2013 Alaska Bald Eagle Photo Tour

January 9th, 2013 by Carl D
A tight headshot portrait of an adult bald eagle near Haines, Alaska. Haliaeetus leucocephalus.
A tight headshot portrait of an adult bald eagle near Haines, Alaska. Haliaeetus leucocephalus. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

Photographers, think about heading on up to Alaska in November, 2013 and join me for the bald eagle photo tour there. It’s a weeklong trip, based out of Haines, Alaska, all accommodation and ground transport included, and we’ll spend the week shooting the world famous bald eagle congregation. Every fall, as many as 3500 bald eagles may show up to the Chilkat River area to feed on a late salmon run. While most of the rivers in Alaska are freezing over by that time, warmer ground water from a couple of nearby springs keep parts of the Chilkat and neighboring rivers open, and the bald eagles drop by for a feast.

This photo tour is also, for those so inclined, a photo workshop, where I’ll teach and discuss some techniques to help improve your photography; particularly we’ll look at wildlife photography subjects, such as tracking and shooting fast moving and flying subjects. We’ll look at in the field practices that involve trying to maximize your shooting opportunities on the ground; how to be in the right place at the right time.

The bald eagles here offer us a variety of photo opportunities, from close up headshots and portraits to action shots of bald eagles fighting and fishing, soaring against spectacular mountain backdrops and trying to create some of those grand “animal in the landscape” photos. Continue reading…

Alaska Winter Driving and Travel Information for Photographers

January 6th, 2013 by Carl D
Winter travel, a snow-laden pickup truck on the McCarthy Road, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.Winter travel, a snow-laden pickup truck on the McCarthy Road, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.
Winter travel, a snow-laden pickup truck on the McCarthy Road, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks

This year (2013) seems to definitely be the year that photographers want to head north to photograph the northern lights here in Alaska; the number of websites that have suddenly added an “Alaska Northern Lights Photo Tour” to their schedule seems to have tripled in about 6 months.

That, and considering the number of photographers heading up here on their own, or with friends, to photograph the Aurora borealis this winter/spring means we’ll very likely see dozens, if not hundreds, of really, really amazing northern lights photographs from this coming season. I know I’m sure looking forward to seeing all the great images.

Given this influx of folks from “down south”, I thought a good subject to write about, one that I hope many people will find useful, might be winter driving and winter travel in Alaska. Coming, as I did when I moved here, from a background of very little real “winter conditions”, I had a lot to learn when I arrived, and some of that might be helpful for others headed this way. Not just about the physical driving on snow and ice. What to bring with me. What hazards I’m likely to encounter. And on and on. Continue reading…

Calendar Winners and Mount Blackburn

January 1st, 2013 by Carl D
Mt. Blackburn, the Root and Kennicott Glacier, wintertime, sunset, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Just a quick post to announce the calendar winners from the recent giveaway are Natalie, David and Jason. Happy New Year to these three, and the calendars are in the mail. Congrats all, and thanks to everyone for your entries. Tons o’ fun!

The name of the mountain was Mount Blackburn, from Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. The photo in this post was taken from the other side (east) of the mountain, winter solstice a few years ago. Mount Blackburn stands 16 391′ high, and is the 5th highest peak in the United States, the tallest in the Wrangell Mountains.

Cheers

Carl

Image of the Month – January, 2013

January 1st, 2013 by Carl D
The Milky Way, as seen over the Copper River, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

 

Hey Folks,

Welcome to 2013. Here’s a photo of the Milky Way, towering high over the Copper River, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. Standing outside at minus 40degrees to shoot at night here is a chore, but a pretty amazing experience all the same.

Wishing you all a great year.

Cheers

Carl

Trip of the year – Malaspina Glacier Traverse

December 31st, 2012 by Carl D
Traversing the Malaspina Glacier, Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
Jodee steps across a crevasse on the Malaspine Glacier, with 18 008′ tall Mt. St. Elias peaking thru the clouds in the background. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

What better way to celebrate the new year than a quick tip of the hat to Expeditions Alaska’s trip of the year for 2012? The winner, for me, was the Malaspina Glacier traverse we did in August. 12 awesome days on the southern coastal edge of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, I led a group of 5 hardy adventurers over the largest piedmont glacier* in North America, down to the beach, and along the coast to our pickup place.

A sketchy start, as our backcountry bush pilot informed us, right before we departed, that we wouldn’t be able to fly to our intended destination in the Samovar Hills. The huge snowfall we’d had over the previous winter hadn’t yet melted out enough to land safely at the remote backcountry strip. Continue reading…

Win a Free Calendar

December 21st, 2012 by Carl D
Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) male walking on fresh snow, waiting for freezeup in the arctic. Many polars come on shore in the arctic for the summer, before returning to the sea ice pack of the Arctic Ocean for the long winter. Adult male polar bear, or boar, Beaufort Sea, Alaska.
Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) male walking on fresh snow, waiting for freezeup in the arctic. Many polar bears come on shore in the arctic for the summer, before returning to the sea ice pack of the Arctic Ocean for the long winter. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

In the holiday spirit, I’m offering three 8″x12″ monthly calendars as giveaways this year. All you have to do to enter is (a) be a subscriber to the “Ramblings” newsletter (you can subscribe below), and (b) correctly answer the question posed in the latest version of that newsletter.

Please do NOT enter your answer on this blog post, but send it to me via email.

Continue reading…

2012 – A Year in Alaska in 8 minutes

December 15th, 2012 by Carl D

An Expeditions Alaska Video Review

Continue reading…

Happy Holidays – from Expeditions Alaska

December 15th, 2012 by Carl D

Evening light on a winter Black spruce tree in Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska

 

Hey Folks,

Just a quick hello, and best wishes to everyone out there for a wonderful holiday season; all the best for a great new year. Enjoy your loved ones.

Be well,

Cheers

Carl

Image of the Month, Dec 2012: Bald Eagle Take-off

December 10th, 2012 by Carl D

A bald eagle takes flight along the Chilkat River, Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, Alaska.
A bald eagle takes flight along the Chilkat River, Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of the photo.

Hey Folks,

Welcome back! I’ve just returned from a photo trip to Haines, Alaska, photographing bald eagles along the Chilkat River, in the famed Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve. Had an awesome, awesome trip, met a lot of cool people, and got some nice images. Anyone wanna join me there next year? The bald eagles are a real spectacle, to watch and to photograph.

All the best,

Cheers

Carl

Polar Bear Photo Tour Announcement

November 5th, 2012 by Carl D

Polar bear, Ursus maritimus, Beaufort Sea, Alaska.
A large adult male polar bear, on the edge of the Beaufort Sea, arctic Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of the photo.

Hey Folks,

Bookings are now being taken for a week long polar bear photo tour in arctic Alaska for 2013. This tour is limited to 4 myself plus photographers only; a smaller group than any other polar bear photo tour I’ve seen advertised. For one week in October it’ll be our group and as many as 50 or more polar bears; this fall there were nearly 80 bears on the island at one time.

I won’t ramble on about it here; the details are all on the site on the Polar Bear Photo Tour page (naturally enough). In short, the dates are set for oct 7-14th, 2013, and we’ll be shooting polar bears each and every day that weather permits (this is arctic Alaska, afterall). We have a chance of catching northern lights as well, but this tour is really about the polar bears; though we’ll take any opportunities we can at the aurora as well, I’m sure.

We’ll charter a small boat with a local native Inupiaq guide to take us out each day, we’ll have great accommodations (including all food) and a rental vehicle as well. Everything’s taken care of once you arrive in town.

Also, you might be interested in the polar bear photos page on the gallery section of the site. We had a great shoot this year, and we were all more than happy with the images we brought home with us. The polar bears are really so different to photograph than grizzly or brown bears.

This male above, was one of the larger boars we saw, that we were close to; and they’re an impressive creature, some of these big boys weighing up to 1200lbs and more. We also saw young first year cubs, playful and cute, and bears of all sizes in between. There were so many bears on shore this year that the hardest part of photographing them was not getting a bunch of ‘stray’ bears in the background. Talk about first world problems!

Anyway, if you’re interested in the tour, drop me a line, as space is most definitely limited.

Cheers

Carl

PS: Oh, I’ll whack this short little promo video on here as well. Hope you like it (and I know, I know, I misspelled “terrestrial”, damnit).

 

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