Devils Club, Chugach National Forest, near Seward, Alaska.

This bright red patch of devils club in a sea of rich green caught my eye yesterday as I went running on my favorite mountain trail.  I went back this morning with a camera, 24mm tilt/shift lens and a tripod to photograph this colorful patch.

I hope this doesn’t mean fall is coming early.  Don’t get me wrong, I love our brief, but spectacular fall.  But, the calendar still says July, and we have only seen a few days above 60 – I’m still looking forward to summer!

Mountains of the Resurrection Peninsula, from Seward, Alaska.

Over the years I have posted many different compositions of the view from our house, but almost all of them have been in the winter when the mountains are completely covered in snow.

Western Sandpipers yesterday afternoon, Seward, Alaska.

The last two years I have traveled to the Copper River Delta for the spring shorebird migration – that is one amazing experience!

The number of birds migrating through Seward are measured in the hundreds instead of the tens of thousands over on the Copper River Delta, but it is still fun to see.  Yesterday was probably the best day I can ever remember here – hundreds of sandpipers and other shorebirds, numerous species of ducks, even a few sandhill cranes.  And a few eagles and a northern harrier preying on the weak.  There were birds everywhere – it was cool to see and I’m not even a “birder”.

They seem a bit late this year maybe because of the cool weather.  Between the steady rain, wind and a temperature just above 40 – I could barely feel my auto-focus and shutter buttons after a couple of hours – but I was having so much fun, it didn’t matter!

Mt. Alice, Seward, Alaska.

The mountains around Seward still have heavy amounts of snow, but down low, most of it is gone and green leaves are just beginning to emerge from a largely brown landscape.  As I sit here right now watching a heavy rain come down, it is hard to believe that in just over a month the brown landscape will be transformed to this!  The transformation that takes place during the change of seasons never ceases to amaze me.

Gallery wrapped canvas print of the Copper River Delta, Chugach National Forrest, Alaska.

I am very, very honored to have an image selected for the Alaska Art Bank.  The State of Alaska hasn’t added to their art collection since 2001, and only selected 17 pieces of art out of 556 entries from 110 Alaskan artists!  I am so proud to be included among such a small group of artists.

I captured this photo a couple of years ago from a helicopter with the door removed.  I have shot from helicopters many times in Alaska and California – it is a blast!

We don’t offer canvas wraps on our on-line shopping cart, but have had a number of people special order them – they turn our great, and are ready for hanging.

Prince William Sound, Alaska.

Well we had a great response and quickly filled the Alaska bear photo tour after we lowered the price, so we decided to try the same thing with our all inclusive boat based photo tour of the amazing Prince William Sound.  Bears, whales, incredible scenery including active tide water glaciers huge snow capped mountains – I could go on and on about this amazing, remote region!  Follow the link for more details.

Stanton Lanier December Peace Cover

Sticking with a music theme, we just received a bundle of our mail and in it was this CD by Stanton Lanier.  As I sit here in the desert in shorts and sandals, I gotta admit seeing my snowshoe tracks in winter is a little hard to relate to, but a fun reminder of our wonderful home!

For the many new followers to the blog – don’t worry, I won’t post every time we make an image sale – that would be boring.  But, I do like sharing covers because, well, I think they are fun.  So I post them from time to time under the category Shameless Self Promotion.

To Stanton – we weren’t able to get through to you on email for some reason, so just in case you see this – the cover looks great – thanks a lot, and thanks for the autographed copy.  We look forward to listening to it soon!

To learn more about Stanton, check out his website:  Stanton Lanier.

Shorebirds, Copper River Delta, Alaska

This flock of shorebirds nearly formed the shape of  a heart.  I captured this last spring and saved it thinking it would be a perfect post for Valentines day – not realizing it would fall on a holiday weekend.  So I thought I would post it today.  It wouldn’t take too much PhotoShop work to make it into a perfectly shaped heart, but I prefer leaving items as seen.

Actually, this tight formation of fast flying birds making constant direction changes was the result of an attacking predator.

Mt. Alice, Chugach National Forest, Seward, Alaska.

This is another recent photo of Mt Alice at sunset captured this past December.  Maybe I should just call this the Mt. Alice photo blog because I post so many photos of this beautiful mountain.    Really, the subject matter here should be taking a dramatic change soon once we hit the desert and begin chasing wildflowers.

Full Moon over Resurrection Bay, Seward, Alaska.

This was last night’s beautiful full moon rising over Mt. Alice.  The bay was as calm as a lake!

Manual exposure of 10 seconds at f/8 and ISO 400.  Canon 1DsIII and 24-105 lens at 47.

Sunrise over the Chugach National Forest, Seward, Alaska.

It has been a little while since I have posted a new photo from Seward.  Here is a recent image captured out or front door of a view that never gets old!

Resurrection Peaks, Chugach National Forest, near Seward, Alaska.

Here is another photo taken from just a few steps out the front door during another beautiful morning.  This was captured last week on the same day as the photo of ice patterns.

I know, I have thousands of photos of these mountains, and have posted dozens of them here on the blog over the years, but I just can’t help myself, they are just too beautiful!  I’m sure I will take thousands of more in the years to come.

Least Sandpiper, Seward, Alaska.

Megan from Costa Rica had an ask Ron question about bokeh.  Here it is:

Hi Ron, I had a quick question for your Ask Ron series.  I was wondering about your opinion of bokeh.  I have a basic understanding of the concept from online research, but it seems that some professional photographers absolutely love it, while others barely use it at all.  Also seems that subject matter doesn’t necessarily determine who likes it or not; in other words, I see some landscape artists use it all the time, and others never.  I’m contemplating buying my first fixed focal lens for my Nikon D60, and am curious what your take is, when and how you decide to “go for bokeh” (ha), etc.

Thanks!

Megan in Costa Rica

For those that aren’t familiar with the term, here is the Wikipedia definition for bokeh: In photography, bokeh is the blur, or the aesthetic quality of the blur, in out-of-focus areas of an image, or “the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light.

For me, I often use it for wildlife portraits, and close-up work like flowers – it allows me to isolate the subject from the rest of the scene and effectively “remove” distracting elements.  I think the bird portrait above is a good example.  Here I am actually laying in the cold water with the front of the lens and camera just barely out of the water in order to throw the background out of focus.  If I was just a foot higher off the ground, I could be warm and dry, but the background of mud would come into focus and could be a distraction.

The background is often ignored, but can often make or break an image.  As I’m setting up on birds like this, I’m not just watching the birds movement and the direction of the light, but I am constantly evaluating the background.  A bright spot, even if it is out of focus will draw your eye right away from the subject and to the background bright spot.

Now I don’t always try to throw the background out of focus, there are times that it can enhance an image, and provide the viewer with a feeling for the habitat and surrounding environment.  This photo of a desert bighorn near Moab, Utah is one example that comes to mind.

Now you mention landscape photography, and myself, I chose to maximize depth of field and keep everything in focus.  I know some photographers utilize limited depth of field as a personal style, it seems to have gained in popularity in recent years.  I encourage you to experiment.  A prime lens with a large aperture can be a lot of fun creatively.

Thanks for the question – you live in a beautiful country!

Cover, 2010 Milepost.

O man, I’m really excited to report that I have the cover of the Milepost for the 4th year in a row!  Growing up in Glennallen everyone who passed through our restaurant had a copy in hand or on their dash.  I dreamed of having the cover one day, I never imaged having 4 in a row!  Now I dread the day I don’t have the cover – I’m going to have to work extra hard next summer!

Now that I travel so much I know why The Milepost is such a valuable resource.  It has mile by mile detail on every road and community throughout Alaska, and on every route and community between Alaska and the Lower 48.  My copy never leaves my truck.  I have been recommending this guide for years on photography forums and on travel forums like RV.net

The main photo is actually of Janine and I with my parents, as we enjoyed an evening campfire at the Chugach National Forest Williwaw Campground near Portage.  By the way, Williwaw is one of the nicest campground in Alaska.  I used a self timer to trigger the camera.  The smaller photo is of Janine in front of Denali (Mt. McKinley).

Alpenglow on Resurrection Peaks, Chugach National Forest, near Seward, Alaska.

This is looking North, directly away from one of the most amazing sunrises I have ever seen in Seward – the same morning of my recent post on sunrise over Resurrection Bay.  This has to be the most dramatic, colorful alpenglow I have ever seen.

I must confess, I have often mis-used the word alpenglow.  Thanks to blog reader Aaron for setting me straight on my welcome home post.  As Aaron pointed out, and further research confirmed, alpengow is the pink glow you see while the sun is still below the horizon.  There can not be a direct path of light from the sun to the mountain.  So that red / orange light shinning on snow caped peaks at the beginning or end of the day isn’t really alpenglow – I have been mis-identifying it for years.  I don’t know what it is called – sweet mountain light I guess.

This is pretty much straight out of the camera.  I added a little contrast to the mid-tones, but I didn’t add any color or saturation.

Another photo from Thursday evening of the Chugach National Forest, Seward, Alaska.

I get asked this question a fair amount as friends try to shop for their avid photographer loved one.  It is a tough question to answer because camera gear can be very expensive, and most photographers have fairly strong opinions on photo gear.  So, I thought I would throw out some less expensive, safer options to consider.

Digital frames Most photographers love to share the photos with family and co-workers, and having a  nice  digital frame for the office or home makes a great gift for most any photographer.  I can’t recommend a particular one as I don’t own one, but I have found the buyer feedback on Amazon to be pretty accurate.

Books.   I can’t own enough books, I’m running out of room to store them all.  I have books on particular animal species, books on locations, and books on photography.  Here are some of my favorites:

Outdoor photography

Galen Rowell’s classic book The Inner Game of Outdoor Photography is scheduled for re-release next May.  Until then, this great book by the master is a great read even if some of the information is dated:  Galen Rowell’s Vision: The Art of Adventure Photography

I haven’t seen this book, but know most of the contributors so feel fairly safe in recommending:  The Ultimate Guide to Digital Nature Photography

Location Guides

These can be very helpful and provide a nice running head start for any location.  I like to try to find my own “hot spots”, but there is nothing wrong with getting some help finding the existing ones.  Except for the Oregon book, I have used, enjoyed and relied on these location guides:

Photographing the Southwest: Volume 1–Southern Utah (2nd Ed.)
Photographing the Southwest: Volume 2–Arizona (2nd Ed.)
Photographing the Southwest: Volume 3–Colorado/New Mexico (Photographing the Soutwest)
Photographer’s Guide to Yellowstone and the Tetons
The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite
Photographing Oregon (Phototripsusa)

Animal Reference

Birds – every nature lover should have this valuable resource:  The Sibley Guide to Birds

Bird behavior.  If your photographer already has the Sibley Guide to Birds, this makes a great compliment:  The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior It covers nesting / feeding, all kinds of stuff.

Wolves.  If you like wolves as much as I do, and Denali, then this is a must read:   Wolves Of Denali

Moose.  I wish there was a book like this on every species.  It is very comprehensive, over 700 pages, and parts are technical, but if you have ever wondered something about moose, you can find it here.  I should warn you, books like this don’t come cheap, but Amazon has it for $75:   Ecology and Management of the North American Moose

.

Or when all else fails, you can never go wrong with a  B & H gift card.

Resurrection Peaks, Chugach National Forest, near Seward, Alaska.

This was from last night at sunset.  It is probably more accurate to say, yesterday afternoon at sunset – this was a little after 3:00.

Harriman Glacier, Prince William Sound, Chugach National Forest, Alaska.

Well now that my first two Alaska photo tours are filling, (we have one spot remaining for the Kenai Fjords photo tour, and two spots for the Bear and Puffin photo tour), I thought I would promote my final offering, a photo tour into the amazing Prince William Sound.

Like the Kenai Fjords tour, this is an all inclusive boat based tour into a region of amazing scenery and wonderful wildlife.  This three night, four day tour will be limited to four guests, myself, an incredibly knowledgeable captain, and a cook – and we will have a 58 foot research vessel to spread out on!  We will have access to a Zodiak skiff for shore excursions and hikes, and will overnight in a different remote location each night.  Instead of repeating the amazing details here, you can read much more here:  Prince William Sound photo tour.

Troy Henkels kayaking in front of Cascade Falls, Prince William Sound, Alaska.

I have intended to tell you about www.outdoor-gear-deals.com and after seeing Necky sea kayaks for 45% off yesterday, it reminded me I needed to share this site.  But let me back up for a minute to explain.

By necessity, my occupation as an outdoor photographer requires a fair amount of good outdoor gear, so I’m always on the lookout for good deals on good outdoor equipment.  You may have remembered a post last spring where I talked about becoming addicted to these new websites like steep and cheap where they offer huge discounts on just a single item at a time.  Well, these one time “deals of the day” or even deal by hour are becoming more popular, with companies like Patagonia and REI getting in on the act.

Well it took too much time to try and visit a bunch of websites each day just in case there was something I “needed” so I created a little website that consolidated all these deals onto a single page.  For the last 6 months it has only been used by Janine and I, and a few friends, but I thought I should share it here as others might find it valuable.  So check it out and bookmark Outdoor Gear Deals – deal of the day website, the page automatically updates every 10 minutes.  It still needs some fine tuning, but I think you might find it helpful.

]]> http://www.my-photo-blog.com/great-outdoor-gear-deals/feed 16 http://www.my-photo-blog.com/our-welcome-home http://www.my-photo-blog.com/our-welcome-home#comments Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:13:07 +0000 Ron http://www.my-photo-blog.com/?p=3764

Alpenglow on Mt. Alice, Chugach National Forest, Seward, Alaska.

I took this photo out the front door just an hour or so after getting home on Sunday – what a great welcome home!  I have hundreds, if not thousands of somewhat similar images of this mountain, I will probably take thousands more – how can I resist?

During long trips and our summer in Alaska I’m getting enough new material to post to the blog 5 days a week.  This time of year I’m concentrating on office work, so I might not post as often over the next few months, maybe 3 times a week.  I know I have said that in the past and continued posting 5 days a week, but it takes the pressure off if I lower the expectations. 

Correction:  Thanks to Aaron below, I now know this isn’t actually considered alpenglow.  This is alpenglow.