Archive for the ‘People’ Category
Thursday, March 11th, 2010
A tourist hiker stands beside the shores of Moraine Lake and watches people canoeing on the lake The grand scenery of Moraine Lake and the Wenkchemna Peaks, or 10 Peaks at Moraine Lake make the area a popular tourist destination for hiking, canoeing, photography and adventures. Hiker, Moraine Lake, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. Click the image to see how good I look in red.
hey Folks
I was scanning through some images recently and stumbled on to this one. Here’s me in stunning mauve at Moraine Lake, Banff National Park, in Alberta Canada.
Most photographers know how much difference putting a person or 2 in the photo can make to the salability of an image. And adding some color makes a difference as well.
But the image must tell a story. For stock photography, the more generic the story might be, the more possible different uses it might have. This could be a tourist, a hiker, someone lost, a photographer, etc. It could even be someone advertising Arcteryx jackets.
But the real story of this photo, for me, is my first time to Moraine Lake. I spend a whole day just soaking up the grandeur of this place. I can think of very few places that are so simply pretty as the Canadian Rockies. They’re almost picture perfect. Many other places have a wonder all their own, and I’d never forsake the wildness of Wrangell – St. Elias National Park, for example, for the Canadian Rockies. But for sheer ‘hop out of the car and be amazed’ classical mountain beauty, the Canadian Rockies have it going on.
I’d been to Jasper National Park a few times, photographing wildlife there. I’d driven through Banff in order to get to Jasper. And I’d thought to myself ‘wow, Banff is pretty’ more than once. But the first time I drive up to Moraine Lake, got out the car and walked over to the lake, it just floored me. I walked along the lake’s edge, and sat and stared at everything. At the detail or these incredible peaks above me, the silence of the montane forest, and that water. That amazing water. It just absolutely blew me away.
They day was cloudy, it was early in the summer, and few people were around; those that were had taken rental canoes out on the lake, and I had the shoreline pretty much to myself. So I just sat and soaked it in. If you ever go to Banff National Park, and I recommend that you do, at least once in your life, give yourself plenty of time up at Moraine Lake. It takes time just to see it – you can’t stand at the overlook, glance around, and see it all. give yourself a day, and embrace the place. Your life will be richer for it.
More photos of Banff National Park.
Cheers
Carl
Tags: Alberta, Banff National Park, Canada, Carl Donohue, hiking, Moraine Lake, Skolai Images, tourist
Posted in Adventures, Backpacking and Hiking, Banff National Park, Canada, Lakes, Landscape features, Mountains, People, Photography, Travel | 2 Comments »
Friday, December 18th, 2009
Hiker on the Bremner Mines to Tebay Lakes backpacking, Wrangell St. Elias National park and Preserve, Alaska.
Hey Folks
While I’m working on updating my website, I stumbled on this image from our Bremner Mines to Tebay Lakes trip a few years ago. That little rocky outcrop has this big crack right through it, so standing on the boulder was somewhat …. uhhhmm .. mad. That drop off goes all the way down to the Little Bremner River below. Still, that’s what Texans are for, right? 
Mark was good enough to stand on it while I snapped a few photos.
This is one of my favorite hikes, and I’m aiming to do it again this coming summer, 2010. If I ever get done with overhauling this darn website. Pesky stuff.
Cheers
Carl
Tags: Alaska, Alaskan Alpine Treks, backpacking, Bremner Mines, Carl Donohue, glacier, hiker, hiking, images, National Park, People, photos, Tebay Lakes, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, Wrangell St. Elias
Posted in Adventures, Alaska, Backpacking and Hiking, Glaciers, Landscape features, Mountains, People, Summertime, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park | 1 Comment »
Monday, October 26th, 2009
Mt. Blackburn stands tall to catch the sun’s first rays of alpenglow, high above the Kennicott Valley, early fall, Wrangell – St. Elias National Park, Alaska.
Hey Folks,
I just visited my friend Mark Graf’s great blog, and read with interest his commentary on mountains and the import and grandeur of nature, the role it can play in our lives. Mark prefaces his post with the legendary John Muir, so I’ll do the same:
“Walk away quietly in any direction and taste the freedom of the mountaineer. Camp out among the grasses and gentians of glacial meadows, in craggy garden nooks full of nature’s darlings. Climb the mountains and get their good tidings, Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. As age comes on, one source of enjoyment after another is closed, but nature’s sources never fail. – John Muir, Our National Parks, 1901”
While I think it’s a fantastic photo Mark posted, and a great post, (I’d ask that you read it and the comments that follow) I have to be the lone opponent in the discussion here; (more…)
Tags: AK, Alaska, alpenglow, Carl Donohue, color, Fall, images, John Muir, Mark Graf, Mount Blackburn, Mountains, Mt Blackburn, nature, photos, sunrise, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, Wrangell St. Elias
Posted in Alaska, Environmental Issues, Fall, Glaciers, Landscape features, Mountains, Musings, People, Rants, Trees, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park | 9 Comments »
Friday, October 16th, 2009
“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child — our own two eyes. All is a miracle.” – Thich Nhat Hahn.
Hey Folks,
Well, with all the comments about landscapes versus bear photos on the last few pages, I thought I’d try a compromise. I know, I know, compromises end up pleasing no one, right? Well, so be it.
This is possibly the last photo I took on my trip last month, a sunset over Naknek Lake – I was hoping for some nice clear skies the following morning – and actually had a big sunrise – but then it clouded over, very soon afterward, and no good light was had for the morning shooting. Then I had to pack and get ready for the plane to come pick me up. The trip was all over too soon.
The photo is one exposure, so no real photoshop trickery – I even left the gull in the bay (@ Ron ).
The real reason I wanted to post this photo was, honestly, a talk I went to listen to tonight, at a local bookstore, by a great Alaskan writer, Bill Sherwonit. (more…)
Tags: AK, Alaska, animals, bears, Brown bears, Carl Donohue, Grizzly Bears, images, Katmai, Katmai National Park, Landscape features, mammals, Mt. La Gorce, Naknek Lake, photos, scenics, sunset, Ursus arctos, Wildlife
Posted in Alaska, Environmental Issues, Fall, Grizzly Bears, Katmai National Park, Lakes, Landscape features, Mountains, Musings, People, Wildlife | 7 Comments »
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009
Hey Folks,
What would be the name of this Mountain? We’ve all heard how hard hiking in Alaska is, right? Here’s a tough morning.
Cheers
Carl
Tags: AK, Alaska, Carl Donohue, females, hiker, hiking, Mt Drum, photos, reading, recreation, relaxing, woman, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, Wrangell St. Elias
Posted in Adventures, Alaska, Backpacking and Hiking, Glaciers, Landscape features, Mountains, People, Summertime, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park | 1 Comment »
Thursday, July 16th, 2009
Hey Folks,
I ran across what is easily the biggest moose rack I’ve ever come across in the woods a few days ago. I was on the last leg of a hike in Wrangell – St. Elias National Park, from the Sanford River drainage over the Sanford Plateau, and down to the Dadina River. Natalie (pictured) and I were sauntering through the forest, along the Dadina River when I spotted this rack, not far from the game trail we were walking along. This was one BIG bull moose – I don’t know what happened to the grand old fella, but he’s bones now. He must’ve been a pretty awesome creature back in the day. There are a number of wolves in the area, and grizzly bears as well, and I’m sure he fed them well, along with the myriad other carnivores in the region – wolverine, fox, marten, gulls, ravens, eagles, etc. What a treat it must’ve been for them when he passed, and what a treat it would’ve been to see him walking through the forest beforehand. RIP, great bull.
Some of you might remember I did this hike last summer, and we found this awesome natural ice arch on the Sanford Glacier. Sad to say, the arch has had its day. We hiked up the moraine and crested the ridge right before the arch, only to see a huge gaping gap between the 2 side walls – no bridge at all. Ironically, a couple who were up there the week prior to our trip said the arch was still there, so we only missed it by a few days. It seems the arch collapsed under glacial movement, not melting, as the left side of the gap is noticeably higher than it used to be – in fact, the wall ascends away from the gap, where it used to descend. So I’m pretty sure pressure from the glacier caused the collapse of the arch, not melting – though melting may have been a contributing factor, as the summer has been hot, hot hot so far. Except, of course, for the day we hiked up to the now gone arch – it rained like a sonuvagun that day – so no pics of the fallen arch. I should’ve taken a picture, instead, of me, drenched to the bone, in my failed (and now history) Marmot Precip raingear. The jacket and pants had done their time and now are beyond redemption. Fortunately, it didn’t rain again for the rest of the trip until the final night, when I was tucked away in my very dry tent. I should’ve known better than to carry my old gear, but I thought it might still work reasonably well. Alas, it didn’t and I got a soaking. Toughened me up though.
Heading out tomorrow for a week at Skolai Pass. Woo hoo. I’ll try to schedule another post while I’m away, from this last trip, but it’s hard – summer’s the time for hiking, not blogging.
Cheers
Carl
Tags: AK, Alaska, antlers, backpacking, hiking, Moose rack, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, Wrangell St. Elias
Posted in Adventures, Alaska, Backpacking and Hiking, Moose, People, Summertime, Wildlife, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
Hey folks,
Truth be told, I haven’t been shooting too much these last few weeks. I’m back in McCarthy, at the Shaq, and though the weather has been pretty nice, I just haven’t found much to photograph. It’s the end of winter, in that season known locally as ‘breakup’, a kind of pre-spring interim. The snow is melting, quickly, which means limited mobility – after about midday, its just slushy goo. however, when we get a nice clear sky, at night, the temperature drops dramatically (it’s been comfortably warm in the daytime), and the snow cover re-freezes .. so skiing in the morning is awesome. (more…)
Tags: Adventures, Alaska, backcountry, cross country, outdoors, recreation, Skiing, snow, sports, spring, Springtime, Winter, Wrangell - St. Elias National, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, XC skiing
Posted in Adventures, Alaska, People, Skiing, Springtime, Winter, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park | 4 Comments »
Thursday, April 16th, 2009
Hey Folks,
I’ve been practicing this one a bit. Trying to get a snowboarder’s eye view of snowboarding. It’s pretty hard. Well, I’ll be honest – for me, it’s really hard. Really, REALLY hard. I fell over more times than I want to admit. Certainly more times than I wanted to fall over. And the slope is a good bit steeper than the image appears, so I was moving pretty fast. What’s hard is lifting the camera to the eye without making a turn. On a snowboard, like a skateboard or surfboard, one turns the board by turning the head and torso. Every time I’d lift the camera up, I’d unconsciously turn my torso a bit, and the board would go with it, doing a ‘heelside turn’ effectively. Then I’d realize I was turning too far left, turn back the other way, doing a ‘toe-side turn’, over-correct, catch an edge and bust my ass. Trying to hold my camera so it wouldn’t hit the ground as I wiped out was a bit of a mission, but I’ve so far managed to do it OK. I practiced a bit on some gentler slopes, but there’s no substitute for the real deal. I’m rippin’ along here at probably close to 75 miles an hour or so. Maybe.
Cheers
Carl
Tags: Alaska, Carl Donohue, mentasta mountains, outdoors, photos, recreation, snow, snowboard, Snowboarding, Winter, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, Wrangell St. Elias
Posted in Adventures, Alaska, Landscape features, Mountains, People, Snowboarding, Travel, Winter, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009
Hey Folks,
Do I look just wicked bad in my orange jacket, or what? You need sartorial advice, you ask me, OK?
Cheers
Carl
Tags: Alaska, Carl Donohue, mentasta mountains, outdoors, photos, recreation, snowboard, Snowboarding, Winter, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, Wrangell St. Elias
Posted in Adventures, Alaska, Landscape features, Mountains, People, Snowboarding, Winter, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, April 14th, 2009
Hey Folks,
Don’t look down. Snowboard champion, Carl Donohue, self-portrait. Or maybe that should be ‘Snow Bored Champion’? Either way, I set about trying to get some photos of myself riding my snowboard. You can see how steep this run was. One way to tell how good a snowboarder someone is in photos is how much snow is on their pants .. from this clean pair of Marmot Liquid Steel Gore-Tex XCR pants, you get an impression of someone who doesn’t fall down much. Well, you might get that impression .. then again, you weren’t out there watching me, were ya?
Cheers
Carl
Tags: Alaska, Carl Donohue, outdoors, photos, recreation, snowboard, Snowboarding, sports, Winter, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, Wrangell St. Elias
Posted in Adventures, Alaska, Landscape features, Mountains, People, Snowboarding, Winter, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park | 2 Comments »
