.
Hey Folks,
Here’s a view of Mount Blackburn and the Wrangell Mountains, at sunset.
One of the hassles with shooting in Alaska in the dead of winter is, of course, the cold. We all understand how that’s a hassle, right? Cold fingers, batteries that die, and so forth. The list goes on.
Getting a vehicle started at 40 below zero deg F is itself an art. An engine block heater for your car helps – well, it’s pretty much a ‘must have’. But at minus40deg, even that won’t get you far. The engine block heater helps warm up the mechnical parts of the engine block, but at these frigid arctic temperatures, even the oil thickens up so much it doesn’t flow; problematic for a car engine. So , an Oil Heater works well. Another useful tool is something to warm up the battery. The 3rd item that’s a good tool to have is a battery heating pad – cold temperatures can dramatically affect the cranking power of a battery, so heating it up will help get your car started. (more…)
For Martin
Monday, January 17th, 2011
An ice cave on the Kuskulana Glacier, in the Wrangell Mountains. Winter snow and freezing temperatures ice up the water of the Kuskulana River, and the this wall of ice is a myriad of patterns, colors, and textures. Kuskulana Glacier, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.
Hey Folks,
“Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.” ≈ Martin Luther King, Jr.
Thank you, Dr. King.
Cheers
Carl
Skiing, Wrangell – St. Elias
Thursday, January 13th, 2011
A backcountry skier stands above the Kuskulana River, near Mt. Blackburn. Cross country skiing in Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, winter, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.
Hey Folks,
A quick photo from Wrangell – St. Elias National Park.
Skis: cheap
Pack: not very much $$
View: free
Temperature: Minus 40 degrees.
By the way – if you want to see some great work – check out Jim Goldstein’s blog post, including links to over 160 photographers’ favorite photos from 2010.
Cheers
Carl
Editing art
Friday, January 7th, 2011
Winter is a great time for backcountry skiing in Alaska. Cross country skiing and ski touring in Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, along the Kuskulana River, near Mt Blackburn and the Wrangell Mountains, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.
Hey Folks,
Happy New Year, and Welcome back to the blog. I had a somewhat mixed couple of weeks, which I’m sure I’ll tell you all about here soon enough. Before I get all that together however, I’ll post a short note about this news I saw, an article concerning a new publishing of the Mark Twain classics: “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” edited by Professor Alan Gribben of Auburn University at Montgomery. It differs from other editions of those books because Mr. Gribben has turned the word “nigger” — as used by Tom and Huck — into “slave.” Mr. Gribben has also changed “Injun” to Indian.
This is interesting to me. I’m a huge fan of Twain, particularly those novels, and the idea of editing (i.e., rewording) such great work is almost ghastly .. on the surface. On the other hand, we live in a world where art, including ‘great art‘ is constantly being ‘adapted‘ for presentation: consider films presented on television, for example. How are bleeps, voice-overs, cuts and blurred body parts any different to a publisher swapping out words that might be offensive or inappropriate? Or updated versions of Shakespearean classics, making them infinitely more readable for kids? How about song lyrics bleeped for radio play? Or, better yet, literary classics like Nabokov’s “Lolita” banned from schools altogether?
How about the outcry over John Denver’s “Rocky Mountain High”? The US Senate held a hearing in 1985 to deal with explicit lyrics in pop music. So we’re not talking about anything new here at all. Indeed, one of the most popular shows on TV in recent times is American Idol, where countless classic tunes have been butchered by this generations’ most current attempts to throw its own heros up the pop charts. 
(more…)
Jingle This.
Saturday, December 25th, 2010Hey Folks,
A lil’ holiday spirit. As this is published, I’m probably somewhere right around here:
A black and white photo of the boreal photo in Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, wintertime, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of the photo. And Happy Holidays, everyone!
Cheers
Carl
