Skolai Images

Hey Folks,

Here’s another from the summer, from our Bremner to Tebay trip. Brings back some nice memories.

Oh, and please add my name after Colin Powell’s in the list of those who officially announce their endorsement of Barack Obama for pres. Or his name after mine, whichever order works best.

Cheers
Carl

Hey Folks,

Here’s another from my aspen boles project. I simply took a long exposure, and slowly moved the camera up and down as the image was exposed. I found I had t be careful to really limit the movement sideways, and keep it as vertical as possible, for a decent photo. It’s fun experimenting with this stuff, I think.

On another note, I might not be able to post too much more. I’m getting ready to buy a snowboard, and may well be unable to move any of my limbs within a few weeks. Pray for me.

Cheers
Carl

Hey Folks,

Here’s an image from my most recent venture into the park. I’ve never really tried this kind of technique with photography too much, but I kind of enjoyed the results. Some of them, anyway. It was interesting to me to edit this series of photos - abstract images emote so differently, and I’ve not a lot of practice in that field, so I felt I wasn’t really sure what I was supposed to be looking for. The technical aspect of photos is so dominant in more orthodox imagery, so editing become somewhat rote; check sharpness, exposure, etc. But abstract imagery requires a different process, and I find it hard to edit (more…)

Hey Folks,

Just as a head’s up - unfortunately, my posting here is about to slow down considerably. I, apparently, have a great deal of work to catch up on. And I was hoping, if things worked out well, I’d have some good internet time in the next few months .. but that appears to be unlikely now. I’ll try to keep posting here as possible, it’ll be a little slower for a while, I think. Bummer, eh?

In moving along with my ’showing some older, pre-blog-photo-era images, I thought I’d post a bald eagle image. This is from the winter of 2002. (more…)

Hey Folks,

So here’s the reason why the bus that I thought would take me to the park entrance (see this post). I got on the bus and heard the driver talking about ‘wonder if the wolves would still be there’. Immediately perked up, leaned forward, and eavesdropped my a** off. Turns out a pack of wolves had killed a caribou bull not far off the road, and the whole pack had been feeding all morning whilst I was walking around the backcountry chasing some stupid moose. I finally start to get this story, thru the bits and pieces I could overhear, as the bus pulls into Eielson visitor Center for a scheduled stop. Now, I know the bus drivers have a schedule to keep, but if there’s a wolf pack feeding on a caribou carcass down the road, IMO schedules ought be abandoned. (more…)

Hey Folks,

So, I’m back to the ‘photos from the past’ section. I’ll post a few more from my recent stay in the park, but wanted to post this, a favorite of mine, from Denali National Park a few years. This was probably one of the greatest days I ever had photographing. I hiked my tail off all morning after this bull moose - I was just finishing breakfast on what was to the be the last day of a 2 day stay in Denali Park, and I really wanted to get something worthwhile. The weather was pretty gnarly, but it was my last day, and I hadn’t much to show for 12 days of staying hunkered down in my little 1 person tent in wind, rain, sleet, snow and cold. So I sat drinking coffee glassing the surrounding tundra with my binoculars, hoping for some wildlife; any wildlife. At last I see this bull moose wandering over a ridge, WAAAAYYYYYY off in the distance. I mean, far, far away. But what the heck, I hadn’t anything else to do other than pack up my gear and head out of the park, right? So I grab my camera and start walking. It took me nearly an hour of solid hiking, (more…)

hey Folks,

Here’s a male spruce grouse that I photographed a week or so ago. These birds are SO cool, and will completely bury themselves under the snow in the winter, blasting up from their hides in a frenzied eruption of snow, feathers and noise when you stroll by - and scaring the hiker immeasurably in the process.

I’ve not had any luck with photographing grouse in the park before, though I have photos from other places, so this one I was glad to catch.

Male spruce grouse, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks,

I’m winding down my short stay here in McCarthy, prepping for the winter. I’ve painted half the inside of the cabin, chopped a bunch of wood, and done a few other odds and ends. I also scouted out a few photo opportunities for this winter, though I didn’t get to shoot much this last few weeks.

We got a solid dumping of snow almost a week ago, and most of it is still packed on the ground - the temps have hovered around 40 deg most days, so there’s not much melting. As I write this, a few lonely snow flakes drift down from the clouds - and from the looks of things, another snow storm is not far away.

I’ll be heading back towards Anchorage in the next few days, where I’ll stay for a while to do website updates, photo editing, other office work, etc - it’s a tedious time at the end of summer. Once I get that stuff tended to, I’ll stock up on food and supplies, and return to the cabin for the winter. I’m keen to venture a little further afield this year, explore the place in more detail, and try to get some good winter shots. I think I’m a bit better prepped this year, and have a better idea of how this all works. We’ll see.

The summer is now gone, too quickly, as always. They say fall has just begun, but I’m pretty sure it’s gone too - unless by ‘fall’ they mean ’snowfall’ - my car outside is slowly getting a nice covering of the white stuff. As always, I’m already thinking about tentative plans for next summer. I don’t know yet exactly what they’ll entail (hence ‘tentative’) but at this point, I’m fairly certain they’ll include a good deal of me wandering around the mountains of Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, looking for some sunshine.

Cheers

Carl

hey Folks,

Here’s one of my favorite images - a whitetail buck photo from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, in Tennessee. Cades Cove in November/December is one of my FAVORITE places, and I’ll miss not being there this year, the 3rd year in a row that I’ve not been there. When I was in Atlanta, in years gone by, I’d look forward every year to heading up to the Cove to photograph the whitetail deer rut. The bucks are in their prime this time of year, and truly a glorious creature. One of the treats of returning each year was to run into the same bucks, year after year, it’s akin to running into old friends. This buck is one of the larger bucks, with a great wide 8 point rack, easily identified by his tiny little brow tines, the shorter ones directly above his ears. He was ever such a placid animal, though he did get a little feisty when other bucks came into his domain. (more…)

hey Folks,

Here’s another image from a few years ago - on a trip to Wolverine, a ridge high above the Chittistone River in Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, Alaska. The Twaharpies Mountains lie south of the ridge, across the river, and came out late this evening with some gorgeous light. The peaks are pretty cool - classic alps. Just east of this peak lie the University Range, home to Mount Bona and Mount Churchill. Wolverine is a local name for the (officially) unnamed ridge on the north side of the Chittistone River, and a great spot for a basecamp or a point to point hike - I usually hike from Skolai Pass west to Wolverine, but some folks like to do it in the other direction. It’s a classic alpine walk, through some of the most magnificent scenery I’ve ever stumbled my way through. There’s a crazy butte on the north side of the ridge, like something out of the desert southwest, but all around are jagged craggy peaks, like the Twaharpies.

Maybe I’ll continue on with a short series of images from years gone by, rather than continually posting new photos. This counts as 2.

Cheers

Carl