Winter Photography

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Travel 7 Comments

The mountains of the Chugach National Forest barely emereging from the clouds last weekend, near Seward, Alaska.

The mountains of the Chugach National Forest barely emerging from the clouds last weekend, near Seward, Alaska.

Again today it is blowing and snowing hard outside.  I thought it might be a good time of year to share some older posts on winter photography.

First, I think anyone who may be doing any photography in cold, winter weather should find this post helpful:  8 Winter Photography Tips.

For those in the Northern portion of the Northern Hemisphere, this can also be a great time to photograph northern lights.  Scientist have reached a consensus that last December was the low point of our current solar cycle, so the northern light activity will probably continue to be slow, but hopefully improving.  The next solar maximum is estimated to hit in 2013.

Even during bad years you can see the occasional northern lights (aurora borealis).  With that in mind, here are two more older posts that may be beneficial:  Finding northern lights / aurora borealis and another post on photographing northern lights / aurora borealis.

Free Shipping Special!

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Photos, Travel 10 Comments

Ice flows on Resurrection Bay, Seward, Alaska.

Ice flows on Resurrection Bay, Seward, Alaska.

In past years this has been a very popular special, so again we are offering free priority mail shipping on print orders over $99 to anywhere within the United States.  For International orders, we reduce the shipping costs by and equal amount.  You can find our automated on-line shopping carts at our main photography website – click on a thumbnail and you will find a larger version of the thumbnail image – from here, click on “buy a print”

Resurrection Bay is the Northern most ice free port in North America, so it is unusual to see ice pans forming – especially in November.  This is due to the combination of heavy snow and virtually no wind.  This was yesterday.  Today the wind has picked up, and the snow / ice pans are already gone.  I thought they did make for a neat foreground.

White Friday

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Photos, Travel 11 Comments

Snow covered alders and trees, Seward, Alaska.

Snow covered alders and trees, Seward, Alaska.

We have received a lot of snow over the last couple of days, and it keeps coming down!  As a photographer, and avid cross country skier, I love it!

Believe it or not, this is a color photo.

Happy Thanksgiving

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Photos, Travel 6 Comments

Snow and ice covered berries in my backyard this morning, Seward, Alaska.

Snow and ice covered berries in my backyard this morning, Seward, Alaska.

I know I have plenty to by thankful for – I hope you do to.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Autumn, Canyonland National Park

Ron NiebruggeMoab, Photos, Travel, Utah 8 Comments

Autumn colors along the White Rim Trail, Canyonlands National Park, near Moab, Utah.

Autumn colors along the White Rim Trail, Canyonlands National Park, near Moab, Utah.

I fell a bit behind on my editing / captioning / key-wording on our last trip, so now I’m sitting here in Alaska, looking out the window at fresh falling snow, and looking at my monitor and seeing images of warm red rock – it is kind of fun really!

This was from our three day trip along the White Rim Trail from just over a month ago.

Bears and Puffin Photo Tour

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Lake Clark, Photos, Travel 8 Comments

A brown bear cubs watches and learns how to dig for clams from its mom.

A brown bear cub watches and learns how to dig for clams from its mom.

This is the second of three Alaska photo tours we will be offering next summer.

Spending time watching and photographing brown bears up close is an absolute thrill!   This is going to be a small group (limited to 4) tour where we will live and breath brown bears pretty much day and night thanks to Alaska’s long summer days.  We will be staying in a wonderful lodge in a beautiful setting along the coast.  We are near a clear flowing salmon stream with a wonderful snow capped mountain backdrop.  Thanks to the wide variety of food sources – salmon, clams and sedges, this area sees a large gathering of coastal brown bears, from huge bores and sows to cute, playful cubs.

I say we will live and breath bears, but actually we will take a portion of one day to travel by boat to a nearby island where we will go to shore for a wonderful opportunity to photograph horned and tufted puffin up close.  Our timing should be perfect since the puffin will be actively traveling back and fourth to their burrows with mouths full of fish.

To learn more, check out our page on the bear and puffin photo tour.

Kenai Fjords Photo Tour

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Kenai Fjords, Photos, Travel 20 Comments

Pedersen Glacier, Aialik Bay, Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska.

Pedersen Glacier, Aialik Bay, Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska.

OK, at last I can announce the first of three different photo tours!  I decided that if I was going to do photo tours, they had to be something that I really enjoyed and got excited about, and I can honestly say I think this trip is going to be a blast!

Since I live at the entrance to Kenai Fjords, and spend much of my summer in the Park, a tour here is a natural.  The problem is, I didn’t want to be limited to day tours, hotels and restaurants.  I have spent many nights on boats in Kenai Fjords, and it didn’t matter if I was on a large fishing vessel, the Park Service boat, a research vessel, or in friends pleasure crafts, every trip was a memorable experience with amazing photo opportunities.  By spending the night, we can be in the fjords when the light is best, the animals most active, and with the other tour boats back in Seward- perfect!

So this is a 3 day, 2 night all inclusive boat tour limited to just 3 guests which will maximize our interaction and learning.  No point in going on and on, you can read about all the juicy details here:  Kenai Fjords National Park Photo Tour.

Stay tuned for a similar, but larger tour (4 guest / 4 days)  into Prince William Sound, along with another 4 day, 4 guest tour concentrating on coastal brown bears and puffin!

Winter Fog

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Photos, Travel 8 Comments

Fog rising off the ocean, Resurrection Bay, Seward, Alaska.

Fog rising off the ocean, Resurrection Bay, Seward, Alaska.

There isn’t a need to step outside, or to even look at the thermometer – when fog like this is rising off the ocean, I know its cold!