Photo Blog - Niebrugge Images

Pedersen Lagoon, Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska.

Continuing on my theme - this is another photo from my favorite place.

Kayaking in Pedersen Lagoon, Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska.

A kayak is a great way to get around Aialik Bay and Pedersen Lagoon.  This was a little early in the season - the icebergs are a little thick by the entrance at this time of year making it a little tricky picking your way through the maze - tricky but fun!  As the summer continues, it get easier.

There are numerous beaches for camping all around the bay, and the Park Service has food storage boxes at most of the best beaches, so you don’t need to worry about lugging bear proof food containers.  The one thing you do have to worry about it the unpredictable weather.  Short sleeve days like the one pictured aren’t very common.

Ghost Forest, Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska.

Everyone calls these standing dead trees “ghost forests”.  Don’t know if that is an official name, but it works for me.

These trees have been standing dead like this for over 40 years.  Pretty amazing given our wet environment - my fire wood ends up rotting after just 3 or 4 years.  So how did they die, and why are they still standing strong? (more…)

An unnamed mountain rises above Pedersen Lagoon and Aialik Bay, Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska.

Black Bear in Pedersen Lagoon.

An annual salmon run brings lots of black bears to the shores of Pedersen Lagoon, Kenai Fjords National Park.  I think I counted 13 separate bears over a two day period just within the lagoon!

A sea otter family enjoying the relative safety of Pedersen Lagoon, Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska. 

Notice the large pup asleep on the belly of one of the adults.

Pedersen Glacier, Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska.

This was a gloomy, cloudy morning, but and friend and I paddled up to this lake anyways, and were rewarded with a very brief burst of sunlight on the far side of the lake. (more…)

Alaskans will recognize this jumper as Angela Blanchard from the Alaska Statewide News (KTTU).

Judging by how the jumpers were dressed, you might get the idea it is warm here in the winter.  This photo (more…)

The 2008 Polar Bear Jump-Off (plunge), Seward, Alaska.

Why is this girl jumping into 33 degree water in the middle of January in Alaska? (more…)

Aialik Bay, Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska.

Ailalik Bay is one of the most beautiful locations in all of Alaska.  The Pacific Ocean, tidewater glaciers, towering peaks and plenty of wildlife - you can’t beat it!  Of the 500 - 1,000 people who visit this wonderful fjord each day via tour boat, maybe only one or two percent actually ever make it to shore. 

This was a wonderful, calm summer evening close to midnight.  That is the ocean on the right, and a lagoon on the left.

Cross country skiing along the ocean, Seward, Alaska.

We have had a great winter so far - lots of snow!  We received another nice foot of dry powder Tuesday, and an additional half a foot Tuesday night.  This was taken yesterday afternoon.  Although we dry to ski just about everyday - this was a setup shot.

Hiker at the end of the Harding Icefield Trail, Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska.

Of all the wonderful hiking trails in the Seward area, the Harding Icefield trail is my favorite.  It has everything; amazing scenery and wildlife.  The wildlife on this trail includes plenty of marmots, but there is a very good chance you will see bears and mountain goats as well.  But the real attraction has to be the scenery - specifically Exit Glacier and the Harding Icefield.  If you have never stood at the edge of an icefield and looked out at mile after mile of ice, snow and nunataks (mountain rising out of the icefield), it is an amazing experience!  I have spent some wonderful nights on the edge of Harding Icefield with my tent watching some beautiful sunsets and sunrises.

The trail is about 8 miles round trip - that isn’t too bad, but like most trails in the Seward area, you do a lot of climbing - it has a 3,000 vertical foot rise in total.  If you don’t do a lot of hiking, you are going to feel the climb (more…)

Exit Glacier, Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska.

Just a short, beautiful 12 mile drive from Seward is Exit Glacier.  Exit Glacier is one of the few glaciers in Alaska that you can easily walk up to and view and photograph up close.  From the parking lot, the trail is about a mile, with much of that on a paved pathway.  If you have never seen a glacier up close, it is a fascinating treat.  For the photographer, there are endless photo opportunities. 

This is actually an older photo shot on film.  Unfortunately this glacier has receded a fair amount since this photo was taken, and now the toe of the glacier is off the valley floor.  I think the rate of retreat is going to really increase because the sun can now warm the underlying bedrock.

Harding Icefield at sunrise, Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska.

I recently broke up some of my categories a bit and discovered I have only posted 4 photos of Kenai Fjords National Park!  We live in the gateway city to my favorite National Park, and I have largely ignored it here on the blog - so I hope to fix that over the next week or so.

Snow covered mountains in Seward, Alaska. 

A fresh foot or two of powder make the mountains and everything else look a lot better!

I don’t know what was blowing more snow, the giant snow blower, or the wind.

A good friend of ours with the F/V Vigilant heading out into a snowstorm about an hour ago, Seward, Alaska. 

We have been getting lots of wonderful snow here in Seward over the last few days - and tonight we have a blizzard warning - the prediction is for another foot or more - the more the better as far as I’m concerned!

This is a photo from last winter in the Chugach National Forest, Alaska.

Happy New Year!

Another photo of the frozen waterfall in Seward, Alaska.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!