Alaska
- Thread starter slacker123
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slacker123
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Paul_Yeo said:how u shoot all these mountains? must take helicopter up the mountains to take this pix? :embrass:
i think the photos will be very nice if develop into large poster
Chartered a couple of private plane rides in those really really small cessnas or else sea-planes to take me to destinations that can't be reached by either ship or roads
a good number of Alaskan people have planes in their backyards, along with little runways, which they use to go out and get supplies
further north, planes are the defacto means of transportation.
slacker123
Senior Member
sabbatical said:Oh WOWnice country, amazing colours and tonal contrast.
I especially like your Humpback Whale Diving cropped at 50%. Skaguay, Alaska :lovegrin:
So you had your Canon or Nikon on this trip? How cold was it when you were there? Any equipment or navigation issues?
Used both Nikon and Canon of this trip. Full frame is really, really good for the vast landscapes.
Frankly, a Nikon 600mm and a D2X is a great combo for getting wildlife shots. Since humpback whales are protected, the whale watching craft cannot get nearer than 100 yards (91 meters or so) from these mammals and cannot watch the same animal for more than 30 minutes.
Usually, these whales when they breach the surface at the start of their breathing cycle, will be so far away, they look like dots in the viewfinder of my 1D Mark II and 300mm/2.8 + 1.4 TC.
The tail was the most lucky catch of the day. 8 fps is a damn good thing because the dive initiation sequence is about just 2 seconds or so. Then they are gone.
slacker123
Senior Member
nuts said:
I went in the early summer, so its not so cold. However, that REALLY depends on where you are. Further North, like in Denali National Park and Preserve, its about minus 4 in bright sunlight.
As for navigational issues - its not much of a problem since the entire alaska is one big tourist trap, not too difficult to get around as long as you're in a tour group. Don't even think of driving if it snows here - too dangerous, especially when "a regular snow storm" brings about 3 meters of snow.
Last year, Alaska had 20m of snow.
Tour is probably the easiest way to go, and go in the summer.
slacker123
Senior Member
net-g said:
The cost of the trip... was close to 10k, not much planning required since I was on a tour
slacker123
Senior Member
gooseberry said:
Um, it would be really nice to see a grizzly, however, these bears tend to appear during the salmon spawning season, which is in late july, I believe.
spawning salmon are easy prey, so the bears just gather up like nobody's business at fast flowing rivers to hunt.
grizzlies are, actually quite dangerous, apparently so. spotted loads of moose, caribou and typical tundra wildlife.
lens not long enough for wildlife photography. on a tour, its kinda hard to keep carrying a 600mm and a mama tripod around the place, given the space constraints.
The Oracle
Senior Member
What can i say? I am jelous and i want to go!!!!!!!!!!!
slacker123
Senior Member
Terence said:
its not, you have to see it, to believe it.
slacker123 said:
Actually I have seen it in the past during my frequent trips to Alaska.
Take your first 2 images for example... the blacks actually seem blue, and a very unnatural shade at that. In other images, the greens are extremely bright. Is your screen properly calibrated?
I hope your lens(es) didn't crack in the cold!slacker123
Senior Member
Terence said:
Oh yes! it was exactly as I saw it, cos I took it on lovely overcast day high up in the mountains for those two pictures and yup, there was like a sorta natural bluish fog over the area.
as for the bright greens, it was exactly why I took the picture in the first place, just out of nowhere, this bright patch of light/dark green amongst the white and black and blue of the mountains. =) I was told it was some sort of impurity in the melting snow that stains the water into this shade of color
knoxknocks
Senior Member
beautiful series :thumbsup: thanks for sharing!
slacker123 said:
I dunno man. Even the shadow details in all your shots have that strange hue of color... as if the saturation slider was turned up high. I've seen glacier ice before and know that it's bluish but not that strange hue of blue in your images.
Up to you... I still think your colors are unnaturally oversaturated, probably a bit too generous with your post processing or your monitor is out of calibration.
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