Nature, Travel, and Adventure Photography by Carl Donohue
Category Archives: Adventures
Adventures and adventure photography. Could be travels and trips to remote places like Alaska or Patagonia, or it could be outside sports, such as whitewater kayaking, mountain biking, backpacking and hiking, dog mushing, trail running etc.
Skolai Pass, Hole in the wall rock formations, glaciers, Wrangell-St Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. The flowers you see here are (white ones) Mountain Avens (Dryas octopetala) and Dwarf Fireweed (Epilobium latifolium)
Hey Folks,
It’s always nice when a magazine editor wants your photo for their story, and you get published. Especially when it’s a photo from one of your favorite places anywhere.
But it’s WAY nicer when you get published in a magazine you enjoy, read and value. This image posted here is in the current edition of backpacker magazine, page 65 – full page vertical, which is nice.
The image accompanies an article on backpacking “the Goat Trail”, in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. This was the first route I ever hiked in Wrangell-St. Elias, and definitely a favorite of mine, so having my image chosen to accompany the story represents much more than just another published photo and a check to me.
It’s also cool for me because a few of my friends are published in the same edition of the magazine. It’d be remiss of me not to mention Ron Niebrugge, also a photographer I admire.
This one is for my buddy Mark Vail, who I know has to be getting a little homesick right about now. He’s been gone from his home a few days.
“A few days??”, I hear you ask, “that’s nothing!”
Well, sure it is – to most people. But most people don’t have this view by the trail to their crib, either. 🙂
Fireweed Mountain and a perfect reflection in a small pond, right off the McCarthy Road, taken this last fall, on the end of our Skolai Pass photo tour. Inclement weather suggested we fly out a day earlier than planned, and we made the best of the following morning (which was, of course, gorgeous weather) with some fall colors along the McCarthy Road.
We commented on the difference between roadside photography and backcountry photography. One noticeable difference is how nice it is to pull up the vehicle at a likely spot, hop out, scout out some compositions and then start photographing, with the doors to the van wide open and some killer tunes from the ole iPod rockin’ our world as we clicked and clicked away. I think we were listening to Emmylou Harris as we shot this, “Where Will I Be”, from Wrecking Ball. Great album!
We actually had a great day shooting, and got some nice images – markedly different to the high open alpine stuff we’d been photographing up at Skolai Pass the day before. The contrast in scenery was fun, and the colors were great.
I’ll try to mix in some more images from that trip here as I go through my new collection of bear photos from the recent Katmai trip.
That 2010 photo tour idea I mentioned below? It happened. And it’s been happening every fall since.
This last year’s trip wrapped up a few weeks ago and it was one of the better ones. The group was solid, the weather cooperated more than it usually does, and the bears delivered. We had consistent action throughout the week, with bears fishing, sparring, and doing all the things that make these trips worth the long days.
Everyone came home with keepers. A few people nailed shots that’ll anchor their portfolios for years. That’s the goal, and it doesn’t always come together this cleanly, so you appreciate it when it does.
The format has evolved over the years but the core remains the same. Small group, remote camp, long hours on the water and along the banks. No crowds, no viewing platforms, no competing for position with forty other photographers. Just bears and fall color and the kind of quiet that only exists when you’re a float plane ride from the nearest road. I’m already booking for next fall. If this kind of trip interests you, reach out sooner than later. These fill up.
Sorry for the delay (again) in posting here. I’ve been busy the last 2 weeks, trying to photograph grizzly bears. I just returned, 24 hours ago, from a trip to Katmai National Park, where I focused on trying to get some grizzly bear photos that were different to what I’d shot in the past. Here’s the first of what hopefully won’t be too many that you get bored with them.
Yes, it’s true – I took some time out to detour away from Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, when I promised myself not to – but the change did me great! One of the things I really wanted to focus on
I ran across what is easily the biggest moose rack I’ve ever come across in the woods a few days ago. I was on the last leg of a hike in Alaska’s gorgeous Wrangell Mountains in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, from the Sanford River drainage over the Sanford Plateau, and down to the Dadina River.
Natalie (pictured) and I were sauntering through the forest, along the Dadina River when I spotted this rack, not far from the game trail we were walking along. This was one BIG bull moose – I don’t know what happened to the grand old fella, but he’s bones now. He must’ve been a pretty awesome creature back in the day. There are a number of wolves in the area, and grizzly bears as well, and I’m sure he fed them well, along with the myriad other carnivores in the region – wolverine, fox, marten, gulls, ravens, eagles, etc.
What a treat it must’ve been for them when he passed, and what a treat it would’ve been to see him walking through the forest beforehand. RIP, great bull.
Life has a way, all too often, of providing us with little (or large) lessons on what we need to work on. Communication is something that all of us frequently do poorly, and here’s a good example of that, and how it can mess up your day. I’m usually pretty good about seeking advice from those who know better than me (my father will disagree, I’m sure). So when I first came to AK, I asked my good and trusted friend Ron Niebrugge for some advice.
Here’s another image from the summer just gone by. This one was from near our campsite on the Canning River, in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). We’d had a nice day paddling, enjoying some sunny weather, found a sweet spot to camp, and then I wandered around into the evening looking for a composition that caught my eye. The unnamed mountain across the river is a ridge leading up to Mt. Salisbury. This is one of my favorite areas in the region, right at the edge of the coastal plain and the Brooks Mountains. Typically these kinds of terrains are interesting;
Here’s what happens when the guide lets someone else lead. Sergei, aka, Borat, was confident of his ability to lead us to our next campsite. he’d been in this area with me last year, and figured he knew the way. So I said ‘sure, you go on ahead’, we’ll follow you. We were aiming to stay on the southern side of this ridge, staying well below the crest, traversing around to our campsite. Sergei pushed higher and higher t every opportunity, and before ya know it, we came over the top, looking toward Tebay Lakes to the north of us. Jodee’s standing here, looking around asking herself “What The Heck?” and the rest of the group had collapsed on the ground.
🙂
Well, that’s not QUITE the truth, but Sergei did lead us up this ridge – and it was a pretty sweet spot to hang out for a while.
Here’s another image of Mount Drum from earlier in the summer – one fine, crusty and cold morning up on the windswept Sanford Plateau. We traversed the plateau from the north-west side, where we’d landed by bush plane along the Sanford River. Rather than cross the Sanford River, a foolish maneuver, we hiked over the glacial moraine, just above where the river comes out of the bottom of the glacier. The river was fairly rippin’ along, with all the rain this summer, so I was glad we didn’t have to wade it – I’m pretty sure the folks on the trip were glad about that too.
Most of that trip we had cloudy skies and light drizzle, although the rain really wasn’t that bad.
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.
Ice Cave, Tana Glacier
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.
I shot this image, as with most of these compositions, with and without a polarizer, to see the effect, and to get a couple of different takes. I tended to like the images with less polarization, where the glare shows a bit more. A polarizer filter, much like a pair of polarizing sunglasses, can almost completely get rid of the glare in a place like this. But I found the images didn’t grab me as directly. I liked the edges the glare created
Thompson Ridge
Here’s one of the few images I’ve made this summer with blue sky! This particular afternoon we got a little light, and I hiked and photographed as much as I could. Of course, by the time the light started to get really warm, low cloud rolled in from the southwest and all went flat again.
I like this scene, with the sand dunes undulating beneath the spires of Thompson Ridge. Ross Green Lake lies between the green willow-covered ridge in the middle ground and the jagged crags of Thompson Ridge beyond.
Here’s another image from the recent trip to Ross Green Lake. This one from down on the riverbed, looking across the sand dunes toward the ridge to the north-east and the rich fall colors there. The myriad different tones and colors on display were enticing – unfortunately the brush is not quite as welcoming to walk through as it is inviting to do so.
Fall is over way too quickly here in Alaska (like summer) and I’m keen to get back to the park and capture some more photos of the great fall colors this year.
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.
The weather was also cool – cold, at times, windy, cloudy, rainy, and snow fell on the peaks above us several of the nights we were camped in the area.
Some more light would’ve been sweet, but one does what one can in the outdoors. Both times the sun came out to greet us mid-afternoon it was gone before sunset – high, flat clouds rolled in, quickly, from the coast and brought stormy weather and flat, gray light – not so good for photography.
I’ll try to post a few images from this trip over the next week or so, and give you an idea of the landscape we hiked and explored.
Fall in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
Aspens, Ross Green Lake
Here’s another image from the one evening we got any light. This was just after some clouds rolled in and began to block out the sun again. A few minutes after I took this image there was no light left on the peaks. The peaks are part of Thompson Ridge. Thompson Ridge is named after J.B. Thompson, a prospector who crossed the area on foot in 1906. There is a pass west of here, outside the park across the Copper River, called Thompson Pass, that’s pretty well known – it’s on the highway system.
This little patch of aspen in the foreground were really cool. We didn’t see any other trees in the area at all, except for one small white spruce across the valley, maybe a mile away. And here, on the edge of Ross Green Lake, is this stand of aspen. A few minutes earlier they’d been basking in gorgeous warm light, and then those nefarious clouds came a-rollin’ in! Bah!
Here’s another from my ‘sunny afternoon’. The sky started to clear around 10am, and by mid-afternoon, it was beautiful. I was hiking up the valley, east, trying to get some nice views, and maybe find a nice location to shoot sunset images from. I did find some spots, but it was in vain, of course, because yet another storm came rolling in from the west, and the light waned. Pesky clouds!
This image is looking west, towards the Tana River and Tana Glacier. You can see the edge of the sand dunes in the background, just behind that ridge, before you get to the winding, meandering river bed.
Dwarf Birch and Thompson Ridge
Here’s another photo from the nice evening we got at Ross Green Lake. As the last of the light faded, I headed up over this small ridge to this patch of dwarf birch that I had found earlier in the afternoon. The red brush is the Dwarf Birch (Betula borealis) – a spectacular bush in the fall – it’s pretty hard to hike through, though – not much fun at all. But how it redeems itself in the fall – what a beautiful plant. Now if only we can do something about that alder. ?
In case you didn’t see the earlier post, this is Ross Green Lake and Thompson Ridge in the background.
Willows and Sand Dunes
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 afternoon 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.
Here’s another willow I wanted to shoot from the first time I saw it. The color was really unique on this one – there were 2 other willow maybe 30 yards from it, both the typical yellow. This one had this cool orangey color to it that I really liked. Not only were they same species, but they are the same plant – their roots connect under the sand. Willow are pretty hardy, and the only plant here in the sand dunes that could get higher than about 1′ tall – and some of these willows were 20′ tall. That says a bit, IMO, if they can grow 20 times higher than any other plant in the same region.
If you don’t think they’re a hardy plant – I can tell you from experience that hiking through a thicket willows will change your mind on that one pretty quickly. 🙂
Here’s another image from the Harry’s Gulch section of the Bremner Mines to Tebay Lakes trip we did in August. This is Svetlana, or Sveta, as she hiked past me on the ridgeline. We decided a little further on that we were a tad high, and the sidehilling was a little slow, so we descended to easier walking down along the valley floor. A good decision, but I’m sure glad we spent time up high too – great views back east through the Chugach Mountains.
