Tag Archives: black and white

Polar bears in black and white

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A black and white rendition of this young polar bear approaching the camera. Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska.

A black and white rendition of this young polar bear approaching the camera. Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Sometimes I wonder if anyone’s still here.

These days, when I do blog, it’s mostly over at Expeditions Alaska. I definitely recommend you check it out over there, if you’re interested, and click on the “Get It By Email” link to stay connected and updated with all the goings on.

I simply found keeping a couple blogs going not worth the time. Maybe I’ll post here from time to time when I get bored, LOL.

Anyway, here’s a polar bear photo from this past fall. We spent a couple weeks in the arctic, again, and had some great photography opportunities with the bears. Never ceases to amaze me how fascinating it is to observe and photograph these incredible creatures. I’ve never really found another animal quite like the polar bear.

I converted this photo to black and whit to see how ti might come out and was pleasantly pleased with the results. What do you think?

Cheers
Carl

The creative life.

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A backpacker stands, naked, in the Chugach Mountains, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

A backpacker stands, naked, in the Chugach Mountains, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Click the image to see a larger version.

Hey Folks,

“It can be a difficult journey to live a creative life, if you live within an environment which does not understand or value creativity. Seek-out and surround yourself with positive soulmates”.

I read this note on a Status Update on facebook a while back, posted by a great photographer from Australia, Steve Coleman. Steve posts consistently valuable stuff on his facebook page, and I try to read every one of his insights. It’s nice to see someone so giving of their talent. I’ve never met Steve, but looking over his website I can tell you I already know I like the guy; click on ‘Workshops‘. That page tells me all I need to know; what a wonderful perspective!

The strength of the quote is in the paradox that it holds; creative work comes from within, yet what rises up from within is a function of the external. The input we open ourselves to form the outputs our work brings. But it’s more than that; I think a collective energy exists that is very real, very tangible, and we tap into that if we surround ourselves with a vibrant, creative community. Our neighbors, our friends, our peers, our families; these are all critical sources of creative energy that we draw upon, whether it be consciously or unconsciously.

To create and bring to life an idea, your idea, is a terribly frightening process; it opens us to vulnerabilities few of us wish to expose. A ‘support group‘ is critical. Continue reading →

Bridge to Nowhere – Gilahina Trestle, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.

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The Gilahina Trestle fades into winter, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Alaska’s Ultimate Bridge to Nowhere – The Gilahina Trestle fades into winter, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Click for larger version.

Hey Folks,

The Gilahina Trestle, crossing the Gilahina River, was once an impressive structure. Built in 1911 as part of the Copper River and Northwestern Railway (nicknamed “Can’t Run and Never Will”), the Gilahina Trestle was not quite 900′ long, and nearly 100′ high. Rumors say that it took less than 8 days to build, and the first train ran across its length on January 28, 1911. It’s since fallen into some disrepair, as is evident from this image. It’s a rickety ole job, at this point, and walking across it with nearly a foot of snow covering each board was, uhhm, sketchy. But I made it out for a few photos and back in one piece.

The Gilahina Trestle is now listed on the National Historic Register, which means it’ll probably come in for some funding to repair/restore it. Continue reading →

Winter in Black and White

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Black and white photo of snow covered spruce tree, in winter, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

A snow covered spruce tree stands in winter, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Today was pretty dreary weather here in Alaska, so I thought I might go with yesterday’s theme of black and white winter landscapes. I shot this lone snow covered spruce tree one afternoon last January. We had a cold spell, with some gorgeous clear days, and not a breath of air moved.

Continue reading →

Winter’s comin’

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snow swept hillside in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Winter’s right ’round the corner, so I thought I’d post a shot from last winter. High on a mountainside in the Wrangell Mountains the wind had swept the snow into some really cool patterns of ridges and valleys. I loved the curves in this scene, and with some nice dramatic side-lighting right before sunset (around 2:30pm), this scene was cooler than cool. Cooler than being cold, in fact. For scale, you can see a lone spruce tree in the background, shaded by the rising ridge beyond it.

Funnily enough, the temperature up on the hillside was markedly warmer than down at the Shack. Everytime I ventured up on to the mountains, the temperature was noticeably warmer. Folks tell me the inversion is simply because warm air rises and cold air drops, so down into the Kennicott River basin it goes. T Continue reading →

Yin Yang Photo #2

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An absract photo, shadow and light, winterm representing yin yang, on snow bank, Wrangell St. Elias National park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

A follow-up to my ‘snowbank’ scene. I’d been reading a bit of eastern philosophy, some of which I really admire, and the yin yang idea resonated strongly with me. It just seems, so clearly, to represent the world; light and shadow, sound and silence, space and solid, energy and matter, left and right, short and tall, love and fear, being and non-being. The philosophy delves much more deeply than those mere examples of its (yin yang) manifestation, but I won’t go into all that at the moment. It’s pretty cool stuff though, check it out. Continue reading →

Snowbank in Black and White

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A snowbank in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, winter, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Here’s an image I made in January. I’d not had a good morning, hoping for some alpenglow on Mount Blackburn, but was thwarted by an unscrupulous cloudbank. But, I figure I may as well enjoy the mountain morning, right? So I wandered around a bit, soaking up the quiet. There’s nothing quite so silent as a winter dawn in Alaska. I found this little snowbank and thought it might by a good photo study, particularly once the sun a crested nearby ridge. Maybe two hours later the sun peaked it’s nose over the ridge south of me, Continue reading →

Mount Sanford, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

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Mount Sanford, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

This is a photo of Mt Sanford, in winter, taken early one morning. In 2 weeks I had 3 mornings with some alpenglow. The first one I didn’t shoot because it was so socked in with cloud an hour before dawn that I didn’t figure the light was going to happen – and being tired, I slept in. I awoke, looked over, and saw a nice magenta glow on the face of Sanford, but there wasn’t really any kind of way to shoot it from where I was. Such is my life, it seems. I did enjoy a hot coffee and Continue reading →

Twin Lakes, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

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Windblow snow patterns over frozen Twin Lakes, near the Nabesna Road, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

I must admit; I really like shooting the patterns the windblown snow makes on the ground in the winter. They can be some pretty cool patterns. This frozen lake, covered in over 3′ of snow (deeper in some places, with drifts) was a nice place to wander around on and look for images.

The setting sun faded slowly across the lake, and I chased it’s light from shore to shore as it slipped into the night. Continue reading →

Winter in Black and white

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Black and white photo of a mountain, snow-capped, in winter, Crystalline Hills, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Here’s another unnamed mountain in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. I skied up the Lakina River a ways to take this photo. I’m looking forward to skiing further up the river and exploring the drainage a bit more – it’s a great place to look around, and doesn’t get too many folks visiting – particularly in the winter. There wasn’t even a snow machine trail up here, which in Wrangell St. Elias National Park in the winter is pretty rare. Continue reading →