Hey Folks,
It’s that time of year once again. Thanks so much for stopping by to read the blog here and view the photos, I appreciate it.
Here are my pick of images (34) for 2011. I hope you enjoy them.
You’ll find a great list of photographers’ photos of the year on Jim Goldstein’s blog. Check it out.
Thanks
Cheers
Carl Continue reading
Backcountry skiing on a ridge on Flat Top Mountain, Glen Alps, near Anchorage. Chugach State Park, winter, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of the photo.
Hey Folks,
I recall a conversation or 2 on the subject of art and science; essentially, what differentiates and what connects the science and art. Art is exploration. Science is similar process with maybe more strictly defined boundaries. Certainly they’re both forms of creative expression.
I think the critical illustration of their differences is very simple; artists are so often WAY cool, and scientists way nerdy. 🙂
Cheers
Carl
I was photographing toward the mountains when 2 snowboarders came on by. I snapped this photo of one of them before he took off down the mountain. Â A snowboarder walks across the ridge near Flatop Mountain, Glen Alps, near Anchorage, in winter, Alaska. Mt. McKinley, known as “Denali” in the distance. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.
Hey folks,
A quick word of advice. If you think it looks like a nice afternoon to go out and shoot some photos (i.e., the light is rockin’, fresh snow on the mountaintops, etc, etc, etc), the very best of advice I might offer you is this: Head out on your own.
I know better than to think I might do some photography when I head out with non-photographers. Well, I like to THINK I know better, but I today did it yet again. Sometimes I’m a just a flatout non-learner, I guess.
So, as the setting sun turned the sky and nearby mountains a glorious pink, instead of photographing the grandeur, I was packed up and skiing my way back to the parking lot, my camera and tripod safely tucked away inside my daypack.
Photography and non-photographers just don’t mix well. The first time I was given this lesson was years ago, in a discussion with the late Bill Silliker, Jr (a  great photographer and a good man); we were talking about being a photographer versus being a musician. Bill had been a drummer in his younger days. His words were “Carl, one of the best things, for me, about photography as a gig is that I don’t need a bass player”. Continue reading
Hey Folks,
One of the crazier things at the start of the Iditarod is the costumes and outfits some people go for. I am posting these 3 images not because they were the craziest of the outfits but because all 3 people, later in the day whilst walking through the park, were apparently fired upon by Alaska Fish and Game Board predator-control snipers in passing airplanes.
No casualties recorded.
Cheers
Carl
Hey Folks,
It’s that crazy time of the year again – Iditarod 2009. The ceremonial start of the race was held this morning, downtown Anchorage, and the weather was perfect – perfect for me, not so perfect for the dogs. The dogs like it colder than I do, strangely enough – but they’re probably working harder. This photo is Lance Mackey, winner of the last 2 Iditarod races, and a favorite for this year as well. Unfortunately I’ll be in the backcountry and not following the race too closely, but I’ll try to check in and see how the race shape up. It’d be way cool if Lance makes it 3 in a row.
Cheers
Carl
UPDATE: Lance passed in Sep 2022. RIP to the great man.
Hey Folks,
The last 10 days have been pretty busy, as I’ve been doing the Wilderness First Responder course (note to self: don’t let your certifications lapse in the future).
One of the primary goals of the course is to teach participants basic life support in backcountry and wilderness settings.
Here my friend Lisa is holding her patient’s head stable to protect the patient (Jason) from spine injury.
Both hands on the head, holding it still and steady, are critical. You can see in this simulation Lisa, with help from her other rescuer, has the patient warm and dry in a sleeping bag, on a foam pad to help insulate him.
Jason was found lying in the pool you can see near his feet.
Lisa and Taylor did a safety drag, where the spine is immobilized and Jason was dragged out of the water, on to the pad, they cut his wet clothes off, rolled him onto his side, placed a sleeping bag under him, rolled him back down and zipped up the bag.
In no time at all, he was dry and warm.
That’s a HUGE deal, as any treatment in this situation is going to (in all probability) be a minimum of several hours, and hypothermia will most likely set in.
Hypothermia can affect people even when the ambient temperature is 65?F (18.3? C) – so for someone with a possible major injury, lying flat on the ground for a short period of time even in mild weather can easily induce hypothermia.
Get the patient dry, off the ground, and in a bag.
Cheers
Carl
hey Folks,
Here’s another from the start of the Iditarod in Anchorage, March 1, 2008. It doesn’t seem like that long ago, and here the month has flown by. I wanted to get a shot or 2 of some interaction between the dogs and heir handlers, but they were typically not in decent light. Finally got a few that I was happy with. This one, the handler knelt down to check the dog’s booties, and he got a face full of tongue for his trouble. Seconds later the starter said “Go”, and the dogs were gone!
Cheers
Carl
Hey Folks,
A recent thread on global warming and other environmental issues posed the question: “Are we having fun yet?” What a fantastic question to ask of ourselves in the year 2008. This question hit me square between the eyes; that’s really the issue here, isn’t it, I thought. That’s exactly what’s going on. Recent years have given more people more access to more goods and services, more art, more sport, more information, even to more other people, than ever before. With the internet we have access to the entire world at our fingertips. I can learn about almost anything in a matter of minutes. I can order plated Patagonian Alpaca Wool rugs in a few seconds, with the click of a mouse. I can order Goat’s Milk chocolate from Israel in the time it takes me to write this sentence. Figuratively, we have everything, literally we have more than anyone has ever had before. We live, in every sense of the word, in a time of abundance. And yet we seem bent on ‘more’. Why aren’t we happy yet, I wondered. (note: before you read on, this gets kinda long) Continue reading
Hey Folks,
Well, just as I was winding down and about to go to bed, the news comes in. Lance Mackey wins the 2008 Iditarod. What an amazing achievement! He won the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod last year, and repeated both wins this year. 1100 miles down the frozen Yukon River, and virtually the same set of dogs wins the 1000 mile Iditarod. They said nobody could ever win both. He won both in 2007 and just won’ em again. Congrats Lance.
Jeff King, 4-time winner, is about an hour behind, and looks set to take 2nd place.
Cheers
Carl
PS –Â Here’s a Photo of Lance in the 2009 Race.
PPS Lance passed in 2022. RIP.
Hey Folks,
Another, possibly the last for now, from the Iditarod last weekend. The dogs can’t wait to get started, I swear its as if they count down with the starter, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and they leap into the traces. It’s amazing to me to think that the leaders are over halfway to Nome already. A few years back I was fortunate enough to spend some more time with the race, a few days out on the trail, which was a blast. Maybe one year I’ll get out to Nome for the finish. Until then, I’ll suffice with the excitement of the start of the Iditarod in Anchorage.
Cheers
Carl