Seward Boat Harbor, Alaska.
Yesterday’s (Thursday) sunrise wasn’t limited to Seward, it was so spectacular in Anchorage that they did a story on it on the nightly news!
Today I was ready and went down to the Small Boat Harbor. The sunrise was very short lived and not nearly as spectacular, but it was still pretty nice.
Wouldn’t you know it, a few hours after saying I wouldn’t be doing much shooting, I’m out photographing this sunrise. How could I not! With a good humored, sarcastic laugh, Janine mentioned how we really needed more photos of a sunrise over Resurrection Bay - I probably have 100’s. That’s ok, I will probably take 100’s more in the years to come, even if they are just for me. In reality, because of the surrounding mountains, sunrises and sunsets are relatively infrequent around Seward.
We traveled to some beautiful areas this fall including the Tetons, but in my opinion nothing compares to where we live. The Tetons are a household name in the U.S., but I think this range of mountains is equally dramatic, rising out of the ocean with near the vertical relief as the Tetons, and yet I don’t even know the names of these peaks - they may not have names. By Alaska standards, these are small. I feel very blessed and fortunate to live near such beauty!
This is a narrow side canyon to the main canyon in a place I posted about a few weeks ago. The three prior posts from the last week were from this canyon as well.
We are now caught up on all our print orders, it took a bit longer then expected, we had about 60 prints to prepare and send. Orders coming in now will be sent within a couple of days via Priority Mail.
The blog activity might slow a little during the next couple of months. I know, I have said that a few times before, but continued to post nearly daily. But this time not only do we need to get caught up on our recent travels, but we have tackled a little remodel project at home, and that is keeping us pretty busy. I probably won’t do much shooting, but I do have plenty to share from recent travels. In February we hit the road again for a couple of months, and then it will be spring, summer and fall in Alaska, so I should have plenty to share then!
Janine bravely climbing a rickety make shift ladder.
While in Zion we totally got hooked on canyoneering. We hope to do much more next fall. We intended to take some training classes on the subject during this trip, but decided we would wait until next fall for the training since I would likely forget all I learned in the year in between.
Well if you follow this blog, you know how excited I was to be back in Alaska for some great winter weather. Well unfortunately, highs in the upper 40’s and 6 inches of rain put an end to winter this week - we received 2 inches of rain on Thanksgiving day alone.
So we decided to take advantage of the bad weather and the holiday weekend to take our office down and paint it. Then we decided we didn’t like the new color, and painted it again. :) It helps having a mom who is an artist to bail us out with color selection! So now we are back in business.
This was a pretty little stream near Zion National Park, Utah.
The Watchman, Zion National Park, Utah.
Now that I’m home and going back through our images - editing and key-wording, I thought I would share a few more from our recent travels.
McWay Creek Falls, Julia Pfeiffer-Burns State Park, Big Sur Coast, California.
Last year our free shipping offer was so popular, we have decided to do it again. So for any order over $100, we will ship it for free via Priority Mail to anywhere in the United States - yes even Alaska and Hawaii.
If you ordered prints during the last two months while we were traveling, and your order is just getting filled this week, you might think this is unfair to now read about this special - and we agree. So, for any order over $100 placed during the last two months you will also receive the shipping for free.
So why McWay Falls? No reason, but it has been a popular print.
I try to keep this blog pretty much photography related, but every now and then I have to throw in an non photography tidbit - like today, my niece Sydney Buck is gracing the front page of the Anchorage Daily News showing off her missing front teeth while skiing at Alyeska Ski Resort. Pretty cool stuff!
My sister says Alyeska received another 15 inches of snow last night - we are off to a good start this winter! The skate skiing in Seward right now is awesome. That sure makes it easier to be leaving that nice 80 degree desert weather.
Interesting rocks in the Mojave Desert last night after sunset. I loved the glow on the rocks from the evening light and the purple earth shadow!
Right now (Friday afternoon) we are sitting in the Palm Springs airport waiting for the flight home. We actually hit Anchorage at midnight and will drive home on Saturday during the daylight. I hear the Seward Highway is in tough shape from all the snow. (more…)
Neon Sign, Las Vegas, Nevada.
I spent one evening doing nothing but photographing neon signs in Las Vegas. There are some really interesting signs there!
The Las Vegas Strip at night, Nevada.
I get many emails from photographers coming to Alaska asking about what type of clothing they will need - boots, rain gear etc. Well to get this shot, I had to go out and get the proper clothing myself. Yes, now I a pair of dress shoes, slacks and a dress shirt just for these type of opportunities. 
Here are more Las Vegas Photos.
Las Vegas Panoramic.
Normally my blog posts are almost in real time. Usually I prepare the post the same day I take the photo, and post to the blog the next morning. Well I must admit Zion has been the exception. We left Zion about a week ago, as soon as the fall colors faded, but I continued to post photos as if I was still there because we had some much fun and I had a lot I wanted to share! (more…)
Lower Emerald Pool, Zion National Park, Utah.
Despite the name, there isn’t a beautiful emerald colored pool at the Lower Emerald Pool - maybe there was at one time. There are a couple of nice little waterfalls coming over the alcove and into the pools, along with some nice fall colors, so at least there was still some cool photo opportunities.
Here is a larger version of this photo of the Emerald Pools in Zion.
Angel’s Landing, Zion National Park, Utah. To the top of this is where you end up when you hike the Angel’s Landing Trail.
Here is a larger version of this picture of Angel’s Landing.
This is a little more of a traditional shot of the Narrows - and probably better shows what the experience is like!
The Fall colors are all but done in Zion - we are moving on to Palm Springs with a bit of a lay-over in Las Vegas, although I think I will post a few more Zion photos over the next few days.
Another shot of the Narrows, Zion National Park, Utah.
The Narrows, Zion National Park, Utah.
I liked this gap with fall colors - I shot a lot of variations of this scene.
Zion Narrows, Zion National Park, Utah.
The Narrows is a famous Zion hike, probably one of the great hikes in the entire west, and for good reason! Let me describe it and you will understand why. Basically you are in a narrow canyon with the walls rising straight up 1,500 feet around you. And if that wasn’t cool enough, the canyon itself has a beautiful, clear water river (Virgin River) running down the middle of it. In many places the river flows literally from wall to wall so you have (get) to walk right down the middle of it!
This photo is of one of the wider places - thus the trees. (more…)
