Seward & The Kenai Fjords

 

Part 3 of Our Alaskan Travels
Since returning from our trip to Alaska late last summer, I have been working in spells on the over 5,000 images that I brought back from that amazing adventure. Given all the distractions of our

Fleeting Bear

glorious New England autumn and the depths of this winter's bounty, it has been a slow process. I needed a kick in the butt and Susan provided it by signing me up to give a presentation about the trip to the local Rotary Club next week and I have been scurrying to get a collection of the images into a PowerPoint presentation. The biggest challenge has been to select pictures that will fit into the mere 30 minutes that I have been allotted for the talk. I could easily go on for an hour or two. I don't think I have ever presented a talk that was less than 60 minutes! My plan is to try to focus on the remarkable wildlife from the trip, letting much of the spectacular landscape and the travelogue stuff stay in the can for future, and longer talks.

A Short Digression on the Number of Images
5,000 sounds like a lot of pictures, but in truth the great mass of my images comes from my habit of capturing different angles and

Horned Puffins

multiple exposures from every scene. When capturing a scene which possesses interesting depth, I will typically grab at least 3 images, one each focused on the foreground, background and on the middle zone and that number is often multiplied by experimentation with different f stops. When photographing hand-held, I like to shoot in burst mode, finding that the second or third shot, after a jitter inducing shutter poke, will be sharper. By the time I finish selecting the best angles and the sharpest exposures, and have blended focus-stacked images, I will be happy if I end up with a couple hundred keepers. Such a waste of valuable pixels? Thank goodness for digital photography.





Back to Alaska
Since I have been spending the last few days wandering through the Alaska images, I thought that this would be a good time to put together the third installment of my Alaska Blogs. The first two covered the immense Denali National Park and our jet boat trip up the wild Susitna River to the rapids of Devils Gorge. This week I will share the next chapter of our adventure traveling south to Seward on the Kenai Peninsula and the Kenai Fjords. It will mostly be an album of my favorite images. The pictures are what tell the story.

To Seward
After our trip on the Susitna River we headed south from Talkeetna back through Anchorage on a lovely late afternoon and evening drive to Seward. Along the way we stopped just long enough in Wasilla to confirm that, in fact, you CAN'T see Russia from Sarah's home town. On the way south, we were rewarded with occasional glimpses of the sun , but by the time we arrived in Seward we were back in the overcast and rain.

Seward Harbor

Exit Glacier

Exit Glacier

Seward is located south of Anchorage on the Kenai Peninsula. It is named after William H. Seward, who negotiated the purchase of Alaska while Secretary of State under Andrew Johnson. On our first day we toured the nearby Exit a Glacier and were able to hike down to the Glacier's toe. The Exit Glacier is the most accessible of the nearly 40 Glaciers coming off the massive Harding Ice Field and, like most Glaciers, It has receded many miles in the last decades.





The Kenai Fjords

Restless Coast, Kenai Fjords

Bear Glacier

Kenai Fjords Cruise

On our second day on the Kenai Peninsula we took a day-long cruise around the Kenai Fjords. The views of the pristine rugged coast were spectacular and for this one day we actually enjoyed beautiful sunny weather. We cruised from Resurrection Bay
along the coast and up the Northwestern
Fjord to its terminus at Northwestern Glacier.  This tidewater Glacier is named after Northwestern University which had sent an early party

Glacial Cocktail Ice

to explore the region.  The deeply sculpted fjords dramatically revealed the awesome effect of the ice flows as, over centurys, they carved the landscape.  All that persistent strength was still hard to comprehend as we examined some of the ancient, but crystal clear, glacial ice floating in the bay.

Northwestern Glacier

Northwestern Fjord

Lone Sentinel, Stellar Sea Lions

As impressive as were the rocky shores and massive glaciers, the best part of the cruise was the varied wildlife. We saw Sea Lions basking on the rocks and Horned Puffins nesting on the shear cliffs. Grizzlies were prowling the steep banks of the fjords although we never got close enough to adequately capture their fleeting appearances.

Horned Puffin, Kenai Fjords

 







On the way back we were able to get close to a number of Humpback Whales including a mother and her calf playfully cruising the shore and periodically entertaining us with flamboyant breaching.

Sea Otter

All-in-all it was an amazing day with bright sunlight, flat seas and wonderful wildlife. On our return to Seward, we threw our gear

Denali From Anchorage,  It Counts !

into the car and headed back up the Seward Highway to Anchorage. On the way we caught a spectacular rainbow over the Turnagain Arm. In Anchorage we enjoyed dinner with an old friend from Keene New Hampshire and, from the 20th floor of the hotel, we had our trip's only distant view of Denali (Mt McKinley). The Mountain was over 200 miles away in the fading light and shot tangentially through the glass with Susan's camera, but, hey, I got my shot of the Denali - It counts!

Turnagain Arm

Dinner with Laura & Friends, Anchorage

The next morning we flew off to Juno to start our cruise among Alaska's southeastern islands aboard the National Geographic Sea Bird, but that will be the subject of the next one or two blogs.







Alaskan Blogs (More to Come)

• Denali National Park
• Talkeetna and Susitna River Cruise

Jeffrey Newcomer
Partridgebrookreflections.com

Galapagos Islands a Photographic Journey, Part 2

Like No Place on Earth

It is now about four years ago that Susan and I went on a dream trip, 600 mile off the coast of Ecuador,  to the magical Galapagos Islands.  It was our most unique journey and I'm not sure why it has taken me so long to finish posting about the experience.  Back last spring, I posted about the first part of the trip, and I' am only now getting back to complete the story.  I'm giving a talk next week about the Galapagos to a women's group in Keene and that finally gave me the excuse to finish part 2.

 

In December of 2010 we joined a photography cruise among the Galapagos Archipelago aboard the National Geographic ship the Endeavour.  This trip focused on photography with the timing and pace of our explorations arranged to meet the needs of serious photography.  The Galapagos is a paradise for wildlife and nature photographers and in this discussion of the second half of our trip I will focus on the images.  Check out my first post for more information about the trip and the Galapagos Islands.  I will only repeat my admonition from last time.  If you have a chance to go to the Galapagos, don't think, just go!

Isabela and Fernandina Islands

Cave Along the Punta Vincente Roca

On the morning of our fourth day we had traveled around the north end of Isabela, the largest island of the Galapagos Archipelago and in the process  crossed the equator twice.  In the morning we boarded Zodiacs to explore the rugged lava cliffs of Punta Vincente Roca.  The western islands are

Galapagos Peguin

younger with more active vulcanism resulting in a terrain that is dominated by barren lava flows, but, because of cool, nutrient rich, up-flowing currents, the shore was teaming with wildlife. The show included Sea Lions, Marine Iguanas, Sea Turtles, and the Galapagos Penguins.  Later we snorkeled among the amazing variety of ocean fauna.  I had a

Cormorant "Wings"

chance to tail a giant Sea Turtle and watch schools of fish reacting to the presence of Black Tipped Sharks.  In the afternoon, we explored Punta Espinosa on Fernandina Island. The ropy lava flows provided perfect cover for the carpets of Marine Iguana, and we got a close look at the comic appearing Flightless Cormorants.  These birds improved their swimming capabilities by evolving away from winged flight.  Their useless stubby wings look ridiculous, but, since the birds have no predators that might require an airborne escape, wings no longer provided a survival advantage .



 Wing Drying

Santa Cruz (Day 5)

Puerto Ayora Fish Market with Friends

Although the Galapagos Islands are 97.5% uninhibited park land there are a few small settlements. Puerto Ayora is a town of 15,000 people on Santa Cruz Island.  It is the home of the Charles Darwin Research Station which works to understand and protect the unique qualities of

Baby Tortoise Learning a Lesson
at the Darwin Station

the Archipelago.  The station is noted for its  Giant Tortoise breeding program and, until recently, the presence of "Lonesome George".  George was the last surviving member of the subspecies of Pinta Island Tortoises.  Sadly years of attempts to crossbreed George with willing mates failed and he died, without progeny, on June 24th 2012.   He was over 100 years old.

Lonesome George, Rest in Peace

After a touch of civilization in Puerto Ayora, we traveled into the damp and surprisingly verdant highlands of Santa Cruz and had the opportunity to mingle with migrating Tortoises.  These magnificent ancient beasts travel at a glacial pace across the fields and seemed little concerned with our approach as long as we matched their slogging pace.  We discovered that the migrating Tortoises are all male.  The females  are smart enough to let the males do all the work.

 A Quick Video of Slow Tortoises

Cerrro Dragon and Sombrero Chino (Day 6)

Cerro Dragon is know for its restored population of Land Iguanas.

Land Iguana

 The color of these animals has evolved to match the arid brown soil of their surroundings.  They provide a  stark contrast with the black Marine Iguanas that bask on the lava flows by the sea.  Cerro Dragon means "Dragon Hill" and refers to a beautiful peak which dominates the island.  I was lucky to catch a Gray Pelican lounging in front of the hill during our sunrise visit to the beach.

Dragon Hill and Grey Pelican

The afternoon included more snorkling and a lovely sunset across the aptly named Sombrero Chino, or "Chinese Hat".

Sunset Over Chinese Hat

Bartolome & Santiago (Day 7)

From Bartolome Peak

 In the early morning of our last full day of the cruise, we climbed the 359 foot peak on little Bartolome Island.  To avoid erosion the trail has a wooden walkway with 372 steps.  The climb was challenging, but the view was well worth the effort.  We were treated to a stark volcanic panorama across the moon-like landscape of the eastern shore of Santiago.  Later we had time to leisurely explore two beaches populated by frolicking Sea Lions, Sally Lightfoot Crabs, Sea Turtles and flocks of Frigates and other sea birds.  

Sally Lightfoot Crab

Lava Heron

Our last hike of the cruise was along the shore of Puerto Egas on the western side of Santiago.  The point overlooks Buccaneer Cove, which was once a favorite anchorage for pirates.  The hike was notable for the wide variety of sea and coastal birds wandering the shore.  These

Yellow Warbler

included Yellow Warblers, Lava Herons and American Oystercatchers.  The Sea Lions appeared to be enjoying the warm early evening light, basking on the Lava rocks and gazing at the

American Oystercatcher

surf as the swells crashed against the shore. It was a lovely evening and a fitting conclusion to an amazing trip.  We all were reluctant to board the Zodiacs for the ride back to Endeavor.

The next morning we were back in Baltra.  After the flight to Guayaquil Susan and I flew to Ecuador's mountain capital of Quito to spend a couple of days with friends who live in the city.  We then spent a few days birding at Maquipucuna in the Andean cloud forest.  It was a fascinating experience, but that will be another story, or blog.

 Our Galapagos trip was truly a once in a lifetime experience. Lindblad and National Geographic did a wonderful job designing a cruise with the serious photographer in mind.  And the food was great.  We will be doing another Lindblad photography cruise to Alaska this summer and I expect a fantastic experience, but it seems unlikely to match our cruise among the totally unique Galapagos Islands.

I can only repeat, if you get a chance to go to the Galapagos, Don't Think, Just GO!

Surf on James Bay

For more images of the Galapagos :

My Web Site Galapagos Gallery

My Flickr Galapagos Set

Part One of My Galapagos Blog

Jeffrey Newcomer

Partridgebrookreflections.com

Taking a Fresh Look at Your Photography

How did I miss this yawning Galapagos Sea Lion?

Dope Slaps From the Past

Last week, as I was preparing my article about dealing with Chromatic
Aberration, I searched my RAW archives for images that demonstrated the phenomena. I eventually found some good examples, but I was reminded that, whenever I wander about in my archives, I always find neglected treasures. Images that I can't believe I left behind, unrealized.  All of the images here, except the broad Brattleboro glade, were rediscoverd during this one search.

Maine Shore Rediscovered

Pemaquid Shore, Maine

New Harbor Buoys, Maine

I know why it happens. When I get home from a shoot, I upload the images, convert them to DNG, geotag them, add appropriate meta data and rename. I then dive in, excited to get to work on the pictures with the most potential. There are always images that are obvious misses. I delete some, but not as many as I should. If I'm lucky there are a few that are worth further effort. I try to remember to label these with a yellow flags. As I complete work on the best, I change the flag to green on the parent RAW files, but inevitably, before I can get back to all my "yellows", I come back from my next shoot and the poor orphan images are forgotten. 


 Autumn Rediscovered

Minnewawa Brook, Marlborough, NH

Golden Ferns, Spofford, NH

Bratttleboro Glade, My first Look

The sadly neglected images may be of entirely different subjects, but more often they are just different perspectives on familiar locations. The remarkable thing is that, when I return to these archives after months or years, I see them with a fresh eye. My usual thought is, "How could I have possibly missed that!". It is like mining for hidden treasure. Of course, when I find "new" images, I have to stop and edit them right away. I know that, if I move on, they may be lost forever. Last fall I captured
 some shots of the leaves outside of my old office in Brattleboro, Vermont. I ended up printing a nice broad image of the glade, but when I revisited the archive last week, a previously ignored close-up leaped out at me. After a well desired, self-inflicted, dope slap, I got to work on the image and now I like it much better than the original, rather routine, rendering.

I prefer this, new found, view of the glade in Brattleboro

 So my quick search for Chromatic Aberration became an exciting, several hours long, treasure hunt. I salvaged images from a previous ride along the Maine coast, autumn color from seasons past, our trip to Yellowstone last summer and from our amazing 2009 trip to the Galapagos Islands.



 Yellowstone Rediscovered

Faithful Run-Off, Yellowstone

Blue Recovery: Fringed Gentian

 

The value of a fresh look is remarkable and I urge you to take the

Sally Lightfoot Watching the Galapagos Sunset

journey regularly. You have a treasure chest of lonely pixels just waiting to be liberated. As for me, I plan to make a habit, each month, of scanning the archives from previous years. Not only do I expect to find “new” images, but I trust I will be reminded of locations that are worth another visit, perhaps with a new perspective. So get your fresh eye focused, dive back into those archives and get ready for the dope slaps.


Galapagos Islands Rediscovered

Galapagos Sea Lion Blocking our way home