Expeditions Alaska Website Redesign: New Features and Improvements

April 7th, 2017 by Carl D
Gates of the Arctic National Park Alaska.
Backpacking trip to Arrigetch Peaks in Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve.

[Editor’s Note: Originally published in April 2017 when we launched a major site redesign. The trip filters and galleries we were excited about back then? Still here and still helpful for planning your Alaska adventure.]

Hey Folks,

How about that? All shiny and new updated with code from this century and looking a whole lot better. Don’t you agree?

It’s been a while in coming, but I FINALLY got the website redone, from start to finish.

Design

I needed a responsive design for the site. Previously I had been using a separate website for the mobile version.

This meant trying to update and maintain info and schedules and details on 2 separate sites.

A recipe for disaster.

It also meant visitors would often see two different versions of a page or pages. That can have some advantages, with displaying images that work better vertically, or things like that. But in some other ways that doesn’t go over so well.

What is a Responsive Design

A responsive design means this one single version of the website adapts to screen size and operating devices.

It’s pretty involved.

It means images don’t always nest as I’d like them to, or display as sharply as I’d like them, or might be cropped and so on. But it makes things a lot easier to read on the phone all the way up to a larger 30 inch monitor.

It also means I went big. Wider, larger images look a whole lot nicer. I wish I could set it up so it’s only viewed on a 24″ or larger monitor. I’ve checked the site on my 15″ laptop, my iPad, my phone, and my desktop computer as well. The desktop wins. By far.

Continue reading…

Northern lights Photo, Image of the Month, April 2017

April 5th, 2017 by Carl D
Alaska northern lights photo, aurora borealis photo tours, Alaska.
Northern lights over the White Mountains north of fairbanks, Alaska. Click the image to view a larger version.

Hey Folks

After a couple of weeks doing little but photographing the northern lights and enjoying the company of some wonderful guests I suppose it’s appropriate that I post a northern lights photo for this month’s Image of the Month.

So here it is.

This one was one of the final images taken on one of the most incredible nights of aurora I’ve seen. The peak of the activity just prior to this was absolutely incredible. I shot this with my 14-24mm lens on my D750. I’d been shooting with my D4s and 24mm f1.4 lens beforehand, and really wanted the wider view. So as the lights wound down I took a minute to grab my other setup and take a few images. Glad I did.

Continue reading…

Gear Review – Rain Gear

April 5th, 2017 by Carl D
Backpacking rain gear Wrangell Mountains Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.
Lakina Glacier, your guide and his trusty REI Shuksan Jacket on the Adventures to Oz backpacking trip in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Waterproof breathable Rain Gear Review

This isn’t your typical gear review. It’s more my commentary on rain gear and the failings of waterproof breathable rain gear.

Why I’ve Owned 11 Rain Jackets

I’ve bought and worn dozens of rain jackets over the years. Literally, dozens of them. Right now on the rack beside me as I type this I can count 11 rain jackets. Eleven.

Rain gear is an essential item of our backpacking gear list. I NEVER backpack with it. Top and Bottom.

It’s a bit ridiculous. I have everything from my old Aussie Dryzabone to my most recent Outdoor Research Goretex jacket I bought last year. Whatever your jacket, chances are good I’ve owned at least one of those.

And none of them, I mean none of them, work like I want them to. In fact, it’s fair to say none of them work like they did when I first bought them. They work well. Some, amazingly well. For a while. Then they start to fail.

Continue reading…

How big is a polar bear?

March 7th, 2017 by Carl D
Large adult male polar bears can weigh over 1400lbs. Polar bear, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska.
Large adult male polar bears can weigh over 1400lbs. Polar bear, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska.

Large adult male polar bears can weigh over 1400lbs.

Seriously? How big?

We’ve all heard polar bears are the largest terrestrial carnivore, right? We’ll side-step the rather silly idea of labelling Ursus maritimus (Sea bear), a marine mammal, as a “land-based carnivore” for the moment. Instead consider the point behind it. Polar bears are the largest predator on land. This begs the question “just how big are polar bears?”

That’s a tough question to answer, for a number of reasons.

What does “big” mean? How tall? How heavy? What’s the volume?

Generally animals are measured by weight. Largely because weight can be such a good indicator of health and particularly population health. So we’ll consider the question (for now) of “How heavy is a polar bear?”.

Continue reading…

Wrangell Mountains: Image of the Month, March 2017

March 1st, 2017 by Carl D

Wrangell Mountains in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Wrangell Mountains in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey folks,

Welcome to March, 2017!

A photo of my favorite view. And a view I’ve seen many, many times this winter. The Wrangell Mountains. Left to right, you’re looking at Mt Drum, Mt. Sanford, Mt Zanetti (the little “cone” shaped peak the looks like a ski-jump on the side of Mt Wrangell (the broadest mountain on the far right that looks like an egg on its side – a big egg).

To give you a perspective on this mountain range …. Mt. Zanetti, the tiny little cone .. is the same volume mountain as Mt. St. Helens, in Oregon. The one that went “Boom” all those years ago.

The Wrangells Rock.

Cheers

Carl

Image of the Month, Feb 2017: Bald eagle

February 9th, 2017 by Carl D

Bald eagle grabbing a fish Prince William Sound, Alaska.
Grabbing a fish. Prince William Sound, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Here’s another image from last summer. I spent some time in Prince William Sound scouting for a new trip. While we had some good opportunities the trip potential wasn’t quite what we were hoping for.

But with patience and persistence and a whole lotta good fortune we were all able to make something work. Continue reading…

Alaska polar bear cub playing on ice

January 30th, 2017 by Carl D

Playful young polar bear cub rolling on snow and ice. ANWR, Alaska.
Playful young polar bear cub rolling on snow and ice. As the Beaufort Sea begins to freeze up in the fall the bears get antsy, looking forward to returning to their hunting grounds on the frozen ocean. Ursus maritimus, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, ANWR, Alaska. Click the image to view a larger version of the photo.

Hey Folks,

Few things are as cute as polar bear cub playing on the snow and ice. This young fella, and his siblings, were having a ball on this particular day. They’d just had a few days of harsh steady high winds and nobody likes that.

The snow fell and after the winds died down everybody was keen to enjoy it. The bears played, the photographers fired away and and it couldn’t have been better. Continue reading…

Image of the Month Jan 2017: Polar Bear on Ice

January 2nd, 2017 by Carl D

Hey Folks,

Welcome to 2017. Here’s a polar bear for ya.

Juvenile polar bear lying on iceberg, ANWR, Alaska.
Juvenile polar bear lying on iceberg, ANWR, Alaska.

Looking forward to more photography and more polar bears this year. Hope you enjoy the photo, and we’ll see ya around.

Cheers

Carl

Favorite Photos 2016

December 4th, 2016 by Carl D

Hey Folks,

It’s that time of the year again. Wrapping up image editing and putting together a quick gallery of photos from the year of photo tours for you. These are mostly from different photo tours we ran this year.

 

Northern Lights over Brooks Range, Alaska.
Polar bear cubs wrestling, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska.
Aurora borealis, Gates of the Arctic National Park, Alaska.
Brown bear fishing for salmon, Katmai National Park, Alaska.
Backlit brown bear fishing for salmon, Katmai National Park, Alaska.
Bald eagle fishing, Prince William Sound, Alaska.
Humpback whale breach, Prince William Sound, Alaska.
Gull fishing in Prince William Sound, Alaska.
Juvenile bald eagle chases an adult to snatch a salmon, Chilkat eagle preserve, Alaska.
Adult polar bear, ANWR, Alaska.
Two adult polar bears wrestle, ANWR, Alaska.
Summit Lake, Alaska Range, Alaska.
Northern Lights over Mt. Sugakpak, Brooks Range, Alaska.

Was a great year folks. I hope you enjoy these images and I look forward to more great times together in 2017. All my best to each of you.

Cheers

Carl

Brown bear fishing – Image of the Month, Sept 2016

September 8th, 2016 by Carl D

A brown bear chasing salmon in a small stream along the coast of Katmai National Park, Alaska. Ursus arctos, brown bear.
A brown bear fishing, chasing salmon in a small stream along the coast of Katmai National Park, Alaska. Ursus arctos, brown bear.

Hey Folks,

Been a while. Sorry about that. Summer is too often the season of not updating the blog. This summer, it’s mostly been photographing the great brown bears of the Katmai Coast.

I’ve had a great summer, and spent much of it photographing bears. In another week, I head off for 2 more weeks of brown bear photography, followed by 2 weeks of polar bear photography. Should be a blast.

This shot was taken last week on a fantastic trip camped along the Katmai Coast. Great fun.

Cheers

Carl

Expeditions Alaska
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