Tag Archives: Wrangell – St. Elias National Park

Mt Wrangell Photo

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

Mount Wrangell and reflection in a small kettle pond, fall, boreal forest, tundra, Mt Zanetti, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of the photo.

Hey Folks,

I had to step out for a bit.

I’ll be back in January, sometime.

Mebbe.

Until, enjoy this noisy, grainy picture I shot of Mt Wrangell last fall. ISO 1600, for no good reason other than my own stupidity. Read about that disaster here.

Gone, like a Nixon file, gone, gone away.

Cheers

Carl

Jingle This.

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Hey Folks,

A lil’ holiday spirit. As this is published, I’m probably somewhere right around here:

Black and white photo, boreal forest, Wrangell-St. Elias, winter, Alaska.

A black and white photo of the boreal photo in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, wintertime, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of the photo. And Happy Holidays, everyone!

Cheers

Carl

The Art of Learning; step toward the unknown

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Hiker looking up the Lakina River, Wrangell-St. Elias, Alaska

A backpacker/hiker stands and looks up the Lakina River drainage to the Lakina Glacier, on the side of Mount Blackburn. Wrangell mountains, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

If art is exploration, then perhaps one of the best modes of “practice” we might undertake is the challenge of the new; stepping outside our comfort realms and engaging something new. Stepping toward the unknown.

The process of learning is stimulating in itself, but I think it’s more than that, too. It’s stepping back and revisiting how to learn. Going through the process of picking up at the beginning, and working toward building a comfort level with some kind of form.

Art involves, essentially, that process. With that in mind, I find it great practice to pick up something I’ve not done before, something I know nothing about, and step into it. This winter, for example, my goal is to learn to telemark ski. I’d fooled with it briefly last year, but didn’t really understand or know the process. Also, as I found out this fall, had all the wrong gear for learning on. So, I’ve set myself up this winter with a nice rig, and taken some lessons.

The good news; what started out as essentially a “Special Ed” class is gradually molding into something resembling telemark skiing. It’s great fun, and quite a workout. On top of that, it’s stimulating! Continue reading →

Art; an exploration of the unknown

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Backcountry skiing on the Root Glacier, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Backcountry skiing, exploring the Root Glacier, with Stairway Icefall in the background. Springtime brings melt, opening a small pool of water on the glacier’s surface. Cross country skiing, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

I think art involves exploration, the process of stepping into the unknown, and taking a journey of sorts. In this way, I think we might relate the idea of art to the idea of “icon photography” discussed earlier. Seeking out the new is a vital fragment of making art, in my opinion.

At some point, we delineate art from craft. Art, to me, involves a greater element of the unknown, while craft is more a process of refinement and control. One hones one’s craft, but I don’t think that’s necessarily the case with art. Art might simply involve turning a new direction with each step (though maybe it doesn’t have to do so). We don’t have to refine anything.

On a trek through the mountains, I enjoy the exploration, the wander itself. Though I guide hikes in places I’m obviously familiar with, I make an effort to reserve at least a trip or 2 each season as an exploratory hike. This summer, for example, we’re heading to the Arrigetch Peaks in Gates of the Arctic National Park, a park I’ve visited once, my very first remote hike in Alaska (wow, what a great memory that is). Venturing into the unknown is an artful process; a game of chance. I don’t know what we’ll find on the trip, and that itself is motivation for the undertaking; to simply experience that gift of the hidden.

Jazz musicians understand this, every time they step to the mic to improvise a solo they do exactly this. That’s the beauty of jazz. That’s also the beauty of art. The other is artifact. Continue reading →

Photography Gear Insurance

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Backpacking to Mt Jarvis, Wrangell-St. Elias, Alaska.

A backpacker (me) sets out on a trek toward Mt Jarvis, in fresh fall snow, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

One of the most problematic issues with photography is also one of the most glaring; the cost of all this gear. A new pro camera can easily  cost anywhere from two thousand to eight thousand dollars. A second camera, assorted lenses, tripods, ballheads, etc, etc, etc .. it’s insane how much this can quickly add up to (not to mention increasing photo requests for < $75.00 usage – another topic).

Compounded by the fragility of most of this gear, photographers face a real issue; use it, be careful with it, and try not to have to spend more $$$ on it than necessary; i.e., don’t break it. So, given the fragility of the gear, for most of us, that means insurance.

Several years ago I researched this, and it seemed that, for me, a personal articles policy with State Farm was the best route to go. It wasn’t too costly, and yes, they covered all my gear, knew I used it professionally, and life was good. Just to clarify,

Me: “I use this photo gear professionally, is it covered?”
State Farm: “Yes”.

I added the cost to my car insurance, and moved on. Too easy.

This past fall I bought a brand new 500mm lens from Allen’s Camera in Levittown, Pennsylvania. Great folks, and a great price. I then went to my local State Farm rep, showed them the receipt and added the expensive lens to my list of insured gear. All good. Continue reading →

Winter’s comin

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Snowshoeing in Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Winter travel through the boreal forest, in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. Hiking on snowshoes through the snow-covered taiga, white spruce forest in winter. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of the photo.

Hey Folks,

Well, Fall’s well and truly over, now. I skied through a whiteout this afternoon, over in the Chugach Mountains, and decided winter’s here. So I think I’ll welcome the new season with a trip to “the park”, as I call Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.

The plan is to head over early this week and spend a few days on the north side of the park, snowshoeing and skiing around in the forest. I took this photo last winter on a trip to this same area; it’s always a treat to return and wander through the silent whiteness.

Winter is such a fascinating time of year in Alaska, so stark and silent, yet completely amazing. It lacks the vitality of the summer, but owns a kind of sublime depth that simply isn’t present at any other time of year. It’s very alive. Right now it hasn’t yet got down to the crazy winter temps of -40˚, but there should be plenty of snow around.

Tomorrow I’ll spend part of the day packing for the trip. Even though I’m only going to the park for a few days, colder weather means more gear, and more careful packing is required. Then, Tuesday, it’ll be off to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park to see what I can find to photograph. If nothing is on offer, I’ll just spend the time skiing a few areas I want to explore a little more, snowshoeing through the forest, and enjoying the greatest National Park in the world. 🙂

Cheers

Carl

RSS Feeds and WordPress

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Sunrise over Kuskulana River and the Kuskulana Gorge, fall colors, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Sunrise over Kuskulana River and the Kuskulana Gorge, fall colors, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

I received a note the other day (thanks Warren) about my RSS feeds being messed up. Is anyone else having any problems with it? Is anyone else subscribed to the RSS feeds? Does anyone else read this? Is anyone ACTUALLY out there?

No, seriously, if anyone is having any trouble with it, please let me know. The problem so far, is apparently twofold;

1) the feed seems to only offer the first 2 or 3 letters of the title of the post, and

2) posts get repeated in the feed.

I suspect the latter problem is my fault, for not unclicking the “Notify Subscribers” button at the bottom of the WordPress Dashboard when I edit a published post. I have no idea why the title of the post gets cutoff in the feed. I watch the blog through google Reader and it works fine for me (as an aside, google reader (Sadly google reader is no more) works great – I use it daily for my blog reading and newspapers.  If you’re unsure what a “reader” is, it’s a page you can set up for yourself, with your own account, like an email account, where you can subscribe to different “feeds” – such as blogs or newspapers, etc, etc. Everything the paper publishes with get posted, with headlines and usually a short blurb) in the reader – scan it for articles of interest, open them and read them – hence .. “reader“; tonsa fun!!!).

Anyway – so i’m not sure why the “”default” RSS feed tab format in FireFox web browser on a PC” shows my RSS feed all messed up. the titles (I saw via an email sent to me), say

“Aussiefoto (that’s me!) has published a new blog post: Stu..”
“Aussiefoto has published a new blog post: Bro..”
“Aussiefoto has published a new blog post: Ba..”

and on and on. If anyone out there has any ideas how to fix this so it works a bit more user friendly, please advise me, either in comments below, or via email. Thanks so much. And I’ll try to click “No” on the “Notitify Subscribers” button when I edit any posts I’ve published. I think that will solve the repeated postings problem ( I hope so – what I will REALLY try to do is properly edit my stuff BEFORE publishing it).

On to other more important matters. If you’re not subscribing to this blog, this might be a perfect time to sign up. And I’ll whack another 10% off  a print, up to 16″x20″, if you do so. just click on “Subscribe to the Blog Feed” below (you have to have an RSS reader setup), or enter your email in the box to the right and click “sign up” (this sends the post to you, without the photo, I believe, via email). That’s how easy it is. Networked Blogs (no longer functioning) is not an RSS feed, but it kinda works in a similar way. Kinda – you have to be on facebook to use it.

If you have a reader set up, you can also click on the appropriate widget in the sidebar, toward the bottom – there are options for Google Reader, (No longer an option) Yahoo, Newsburst (no longer), etc, etc. Google Reader is the best.(Update: as most of these RSS readers have gone by the wayside, I suggest you subscribe via the sidebar sign up).

That way, then you too can get messed up, repeated, truncated posts in your RSS feed. 🙂 Just kidding – hopefully, I’ll get the problem sorted out asap.

For what it might be worth, I am subscribed to about 50 feeds in my google reader; many of which are blogs by my friends, photographers, hikers, etc, but also newspapers and whatnot. All kinds of goodies. Some I delete if they don’t appease me. Most of the major newspapers offer a feed to particular subjects, such as “political news”, “sports”, international news”, “environment”, etc, etc. That way you can subscribe to just get feeds on subjects that might interest you. Worth setting up, in my opinion.

Again, if anyone can offer some input on how to rectify these 2 issues I just mentioned, I’d really appreciate. I’ll offer a print up to 8″x10″ if someone can solve it for me. Thanks.

Cheers

Carl

PS – oh .. the photo above is of the Kuskulana River .. folks who’ve been to McCarthy, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park might recognize the scene, the bridge goes right over it. In the fall, the colder temperatures slow the glacial melt down, and the river water level subsides dramatically; as does the amount of silt and dirt it carries, meaning it clears right up. Here it is almost a clear pristine turquoise – gorgeous, and not at all like the seething, roaring brown cesspit is can be in the summer.

Northern Lights photo

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The aurora borealis (northern lights) light up the night sky and a reflection glows in Dead Dog Hill Lake in the Mentasta Mountains, boreal forest, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

The aurora borealis (northern lights) light up the night sky and a reflection glows in the lake in the Mentasta Mountains, boreal forest, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of the photo.

Hey Folks,

Here’s another northern lights photo. This one I tried my darndest to catch the reflection in the foreground, but the slight breeze thwarted my every effort.

I’m seriously considering buying the Nikon 24mm 1.4 lens, specifically for northern lights photos. The difference in shutter speed with that lens, versus using a 2.4mm lens, is enormous.

For example, this northern lights photo was taken at f.28 and a shutter speed of 25 seconds. That means after the exposure, is then need to let the camera effectively take another 25 second exposure for noise reduction .. meaning the total time elapsed is 50 seconds. That’s a lot of time to be not shooting. it also means, with that long exposure, the lights tend to wash out a little, and lose definition that comes with a faster shutter speed.

Conversely, if you happen to be suffering from Strep throat induced diarrhea, the longer exposure can work to your benefit; you’ll certainly not be in any rush for the camera to finish doing it’s business while you tend your own. Just say’n, cause trust me, it CAN happen! 🙂

On the other hand, a lens with max aperture of 1.4 is 2 whole stops faster .. Continue reading →

Backpacking trip; Hidden Creek

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Backpacking up Hidden Creek, in the Wrangell Mountains, near Kennicott, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Backpacking up Hidden Creek, in the Wrangell Mountains, near Kennicott, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. To view a larger version of this image, please click on the photo above.

Hey Folks,

Here’s a shot again from the Hidden Creek backpacking trip this past summer. Well, if one can really call the last week of August in Alaska “summer”. We had a great time on the trip, as I mentioned in a few earlier posts, in particular because we were fortunate enough to have some fine weather. Those big sunny skies make the world of difference when you’re sleeping, eating and doing everything else under them.

I miss the summer already! Right now we’re kind of in that dead era between fall and winter. I’ve been back from my last trip (photographing grizzly bears in Katmai National Park) over 2 weeks now .. the longest stint i’ve spent inside the house since May. I think next week I’ll try to head to somewhere and sleep in my tent again. I need some wilderness, especially after sitting in a court room all week (so far) doing my civic service of jury duty.

This particular hike was rewarding as well,, because last year I did this section as part of a longer route, from Nugget Creek to Kennicott – 65 miles through the Wrangell mountains. However, most of the trip was under socked in, gray, cloudy skies, cold damp air and gusts of winds. It was a treat to get to see at least some of what we hiked through in the fog.

I think I’ll probably add this hike to my regular set of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park backpacking trips. It’s a flexible route, with a lot of options for detours, sidetrips, basecamps, extended hikes or shorter trips, etc, etc. And the scenery is simply superb. Continue reading →

Aurora Borealis photo

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Aurora borealis, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Aurora borealis photo. Using my vehicle headlights to light up the foreground a little bit. Northern lights, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of the photo.

Hey Folks,

An aurora borealis photo taken a few weeks ago.

I’ve never had the good fortune to shoot the aurora borealis on a well lit night; a clear night when the moon is full, or close to it, would be ideal. My luck always seem to run into a dark night, which makes for a great, great experience, but the photographs could benefit from some ambient light on the foreground.

So, in this particular instance, I turned on the lights of my van for a split second during the exposure.  It took me a couple of tries to get the balance right, and it’s far from ideal, but I kind of like this shot; taken along the Nabesna Road in mid-September. Continue reading →