Mount Sanford reflection

Here’s a shot from my trip this last week to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. I’m so wanting this shot to come together – as many times as I’ve been here, and waited for the right light, it hasn’t happened yet. This particular morning the air was calm, so the reflection was nice, and the mist added a nice touch, but the alpenglow, earlier in the morning, didn’t happen.

What’s the longest hour of a landscape photographer’s day? That hour between when the light first touches the clouds/mountain tops and when the sun actually rises high enough to light up the valley floor. Standing around, wet and cold, for an hour waiting to see if “Stage II” of the morning light happened, is a tough choice. But, then the light comes up, and it’s all forgotten. What fickle creatures we can be.

I’m pressed for time folks, but I’ll try to schedule another post or 2 for this next week. I just got in this evening and am heading out again sunday morning for 10 days. See ya soon.

Mt Sanford at Dawn

A photo of Mt. Sanford, taken last fall. Killer sunrise.

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Mount Sanford Photo

Mount Sanford at sunrise, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

In all her 16 237′ glory.

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Mount Sanford Winter Dawn

Mount Sanford, taken one cold morning back in the winter. Down in the lower right hand corner you might notice a small building. That’s the outhouse next to where the truck was parked, at Rock Lake. I didn’t dwell here for long, the wind was biting cold, and I had hot coffee waiting back down the hill.

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Another shot of Mt. Sanford. I know this might be a few too many, but trust me, t’s a REALLY cool mountain. And, if you had any idea how many times I’v tried to take this photo, you’d offer me your sympathies. And maybe some therapy.

So nearly 5 years ago I “found” this little pond and thought ‘ahhh, this could be a nice spot to photograph Mt Sanford from’. And it is. However, the pond is prone to some ripplage, particularly right around dawn, when the alpenglow lights up the mountain. So, all too often, I’ve been thwarted in my efforts; either the pond is rippling and the reflection is lost, or the light is not great, or the mountain not visible (most common). This week I thought I had a good shot at something happening, so I made the trip over to that area and spent a total of 3 mornings trying my hand.

On the 3rd morning, the conditions came together;

the light was nice, the pond calm, and the mountain clear as a bell. I spent the better part of 2 hours photographing the scene, and enjoying a glorious morning. I then left, headed over to another pond, decided I was better off where I started and returned for some more photos. Even in mid-morning light the scene is such a treat that I couldn’t help but photograph it.

It was at this point that I fiddled with my camera and thought ‘hmm, that’s weird’. Well, it wasn’t “weird”, but stupid. I’d left the ISO setting, which is akin to film speed, at 1600. Way higher than I wanted, and resulting in digital noise, or grainy, images. Every single one of them.

It’s pretty hard to be this stupid.

So, other than having had the pleasure of seeing such a grand sight, I’m still no further along in my quest to make this photo. Well, maybe a little less stupid, which always helps. But that’s a big maybe.