Denali
We have talked about visiting Alaska for many years. It is a
long way and not inexpensive, but we finally decided to save up and take the
plunge. Our trip is quite busy and, so far, we have ended
 |
| Caribou |
days happily
exhausted with little energy for photo processing. I have been faithful at
downloading and backing-up the images and I've tried to keep up with labeling
while the information is still fresh, but at about that point I have generally
been ready to collapse into bed. In the first four days of the trip I have
already amassed over 1000 images. I will have a pile of work to do 
when we get
home and we will be getting back just as the foliage season begins. While
traveling, I'll try, when possible, to share a few of my favorite pictures and
experiences. I'm starting this article while doing a couple loads of laundry and
enjoying breakfast. at the "Suds & Sip" in Seward. The idea of a combination
Laundromat and cafe seems infinitely practical. Susan is thrilled with the
chance to start fresh with our clothes and we have the morning to explore the
town before we take a hike onto a nearby glacier.
Our flights to Anchorage was long but uneventful. We got in late in the day, made later by four hour time difference. Anchorage is an ordinary moderately sized city surrounded by dramatic mountains. This one city contains nearly half of Alaska's 730, 000 residents. The next day we headed up to Denali National Park and Preserve and for the first time we became aquatinted with the predominant factor for the first week of our trip, rain. The overcast and rain was, more or less, a constant presence although it never was heavy and tended more toward mist. The weather didn't prevent any activities, but it did affect the photography. Much more moody layers of clouds than brilliant blue skies. The mist provided a soft light that had its own attraction, but sadly we were among the 75% who never saw Denali (Mt McKinley).
Denali is a 6 million acre wilderness preserve whose dimensions
are impossible to truly comprehend. Unlike overcrowded parks
such as Yellowstone and Yosemite, Denali has been zealously protected from human
incursion. The Park has only one road which penetrates 90 miles into the
wilderness. Some years ago the road was largely closed to private vehicle
traffic and now, with the exception of a few rare permits, access is by either
National Park buses or private tours. I never like being trapped on a tour bus.
I hate being forced to follow someone else's schedule and I go crazy when I
don't have the freedom to stop whenever I see a a promising location. Despite
all the frustration, the buses in Denali did provide some important advantages.
First it is important to have a cooperative and knowledgeable bus driver. Our's
was very responsive to requests to stop whenever wildlife was spotted and he
knew precisely where we were most likely to see the animals. Other significant
advantages of being in a bus include the availability of many more eyes to scan
the hills for the often distant fauna and the fact that the bus provides a
taller viewing platform than the average car. Anyway photography is all about
managing with the conditions and on this day the conditions included overcast
and misty weather and viewing through a grimy bus window, which, thankfully,
dropped down for clear viewing.
when we get
home and we will be getting back just as the foliage season begins. While
traveling, I'll try, when possible, to share a few of my favorite pictures and
experiences. I'm starting this article while doing a couple loads of laundry and
enjoying breakfast. at the "Suds & Sip" in Seward. The idea of a combination
Laundromat and cafe seems infinitely practical. Susan is thrilled with the
chance to start fresh with our clothes and we have the morning to explore the
town before we take a hike onto a nearby glacier.Our flights to Anchorage was long but uneventful. We got in late in the day, made later by four hour time difference. Anchorage is an ordinary moderately sized city surrounded by dramatic mountains. This one city contains nearly half of Alaska's 730, 000 residents. The next day we headed up to Denali National Park and Preserve and for the first time we became aquatinted with the predominant factor for the first week of our trip, rain. The overcast and rain was, more or less, a constant presence although it never was heavy and tended more toward mist. The weather didn't prevent any activities, but it did affect the photography. Much more moody layers of clouds than brilliant blue skies. The mist provided a soft light that had its own attraction, but sadly we were among the 75% who never saw Denali (Mt McKinley).
Denali is a 6 million acre wilderness preserve whose dimensions
are impossible to truly comprehend. Unlike overcrowded parks
such as Yellowstone and Yosemite, Denali has been zealously protected from human
incursion. The Park has only one road which penetrates 90 miles into the
wilderness. Some years ago the road was largely closed to private vehicle
traffic and now, with the exception of a few rare permits, access is by either
National Park buses or private tours. I never like being trapped on a tour bus.
I hate being forced to follow someone else's schedule and I go crazy when I
don't have the freedom to stop whenever I see a a promising location. Despite
all the frustration, the buses in Denali did provide some important advantages.
First it is important to have a cooperative and knowledgeable bus driver. Our's
was very responsive to requests to stop whenever wildlife was spotted and he
knew precisely where we were most likely to see the animals. Other significant
advantages of being in a bus include the availability of many more eyes to scan
the hills for the often distant fauna and the fact that the bus provides a
taller viewing platform than the average car. Anyway photography is all about
managing with the conditions and on this day the conditions included overcast
and misty weather and viewing through a grimy bus window, which, thankfully,
dropped down for clear viewing.  |
| Grizzly Siteing |
Despite the challenges the trip was
amazing. We bumped along 90 miles each way over the narrow dirt road, often
clinging precariously to the sides of steep mountains. We traveled over a
succession of mountains and through deep valleys all with no other sign of human
impact. Along the way we found all of the expected wildlife. Moose, Caribou,
Dall Sheep and Grizzly Bears were spotted, although the animals were often seen
from a distance. I was very happy to have my 100-400 mm zoom. I could have added
a 2x Tele-Extender, but I found it more than sufficiently challenging trying to
hold 400mm stable out the window of a bus which stopped, but never ceased
rumbling. With a sufficiently fast shutter speed and the use of Susan's small
back pillow to dampen the vibration, I was able to capture some reasonable
images, but I would have loved to have been able to use my tripod. The
challenges of the distant animals was more than offset by the endless succession
of dramatic landscapes at every turn. The overcast weather was a disappointment
and, sadly, we never saw Denali, but the low cloud layers provided a dramatic,
migrating veil to the peaks. The sky partially cleared on the trip back and we
were luck to catch a fleeting rainbow.
precariously to the sides of steep mountains. We traveled over a
succession of mountains and through deep valleys all with no other sign of human
impact. Along the way we found all of the expected wildlife. Moose, Caribou,
Dall Sheep and Grizzly Bears were spotted, although the animals were often seen
from a distance. I was very happy to have my 100-400 mm zoom. I could have added
a 2x Tele-Extender, but I found it more than sufficiently challenging trying to
hold 400mm stable out the window of a bus which stopped, but never ceased
rumbling. With a sufficiently fast shutter speed and the use of Susan's small
back pillow to dampen the vibration, I was able to capture some reasonable
images, but I would have loved to have been able to use my tripod. The
challenges of the distant animals was more than offset by the endless succession
of dramatic landscapes at every turn. The overcast weather was a disappointment
and, sadly, we never saw Denali, but the low cloud layers provided a dramatic,
migrating veil to the peaks. The sky partially cleared on the trip back and we
were luck to catch a fleeting rainbow.
The next day we were heading for
Talkeetna, but before turning south we returned to the park and drove the first
15 miles of the Park Road which is open for private vehicles. The day before I
had seen a collection of brilliantly yellow poplars in front of a rock
outcropping on the Savage River at mile 15, but I had missed the shot. The
weather was still overcast but we were able to hike along the river and I got
the image I was looking for.
On neither day in Denali did we get a good
image of a Moose, but on the drive to Talkeetna we came across a Moose with two
young calves right on the edge of the road. It just proves that the wilds of
Alaska follow no artificial man-made boundaries.
 |
| Roadside Moose |
I will try to post more
images as we continue on our travels, but, for the rest of our time in Alaska,
we will be on a small boat plying the bays and Fiords of Southeast Alaska.
Internet access on the boat promises to be expensive or nonexistent and so this
rushed posting May be my last from the trip. I guess I'll just need to be
satisfied with a fantastic experience.
I apologize for the roughness of this blog. I am stealing wi fi from a café in Pertersburg and my battery is about to die.
Jeffrey Newcomer
Partridgebrookreflections.com
Jeffrey Newcomer
Partridgebrookreflections.com
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