Category Archives: Abstract Photos

Abstract photos of landscapes and wildlife by Carl Donohue

Shadows and Light

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Snow covered spruce tree, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Here’s another photo I took on my most recent sojoun to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska. I’d been hoping to find some scenes like this, but they’re hard to come by. Fresh snow still sitting on a spruce tree, in nice warm sunshine.  Usually, after a nice dump of snow, wind blows it off the trees before the weather clears up enough for this kind of photo.

One calm evening I went up on this ridge, not a breath of air was stirring down in the forest at the cabin. But up high, the wind was blowing like crazy. It was weird, it’d blow really hard for a few seconds, a gust, then stop and all was perfectly still for a few seconds, then the wind would kick up again, often from exactly the opposite direction it had last came. This went on for a few hours. I didn’t shoot much that afternoon, but it was cool to see this crazy weather. A few days later, after we’d had some more snow fall, up I went again, and got some nicer conditions.

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More aspen boles

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Aspen boles, abstract photo, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Here’s another from my aspen boles project. I simply took a long exposure, and slowly moved the camera up and down as the image was exposed. I found I had t be careful to really limit the movement sideways, and keep it as vertical as possible, for a decent photo. It’s fun experimenting with this stuff, I think.

On another note, I might not be able to post too much more. I’m getting ready to buy a snowboard, and may well be unable to move any of my limbs within a few weeks. Pray for me.

Cheers
Carl

Aspen boles, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska

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Aspen boles, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Here’s an image from my most recent venture into the park. I’ve never really tried this kind of technique with photography too much, but I kind of enjoyed the results. Some of them, anyway. It was interesting to me to edit this series of photos – abstract images emote so differently, and I’ve not a lot of practice in that field, so I felt I wasn’t really sure what I was supposed to be looking for.

The technical aspect of photos is so dominant in more orthodox imagery, so editing become somewhat rote; check sharpness, exposure, etc. But abstract imagery requires a different process, and I find it hard to edit Continue reading →

Twaharpies Mountain Range, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska

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Twaharpies Mountain Range, peaks, sunset, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

hey Folks,

Here’s another image from a few years ago – on a trip to Wolverine, a ridge high above the Chittistone River in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska. The Twaharpies Mountains lie south of the ridge, across the river, and came out late this evening with some gorgeous light. The peaks are pretty cool – classic alps. Just east of this peak lie the University Range, home to Mount Bona and Mount Churchill.

Wolverine is a local name for the (officially) unnamed ridge on the north side of the Chittistone River, and a great spot for a basecamp or a point to point hike – I usually hike from Skolai Pass west to Wolverine, but some folks like to do it in the other direction. It’s a classic alpine walk, through some of the most magnificent scenery I’ve ever stumbled my way through. There’s a crazy butte on the north side of the ridge, like something out of the desert southwest, but all around are jagged craggy peaks, like the Twaharpies.

Maybe I’ll continue on with a short series of images from years gone by, rather than continually posting new photos. This counts as 2. 🙂

Cheers

Carl

Willow, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska

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Willow bush, fall colors, sand dunes, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Here’s another from the Tana River sand dunes. We were basecamped in the area, day hiking up, down, and around the region. Every morning we’d walk right past this little willow bush to our kitchen, and then back again to our camp. Every night we’d do the same. I kept thinking “I gotta shoot that bush, it’s SO cool”. One afteroon I did – I wish I could’ve got a little higher, to get a little more separation between the top of the bush and the shrubs in the background, but this was all I could manage.

Cheers

Carl

Fall colors, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska

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Fall colors in the alpine tundra, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

hey Folks,

Here’s another photo from the recent trip – some nice all colors right by camp. What’s wild is 10 yards from where I took this scene we were shooting the ripples in the sand dunes in a desolate, dry terrain. This Alaska landscape sho do get crazy.

I’m going to be out for a while, so will upload some scheduled posts, and reply to comments, etc, as I’m able. I’ll try to drop in every so often and let you know what I’m up to – right now, I don’t really have any idea of what that will involve, other than trying to stay warm, and out of the rain.

Cheers

Carl

Ice Cave, Tana Glacier

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Blue ice from ice cave, Tana Glacier, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Here’s another from the Tana Glacier, only this time from in a little ice cave I spotted. Well, I didn’t venture too far into it, it was more of a bridge than a cave, but I went inside enough to get dripped on. Pretty cool. The blue inside these glaciers is so vivid – it’s exciting to see it, weird as that sounds, that a mere color might excite someone.

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The Tana Glacier, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

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Small blue tarn on the Tana Glacier, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Here’s another image from the Tana Glacier – this one from our afternoon hiking around on the ice. We kinda found this little blue tarn by accident – I hadn’t seen it from the air, and didn’t see it at all until I nearly walked right into it. I hiked over this little crest and right beneath me is this incredible blue pond. I took a few images here, but it was drizzling rain most of the time, so I moved on up the glacier towards an ice cave I had seen from afar. In hindsight, I wish I’d spent more time at the tarn – the colors and patterns to be had were infinite.

Glaciers really are a pot pourri for a photographer – they offer such an array of compositions, from close intimate abstract shots of patterns and colors to wider, expansive landscapes. They’re cool to shoot (now that’s a good pun! 🙂 ) from the air, and they’re great to shoot from on foot. This was my first time on the Tana Glacier, and it’s funny how each glacier has his/her own personality – they’re tons of fun. But it can also be dangerous to explore them, so if you head out in glacier country, be careful.

Cheers

Carl

Sand dunes, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

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Sand dunes, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

What’s this, you might ask! Sand dunes and ripples in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska? Yup!

At the headwaters of the Tana River, near Ross Green Lake, the glacial silt from the numerous glaciers and ice fields in the area is blown about the incessant wind, and there are some incredible sand dunes down the Tana.

We landed at the airstrip at Ross Green Lake, and were immediately taken by the cool landscape around us. Jagged snow-capped crags and spires sank into the clouds south of us (Thompson Ridge), a myriad of fall color sparkled on the hillsides, a deep cool lakes of every hue nestled into the depressions in the valley, the Tana glacier fell into pieces at its terminus to our west, and rippled sand dunes and waves of fine sand patterned themselves beneath our feet. ‘Cool’ is the only word that describes the place. Continue reading →

Pebbles on the beach, Yakutat, Alaska

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Rocks and pebbles on Point Carrew, near Cannon beach, outside Yakutat, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Here’s a look at some of the pebbles and stones washed up on the beach at Point Carrew, a famous surfing beach near Yakutat.

On a clear day, the view from here across Disenchantment Bay towards the Malaspina Glacier and Mt. St. Elias is second to none! On this evening, clouds to the northwest meant the view was stifled – I could see the pyramid like peak of St. Elias poking out above the clouds, but it wasn’t such a great photo.

I liked this little collection of pebbles and rocks.

Cheers

Carl