Tag Archives: reflections

Mt Sanford Photo

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Alpenglow lights up the face of Mt. Sanford. Dawn and reflection in a small kettle pond, fall, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Alpenglow lights up the face of Mt. Sanford. Dawn and reflection in a small kettle pond, fall, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

hey Folks,

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; Continue reading →

Mt. Jarvis, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

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Sunrise glows on the peak of Mount Jarvis, and a near perfect reflection lights up a small alpine tarn in the Wrangell Mountains, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Sunrise glows on the peak of Mount Jarvis, and a near perfect reflection lights up a small alpine tarn in the Wrangell Mountains, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image to view a larger version of the photo.

Hey Folks,

Here’s a quick one I thought I’d post from the recent backpacking trip up around Mt Jarvis. This was from the 2nd morning spent at ‘Reflection Pond’.

A few mornings earlier I’d made a long dash thru the snow covered alpine country to try to catch this scene at first light. Alas, I was too late, and alpen glow, always all too brief, faded as I strolled over the tundra. So I got up a little earlier, and made sure I was in place in time this morning. The couple along on the trip, Tracey and Brad, from Chicago, were split on whether to come along. Brad stayed in camp, and Tracey joined me for the walk in near darkness over to this pond. It’s not easy to be woken at 5:00am from a sound sleep, and 5 minutes later clamber out of a tent in the dark, gather up all your camera gear, and hike a mile or so. Tracey managed it well though, and we go to this little tarn in good time. Great job Tracey.

The alpenglow and sunrise was really pretty, and I made a few images; this recent posting is from earlier the same morning. It was funny how quickly the color of the light changed. A warm, magenta/pink glow very rapidly became a nice warm yellow, then a cooler white as the sun rose. I’ve never seen it shift quite so quickly as it did this particular morning.

Another interesting note; it’s amazing to me how regularly a small breeze seems to kick up right at dawn, just as the alpenglow lights up a mountain peak, and ripples the surface of whatever pond I intend to photograph, obliterating a reflection. then, just as quickly, the breeze subsides and the reflection returns – always, just after the pink alpenglow ebbs away. I wonder if it’s some kind of temperature inversion or something that goes on, because it happens way too frequently. I’d be interested to see if others have seen this same thing happen a lot.

The Mt Jarvis trip was a great week. We got some nice photos, superb views, and I enjoyed the hang time with Brad and Tracey, 2 great folks, hardy souls, who braved the Wrangell mountains in September. Trust me, walking around at 7000-8000 feet in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in September is not for the timid. I’ll definitely be back there again and again.

NB: I’m currently in Katmai for 2 weeks. I’ll try to have a few posts scheduled for while I’m gone. don’t go away now, y’all.

Cheers

Carl

Wrangell Mountain Reflections

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Reflections in the morning, of fresh snow or termination dust on the Wrangell Mountains, near Mount Blackburn, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Reflections in the morning, of fresh snow or termination dust on the Wrangell Mountains, near Mount Blackburn, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image to view a larger version of the photo.

Hey Folks

Here’s another image, taken earlier, of the scene outside my tent door a few mornings ago. After spending the previous day in the rain, cold, sleet and snow, I went to bed hoping for an improvement in the weather.

All during dinner, I had watched the snowline on the peaks above camp come ever slowly down the mountains – lower and lower. Now, listening to the rain fall on my tent, I didn’t imagine much change happening.

Turning off my headlamp, it was lights out, and I had barely a flicker of hope for the rest of the hike – the continuing patter of rain falling on my tent a sound I was about done with. Eventually that sound faded and then ceased altogether – at first I thought it had simply turned to snow, but a glance outside confirmed that nope, the rain had actually stopped. Woo hoo! Continue reading →

Boreal Forest at Dawn

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Morning reflection, beaver pond, Wrangell St. Elias

Morning reflection, beaver pond, Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the thumbnail to view a larger version of the photo.

Hey Folks

Here’s a quick shot from my recent few weeks in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. I’m leaving in the morning for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and will return in 2 weeks. I’ll try to post something from that trip then. Until that time, I hope you enjoy this scene.

This photo was taken maybe an hour after dawn – around 4:30 am.

Cheers

Carl

Fireweed Mountain, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

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Fireweed Mountain and reflection, fall, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

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. You might recall some scenes of Fireweed Mountain in the winter I posted in the past.

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.

Cheers

Carl