Skolai Images

Hey Folks

Here’s the latest from the road! I shot this saturday evening, just before dark. I had long been looking to forward to bringing my parents thru the Canadian Rockies one fall, Jasper National Park in particular. I knew they’d love watching the elk in rut, hearing the bugles and feeling the energy of the place. We had an awesome day, and visited Maligne Lake where we hiked out for a mile or so along the shore, and enjoyed some quiet of the forest and nearby mountains, before walking back and having lunch down the road by Medicine Lake. A quick run into town for a milk shake, some email and shopping (my mother is a certified shopaholic) and we were back out in the park looking for elk. just before dark we found this bull and his harem. I grabbed my camera and tried to get some slow shutter speed images, blurring the motion of the elk as they moved about. I was really hoping I’d got this series right when it happened, as the bull looked awesome through the viewfinder. After dinner this evening, I browsed through the images from today and was glad to see this was pretty close to what I was hoping for. A nice bull elk image, conveying the frenetic energy of the rut, and the intensity of the great animals.

Photographing elk is an addiction, I’m the first to admit. The rut is so different to other ungulates because of the setting (majestic mountains ranges such as the Rockies), the crisp fall air, fall colors, and the bugling. That bugling is such an amazing sound. my mum asked my why the elk bulls bugle, and I wasn’t sure. Some say it’s an expression of dominance, a challenge to other bulls, or a call to females. It could well be an expression of the sheer exuberance of being alive and a part of this incredible experience. I think if I could bugle like that as the mist settles down on the pine forest in the Canadian Rockies, I probably would too!

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks,

Well, here’s a quick follow up. Ron inspired this post with his bear photos from his trip into the Yukon and BC. I shot these bears along the Alcan highway on my way north this summer. I sat in the vehicle, and shot out the window, so I allowed myself to get pretty close. The bears were very tolerant if I moved slowly, didn’t make a lot of noise and was generally respectful towards them. Other travellers stopped, and generally did the same, so we all had a nice time. However, some folks just amaze me.

This one guy drives by, screeches to a halt, backs up, looks at the bears for a while, opens his vehicle door, steps out, walks towards the bears (there were 3, these 2 and another cub), and starts taking pictures. I’m thinking “now this is crazy!” .. but I didn’t say anything .. the bears pretty much ignored him, at first. Then they started showing a little more interest, and I leaned out my window and said “hey man, if I were you, I’d hop back in the car. Those bears can move pretty fast, and it’s not worth messing around near them.”

He goes: “Ya think so?”

I said “yeah, you might wanna get back in your truck”.

He says “OK. I wonder momma bear is.”

I shook my head, once, twice, and then said “yeah, I have no idea. You better get back in your truck, sir”.

Fortunately, he did, and all was well. I do love a happy ending.

Cheers

Carl

PS - Here’s another photo of one of the cubs:

Hey Folks

Wow! Here I go and sy ‘Ill try to update this journal more often, and then I go and don’t post to it in 2 weeks. That’s not too hip. Sorry about that.

I’m looking forward to heading back over to Wrangell St. Elias National Park in a couple of days. Hopefully the weather forecast will in incorrect (which has been to happen) and the sun will shine. We’ll see.

I don’t really have any specific to write about. This photo was taken one evening in the Canadian Rockies, in Jasper National Park. I believe this mountain is part of the Colin Range, but I can’t be sure. I didn’t take notes, like I should have, and now I can’t recall. It’s an impressive slab of granite though .. way cool. The evening sun lights it up nicely in the summertime, and makes it even more impressive.

I’ll post a couple of grizzly bear photos in a few, just so I’m not outdone by Ron Niebrugge.

Cheers

Carl

hey Folks

Well, I made it. Many, many miles of sitting behind my steering wheel finally got me up to Alaska. And whata gorgeous day it is to arrive. This morning, as I made my way through the final couple hundred miles of the Yukon Territory, I saw moose, tundra swans, grizzly bears and a coyote. I managed to take a few images of the coyote, and also the bears as they grazed on the wildflowers and grasses. I saw a number of black bears in western and northern BC, but no grizzlies. Grizzlies are SO cool, it’s always a treat to see them, (more…)

Hey Folks

This is probably my lastpost from here in Jasper - well, maybe .. we’ll see about that. I’m expecting to scoot on outta here tomorrow, and head overto nearby Prince George, to meet some friends of mine there, then hit the long road up to Alaska. As much as I love Jasper, I haven’t had a great deal of success here this summer. Once again, I arose at 4am, headed for my planned destination, and waited and waited in the cold morning air for the sunlight to strike the peaks. The sky was relatively clear, and there had been no breeze at all down at camp. (more…)

Hey Folks,

Another bird! I haven’t had much luck with the weather for shooting landscapes, but I’ve been fortunate to get a few bird photos instead. This bald eagle photo was taken along the Athabasca River in Alberta’s Jasper National Park, just north of Banff, Canada. After a crappy morning (I was minutes late to Moraine Lake for sunrise, and missed the VERY brief glow of good light on the peaks there by mere seconds), I took off again and headed north, this time to Jasper National Park, one of my favorite places. (more…)

Hey Folks

Hola, from the road. I’m currently in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. I love this part of the world, but I don’t enjoy the crowds. I had to come in to the town of Banff today, to check some email, and do some errands. I can’t wait to finish, and get back out into the mountains. The crowds here drive me crazy. The traffic is insane, made worse by a bunch of road construction being undertaken right now. (more…)

Hey Folks,

I’m finally able to post here again - it’s been a busy week. I wanted to show a few more photos from ANWR, Alaska, and I though this one makes a strong case against the arguments to open the coastal plain to drilling. Another of the primary arguments put forward by those who support drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is (more…)

Hey Folks,

This is a photo of Mt. Logan and the Universty Range, with Mt. St. Elias in the background. Though Mt. Logan sits in the Kluane National Park and Reserve in southwestern Yukon Territory, Canada, this aerial photo was taken from Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, Alaska. Mt. Logan stands close to 20 000′ high, nearly as high as Denali, or Mt. McKinley, in Alaska, and with it’s awesome bulk, it’s every bit as grand. Mt. Logan is reputed to be one of the the largest mountains in the world in terms of sheer volume - the circumference of the base of Mt. Logan is greater than even Mt. Everest. (more…)

Hey folks,

I’ll try to intersperse a few Alaska photos in here with all the photos from Chile. It’s still only April and already I’m champin’ at the bit to get to Alaska and back in to Wrangell St. Elias National Park. Last year in September I had an opportunity to do some aerial photography of these mountains and it was absolutely awesome. I did a flight in the morning and another in the evening. This photo was taken on the 2nd flight, where we flew south from McCarthy towards Mt. St. Elias and Mt. Logan, the 2 highest peaks in the region. Mt. St. Elias is the highest peak in Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and stands 18,008 feet (5,489 metres), whilst Mt. Logan, the highest peak across the border in the Yukon Territory, Canada, stands 5,959 metres (19,550 feet) ASL (more…)