Grizzly Bear by Moonlight

October 19th, 2012 by Carl D
A brown bear walking by the edge of a lake under a moonlit sky.
A brown bear walking by the edge of a lake under a moonlit sky. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

Slowly catching up on image processing and whatnot after a full season of adventure. This year I ran a few new trips, which I’m looking forward to continue to explore over the coming years, but also enjoyed returning to some of the old favorite haunts. This image if from the Grizzly Bears in the Fall tour, a favorite of mine and popular tour every year.

Shooting these “animals in the landscape” style of photo is always difficult, as there are so many elements to combine. They also tend to work much better when shooting solo, as it’s difficult to get a group of people, even a small group, all in exactly that optimal spot for such a composition. As such, I tend to shoot more of the tighter “portrait” style shots on photo tours, and fewer of the animal in a greater landscape.

That said, I tend to really enjoy the wider image; my preference for wildlife photography is either to go extremely tight on framing the subject, or very wide. One of the folks on the trip shot this frame with about 16mm (I was at 28mm), and I really like this version; very sparse. Continue reading…

Image of the Month: October 2012

October 6th, 2012 by Carl D
A large adult male brown bear, standing upright, Katmai National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks

Just returned from 2 weeks in Katmai National Park, photographing the great grizzly bears there. This adult boar, who we call ‘Ted’, is a an old favorite of mine to photograph. Beautiful bear, and this year was the first year I’d seen him standing upright. Ted’s a big ole bear!

Heading out in the morning for a trip north, so I’ll follow up with more bear photos later.

Cheers

Carl

Camping on the Malaspina Glacier

September 19th, 2012 by Carl D
Camping on the Malaspina Glacier

Hey Folks

This past August, we just did an EPIC traverse across the Malaspina Glacier. Our original plan had been to fly from Yakutat to the Samovar Hills, and hike south. Due to the insane amount of snow in the area last winter (Yakutat got 350-360 inches), we weren’t able to land at the strip we’d hoped to fly into. A last minute change of plan meant flying to Kageet Point, Icy Bay, and hiking east from there, before picking up the original route, and following it south to the coastline, then east again to our intended pickup spot. This added about 35-40 miles to our route, but with an adventurous and experienced group of folks, it was worth it.

We spent 5 of the 9 nights on the ice of the Malaspina Glacier; the Malaspina is the size of Rhode Island, over 40 miles and nearly 30 miles long. Contrary to what wikipedia might tell you about the glacier, it DOES reach the coast, and so should rightfully be called a tidewater glacier, not a piedmont glacier. We packrafted around the lagoon the ice calves into on the beach, and it’s most definitely coastal.

Camping on ice has its challenges. Finding a nice flat spot can be tough, but especially finding a nice flat spot with enough rocks around to use for holding the tent/tarp in place. Sometimes we’d find wonderful, long flat stretches of ice, perfect for tentsites, but not a rock in sight. You can’t drive tent stakes into ice (unless you carry ice screws, of course -major overkill for a tent). But usually it didn’t take too long to find a good spot.

Secondly, insulation. A regular sleeping pad just doesn’t cut it. I used an Exped Downmat 7 UL, and it was great. Warm, comfortable, and not too heavy. Other choices include using 2 pads, one hard-cell foam pad like a z-rest or similar underneath an inflatable Neo Air or thermarest pad. Sergei used the Exped Downmat 9, which was easily the best (most comfortable and warm) choice. A deflated packraft under the tent all offered some protection from the ice underneath.

Overall, it was a grand backpacking trip. The weather wasn’t too bad at all, which made a great difference. Camping on an expanse of ice like that for a week, with no real wind or rain to deal with, made the trip a lot of fun. A great group of folks, 4 of which have now done 4 or more different backpacking trips with me, and some world class adventure. Good, good times.

Cheers

Carl

Image of the Month: Aug/Sept 2012 – Mt. St. Elias

September 12th, 2012 by Carl D
Mt. St. Elias, viewed through the door of my tent, camped on the Malaspina Glacier, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Apologies for missing a few posts here over the summer. It’s been a busy one, and I haven’t had much time keep up with the blog. So here’s a view from my summerhome. The Mountain Hardwear Skyledge 2.1, camped on the Malaspina Glacier, looking through the door at Mt. St. Elias.

From our recent exploratory hike, from Icy Bay to the Malaspina Forelands, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. Awesome walk.

Cheers

Carl

Image of the Month – Breeding Brown Bears

July 2nd, 2012 by Carl D
Brown bears (Ursus arctos) breeding (or mating) at Hallo Bay, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Image of the month for 2012 is this photo of a breeding brown bear pair at Hallo Bay, katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska, on the coastal brown bear photo tour last week. It was an amazing trip, with some great photo opportunities, perhaps the highlight of which was this breeding pair we found at Hallo Bay.

Twice we were able to watch and photograph this behavior, which was definitely a rare opportunity.

Females will often breed with more than one male during the short (2 month) breeding or mating season. We watched minutes earlier as this sow rejected the advances of another, much larger male, who then chased this male away, then himself walked off up the bay. This smaller male returned, and bred with the sow for 15-20 minutes.

The larger male then returned, and this guy left. The larger male hung around the sow for another hour or so, but didn’t have the good fortune of this guy, that we saw.

Cheers

Carl

Brown bear photo – Hallo Bay

June 29th, 2012 by Carl D
An adult brown bear (Ursus arctos) resting on driftwood near the beach at Hallo Bay, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska.
An adult brown bear (Ursus arctos) resting on driftwood near the beach at Hallo Bay, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

Just returned from a brown bear photo tour over to Katmai National Park, where we photographed brown bears at Hallo Bay and Kukak Bay; we were super lucky to get some great light, great bears, and some really cool photo opportunities. This young bear was hanging around a pile of driftwood in Hallo Bay, and the rich greens of the sedge grasses beyond made a nice soft background.

It took a little bit of work to scramble around over these logs and whatnot, carrying over 20lbs of camera gear, to get in a good position for photography, but I think it was well worth it.

Oftentimes making the effort to move and get in position is the real difference between making a photo, and making the photo you want. It could be the direction of light, the background, the angle of view, proximity to the subject, or a combination of countless other variables that really makes the difference.

It’s far too easy to hike a bit, set up a tripod, point the camera at a subject, then try to zoom in or out, without moving and improving the image. The best advice I might offer is to continually be looking for ways to improve the image you see through the viewfinder.

Sometimes it’s simply not possible or practical to change it much; safety or disturbing the subject, or  other photographers in the area all might restrict where we set up and how much we move. But keep your eyes posted around you, and look for ways to improve your image simply by moving your position. You’ll be glad you did.

Cheers

Carl

Fat Babies Have No Pride

June 18th, 2012 by Carl D
“Fat Babies Have No Pride .. and that’s OK, who needs pride?” … Lyric by Lyle Lovett.

Hey Folks,

Heading out in a day or 2 for a week of photography, so I thought I’d post this one of a porky little grizzly bear cub, fat and ready for hibernation. I’m a big fan of Lyle Lovett, and this photo seemed like the perfect match for such a great lyric.

Have a good week, everyone, back in July.

Cheers

Carl

Image of the Month: Alaska northern lights photo

May 31st, 2012 by Carl D
Alaska northern lights photo, or aurora borealis.
Alaska northern lights photo, or aurora borealis.

Hey Folks,

From a trip up north in March. I thought the power pole was a nice silhouette against the northern lights, and waited for the brake lights of a car that drove by to add some drama to the foreground. The northern lights came on particularly bright here, briefly, and the only way to add any detail in the foreground was light it up. I liked the drama of the red.

I wanted to get a little tighter on the pole, but the moment only lasted a couple of seconds and it was over.

How’s this work for you?

Cheers

Carl

Hiking Gates Of The Arctic National Park

May 15th, 2012 by Carl D
Gates of the Arctic hiking trips information Camping in the boreal forest in the Brooks Range, near the Arrigetch peaks. Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Alaska.
Camping in the boreal forest in the Brooks Range, near the 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,

Well, it’s well and truly spring here in Alaska, and the summer/fall hiking season right around the corner. So for anyone heading north this summer, this page might be of interest to you. Gates of the Arctic National Park is one of the less visited national parks in the state, which makes it a great place to explore and “get away”. Miles upon miles of mountain wilderness, boreal forest and alpine tundra make it a diverse and fascinating hiking region.

At the same time, it’s also a challenging expedition. Logistics for getting there, getting ‘in’ to the park, hiking across muskeg, dealing with mosquitoes, bears, rivers, and trail-less terrain can be intimidating. So let’s look at a few options you might want to consider.

Getting to Gates of the Arctic

You’re options for hiking in Gates of the Arctic National Park, for most folks, start with Fairbanks. You want to head north, either up the Dalton highway (Haul Rd), or fly. If you fly, my recommendation is to fly directly to Bettles; you can catch a regularly scheduled charter flight, so it’s not super-expensive like a charter flight can be. If you take the Dalton, either ride up to Coldfoot/Wiseman, or stop at Prospect Creek (maybe 75 miles south of Coldfoot). You can fly from Prospect Creek landing strip in to Bettles (schedule with your air taxi well before leaving Fairbanks, you can’t schedule this on arrival, as there is no one there). If you go all the way up to Coldfoot, you can  hook up with an air taxi service there and fly in to the backcountry.

There is a Park Service Visitor Center there in Coldfoot where you can get some more information; but don’t expect to get a lot of trail beta there. Gather that well before you start your trip. Typically, the folks in the VC aren’t going to be able to offer you a lot of hiking information for Gates of the Arctic National Park. You’ll need to check in though, and either pick up or show them your Bear Resistant Food Canister (BRFCs are requisite for hiking/backpacking in Gates of the Arctic National Park). Continue reading…

Image of the Month – Alaska Aurora borealis photo

May 3rd, 2012 by Carl D
Aurora borealis, or northern lights, winter Alaska.
Aurora borealis, or northern lights, winter Alaska.

Hey Folks

Image of the Month for May (sheesh, is it May already?), 2012 is an Aurora borealis photo from one of the norther lights photo tours earlier this year. We were treated to some great lights, and had a blast watching and photographing the aurora. Good times, and I’m already taking bookings for these trips next year.

Aurora borealis photography is more difficult than most folks expect it to be. it’s challenging, but also an amazing experience. Great fun and what a blast to see this kind of activity!

Cheers

Carl

Expeditions Alaska
Visit the wild