A cow moose stands outside the house in Anchorage, Winter, Alaska (Alces alces). Please click on the image here to view a larger version of the photo.

Hey Folks,

A fun post.

After all the tromping around in the mountains and wilds of Alaska, carrying way too much weight and camera gear around the hills trying to photograph wildlife, I tried a new approach. Let the animals come to me! So here, taken from the window of the house, a cup of coffee in one hand and my camera in the other, is a cow moose. Anchorage, Alaska.

Now, I wonder if I can get this same technique to work on a pack of wolves!

Cheers

Carl

Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Wrangell Mountains, Crystalline Hills and the Kuskulana River, from the Kuskulana River Bridge, McCarthy Road, Winter, Alaska. To view larger version of this photo, please click on the image above.

Hey Folks,

From a short trip to Wrangell – St. Elias National Park over the holidays.

Small piece of trivia – Minus 40deg F is the same temperature as minus 40 deg C.

Cold days indeed.

Stay warm folks,

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks,

A short selection of images. 12 favorites from 2010.

Click on the thumbnails below for larger versions of each photo in the gallery. (more…)

Coastal plain, near the Canning River, Section 1002, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, ANWR, Alaska. Please click on the thumbnail above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

December is, of course, the month of the 50th anniversary of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, so it’s probably fitting that the Image of the Month for Dec, 2010, is from the Refuge. A small kettle pond on the coastal plain east of the Canning River. What an amazing evening this was!

A nice hike across the tundra around midnight, enjoying that magical summer evening of the arctic. I spent some time photographing this small pond, then stayed around and played my flute for an hour or so. Memorable evening.

If you didn’t check out the video tribute here already, take a look. It’s a collection of 50 photos from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge put to some music I recorded (including my flute) to honor the 50 years since the establishment of the refuge.

I’ll be back there next summer, 2011.

Cheers

Carl

If you have a nice, large computer screen and broadband connection, what I REALLY recommend you do is go to my page on Exposure Room.com and click the ‘HD’ button underneath the thumbnail. You can watch and listen to this video in full HD resolution, at 720 x 1280. It’ll take a moment to load, but is (hopefully) well worth the time.

Hey Folks,

50 photos for 50 years!

Dec 6, 2010, marks the 50th anniversary of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or ANWR. Over 19 million acres of wild lands, the refuge is a treasure, home to thousands of creatures and features; the caribou herds, the Brooks Mountains, the broad coastal plain, migratory birds and countless other gifts to this world. A beautiful landscape that warrants our respect, not our exploitation.

I hope you like this. These photos and this music is my simple tribute to this special place.  Happy Birthday ANWR – and cheers to many, many more.

Turn up your sound!

Cheers

Carl

3 adult Bald Eagles on perch, Homer, Alaska. (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). Please click on the image above to view a larger version of the photo.

Hey Folks,

So, the next piece of news; I’ve finally redone my 3 bald eagle galleries for the site. It’s a tedious chore, but SOOOO needs to be done. Soon (I hope) all the galleries will have the the same updated look, cleaner and easier to deal with, and the best thing — larger photos!

You can browse the 3 bald eagle galleries below:
* Bald eagles
* Bald eagles 2
* Bald eagles 3

If you take the time to run through, please let me know if you see anything I need to edit, such as typos, broken links, etc, etc. It’s so easy to miss those little things, so please post something if you notice a glitch. I think they’re working OK.

This photo here is from my first trip to Homer, Alaska, and I had an absolute blast. I went with some good friends, from various parts of the country, and most of us hadn’t been to Homer to shoot the eagles before. We had such a good time together. There were virtually no other photographers around, and things were very different to how they became later on, in the last couple of years.

I’m sad to see the opportunity there come to a close, in some ways, but I’m also kinda glad it’s passed, too. Double-edged sword, I guess. I do miss all those birds, though.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the photos. Hopefully I’ll get those other galleries up before too long. Thanks.

Cheers

Carl

Fresh winter snow covers a young willow sapling, Wrangell Mountains, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above the view a larger version of the photo.

Hey Folks

It’s been a busy fall for me, and I’m working on updating all the image galleries on the site. I apologize for the inconvenience, if any, and how it takes. Website work isn’t as much fun as hiking or photographing.

So, the good news? I’ve uploaded and updated the 3 Landscapes galleries on the website. Take a look if you will:

* Landscapes
* Landscapes 2
* Landscapes 3

Please let me know if you see any glitches or anything. There’s always little errors that creep in, but I think I caught most of them.

I’m slowly working on getting all the galleries redone; new images, larger images, and a consistent display. Hopefully it’ll be an improvement.

The image to the right here is from Wrangell – St. Elias National Park, high in the Wrangell Mountains. I love getting up high in winter, treeline or above, as the light is sublime. I was super lucky to find this young snow-laden willow sapling, as the first wind after a snowfall will blow the snow from this brush in a New York Minute. Next time I headed up to this area, the snow was completely gone from the willow, it’s bare, winter dormant branches protruding from the snow like rusted fingers.

This coming winter I hope to get some more images like this. Nothing like great light, fresh deep powder and some alpine country for good fun. I’ll have the skis out, the camera handy, and coffee in the thermos!

I hope you enjoy the images in the galleries.

Cheers

Carl

Hiker viewing Mt. Sanford, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, Alaska. Please click on the thumbnail to view a larger virsion of the photo.

Hey Folks,

Mount Sanford in early morning light. What a gorgeous morning!

Fall is such a great time for photography. The light has a quality that is tangibly different to any other time of year, and a cool clear morning is a real treat for a photographer.

This view of Mt Sanford, 6th highest peak in the US and 2nd highest in the Wrangell Mountains, is a great place to spend a morning. Here’s hoping for many more like this.

Cheers

Carl

Sunset over the Chitistone Valley and the University Peaks, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click the thumbnail to view a larger version of the photo.

Hey Folks,

And the Image of the Month for August 2010 is a photo of sunset over the University Peaks, just south of the Chitistone River. We’d backpacked down the Chitistone Canyon all day, set up camp after crossing the Goat Trail, had a GREAT dinner with superb views of Mount Bona (16 421′ high) and the University Range, and the light kept getting better and better. I’d long wanted to hike down this little creek to a plateau above the Chitistone River and shoot sunset there, and knew this would be a great opportunity to do so.

I couldn’t convince any of the hikers in our group to join for me the evening trek (2 miles one way), so I grabbed my camera gear after we’d finished dinner, and set out. Though this scene wasn’t my intended final destination, I loved the combination of clouds, deep, steep canyon walls, and the warm light hitting the distant unnamed mountain. I stopped and took a few photos before continuing on my way down to the plateau.

When shooting a scene such as this, with high contrast between the shaded depths of the steep canyon and the bright clouds and distant peaks (Mount Bona) I use either a Split Density filter or take multiple images of differing exposures and blend them together in the computer later. This image I used 2 split density filters, a 2-stop and a 3-stop. Handholding 2 filters is hard; handholding them when you don’t want them to align symmetrically is really hard. Lesson #1 – carry a Cokin filter holder.

The Goat Trail is the first route I ever hiked in Wrangell – St. Elias National Park and Preserve, and is always a welcome treat for me to return to. This one was a night I’ll remember for along time. I returned to our high camp at around midnight. What a fantastic evening.

Cheers

Carl

A pacific loon swimming on a pond on the coastal plain, in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, ANWR, Alaska. Waterfowl migrate thousands of miles to nest and breed and feed on the rich coastal plain of the Refuge in summer. (Gavia pacifica) Please click on the thumbnail to view a larger version of the photo.

Hey Folks,

A Pacific Loon, photographed on a pond on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Taken at the end of our recent trip to ANWR, floating down the Canning River to the Arctic Ocean.

The final evening provided some great light, and some gorgeous Pacific loons (Gavia pacifica) to photograph. Loons are one of my favorite birds, really a beautiful bird, and it’s always a treat to photograph them.

This year we were fortunate to see Common loons, Red-throated loon and Pacific loons, but not the less common Yellow-billed loon. Maybe next summer we’ll be treated to the awesome foursome!

I’ll try to post something soon from our Skolai – Wolverine hike . Until then, I hope you enjoy this Pacific loon photo.

Cheers

Carl