Polar bear symmetry
Polar bear sleeps on the snow covered arctic barrier island in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Canon 1D Mark IV, 500mm f/4L IS, with 1.4x (910mm) 1/500 sec @ f/6.3, ISO 400.
While her cubs were off playing, this female polar bear curled up on the snow and dozed off occasionally. The posture makes a beautiful, symmetrical pose. It is a cropped version of an image taken with a Canon 1D Mark IV, 500mm + 1.4x extender, which translates into a focal length of 910mm. That is a long reach, but it is still very sharp.
As Fairbanks awaits a chilly minus 50 degree temperature this weekend, it is amazing that these bears survive in the chilly arctic waters. They are incredibly well insulated with up to 4 inches of fat under some of that white fur. Ian Sterling reports in his book on Polar Bears, that aerial infrared heat sensing equipment can’t detect the actual bear, just the warm air exiting their mouth when trekking across the ice pack.
I’ll be processing more images from this folder over the next week and will share a few keepers on subsequent posts. You can see more polar bear photos on my website.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Brown bear (ursus arctos) and red salmon (oncorhynchus nerka)

I watched this female brown bear capture many red salmon in the Brooks river of Katmai national park, in southwest Alaska. She had one cub of the year to feed, who watched from the river bank keeping alert for other bears. This picture was taken at a focal length of 700mm, which makes it seem closer than it actually was, but even still, I happened to be in a position that did not allow for me to back up easily, which sometimes happens photographing bears. The bear had approached me while chasing fish in the river, so I grabbed a few shots before she walked back to the bank to feed her cub. Photographing a moving subject, in low light, with a long lens resulted in many out of focus shots. The depth of field is very narrow at f/4 at this distance, and the eye needs to be sharp. This was a successful one, and I liked how it reveals the dexterous manner in which the bears can handle fish, she is holding it with her teeth by the dorsal fin.
I have shot extensively at Katmai, and you can see more images on my website: Katmai National Park and Brown bears
Full curl Dall sheep ram
A full curl dall sheep ram stands on the snow covered tundra of Alaska's Brooks range. Canon 1Ds Mark III, 500mm f/4L IS, 1/400 sec @ f/4, ISO 400. (Patrick J. Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)
I took this shot a few months ago while traveling through Alaska’s Brooks range. Dall sheep rams with a full curl are generally pretty wary due to hunting pressure which has increased in the region over the last decade. Due to the breeding season, a few rams were mingling with a flock of female sheep which were accessible to photograph along the winter, snowy tundra north of Atigun Pass. Shadowed conditions are pretty common in this steep mountain country during late October and November due to the lack of daylight, and the sun that seldom shines into the steep valleys. For this reason, the light is often flat, and minimal. The classic white on white requires about a +1-1/2 or a little more exposure compensation, in order to render the whites white.
Visit my website for more dall sheep photos
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Brown bear walks along the beach of Naknek lake at dawn in Katmai National Park, southwest, Alaska. Canon 1Ds Mark III, 24-105mm f/4L IS, (35mm), 1/25 sec @ f/10, ISO 400
I’ve been digging through some files from that latter part of 2011, doing some clean up work and getting folders in a completed state. Occasionally I will shoot a series of images which are to be stitched into a larger file in post production. I do this for panoramas, and sometimes to increase the overall resolution due to focal length and/or scene restrictions. This is one of those made from four images. I was set up along the beach in Katmai National Park and knew that the bears make this morning journey. I missed a few chances for simply not being ready, but this time, I had set my focal length to 35mm, anticipating the basic composition of the bear. After I shot the series of the bear walking along, I kept the camera on the tripod and shot three images in a vertical direction, which includes the tree and sky. This affords a nice, high resolution file very suitable large publication.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Cinnamon Bay Beach, St. John, US Virgin Islands
Cinnamon beach, St. John, US Virgin Islands. Canon 5D Mark II, 16-35mm f/2.8L, 1/50 sec @ f/14, ISO 200, polarizer
Given the current temperature in Fairbanks, Alaska this morning, which weighs in at -40 below zero, this scene is about as far away from my current view as possible. My week on the Island of St. John in the US Virgin Islands was filled with views of aqua blue water, and temperatures between 75-85 degrees. That is 125 degrees different that today. Alaska, its a land of extremes, and that’s one of my favorite things about living here.
It may look like this picture has been heavily saturated, but in fact, I added zero saturation in lightroom, just a little vibrance and contrast. It really does look like that along that stretch of beach.
My dreams of the expansive and crystal clear views under the Caribbean were not fully realized on this trip due to some stormy waters and the resulting turbidity. However, I spent some time snorkeling in the 80+ degree water, which yielded awesome sights of underworld creatures like, octopus, coral, squid, sharks, brilliantly colored fish and and a colorful sea floor.
I took this shot with my EWA Marine housing, having left my larger Ikelite housing at home in order to travel light. The great barracudas would hang out just off the reef, keeping fairly stationary in the water, and somewhat easy to approach. Basically, there is no way around it, underwater photography is challenging. I’ll be going back there some day to focus more on underwater views. In the wake are some great times in this aqua blue, marvelous island landscape.
Great barracuda, St John, Virgin Islands. Canon 5D Mark II, 16-35mm f/2.8L (35mm), EWA Marine housing. 1/500 sec @ f/7.1, ISO 400
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Cinnamon beach, St. John, US Virgin Islands. Canon 5D Mark II, 16-35mm f/2.8L, 1/80 sec @ f/13, ISO 200, polarizing filter.
When I left Fairbanks for a little tropical reprieve in the US Virgin Islands, it was minus 35 degrees below zero. What a contrast to this Caribbean scene! My journey, although short, was partly a vacation although a photographer is never really free from the addiction of picture-taking. Significant rain and clouds in the first few days kept my DSLR in the pack, and I shot mainly with my Iphone. However, when I saw these clouds forming, I ran for the camera. Although the polarizer filter was helpful for the water, I rarely like it’s influence on the sky, specially with the 16mm lens. It is never a uniform representation and tends to vignette to the opposite side of the sun’s direction.
This picture was taken along a popular beach in a National Park which covers a good chunk of the Island of St. John. And that is a good thing or the whole island would be covered with houses, much like it’s neighboring Island of St. Thomas.
I’m back in snowy Fairbanks now, with the temperatures to drop well below zero again. It sort of feels like a dream looking at this picture… meanwhile, I’m getting ready for a cross country ski.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
I’m on vacation in the Virgin Islands. Yup, a rough life. Fairbanks was minus -30 degrees when I left, and even though I really like winter, the white sand and aqua water will be a fantastic break. A few photos in the making but nothing too serious. While I’m gone, I scheduled this post of a recent publication, and since it is a calendar, I thought it was a fitting picture to wish everyone a new year worthy of their expectations. May your 2012 be a rewarding year.
Panorama stitch I made from photos taken in Denali in August of 2011
Polar bear in Alaska's arctic
I found out that the new year started with one of the photos published in my new 2012 calendar “Alaska: Profiles in Nature“, was featured on the search website: www.bing.com. It was a polar bear picture that I took a few years ago in Alaska’s arctic. Pretty cool.
Friday, December 30, 2011
A year in Review: 100 Favorite Images from 2011
Years ago, I started sharing a collection of 100 favorite pictures from my year’s worth of photography. It’s a bit more expansive than the top ten or twelve, and seems to me more reflective of what I have been up to.
2011 turned out to be a year of less photography, with business reorganization and some personal time off usurping shutter clicks. But I was still able to stay in the game and make some fun imagery.
Cheers to 2011!
See the favorites on Google Plus – below link
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1000 Favorite galleries from the past…
Some of my older galleries were initially presented in Flash, but I have since converted them for better viewing on mobile devices. Below are links to the Favorite galleries.




Wednesday, December 28, 2011
The views of los cuernos, or “the horns” in the Torres del Paine National Park in Chile are astonishing. This picture was taken just a short walk from my hotel, along the Pehoe lake, which is a beautiful aqua blue color (not so evident from the angle of this picture), but often in raging white-cap waves due to the high springtime winds. Finding perspective and compositional lines are often the most challenging part in good landscape photography, presuming you have a good subject to start with. Whenever possible, a colorful foreground element can help considerably. In this case, some spring blooming wild pea served as a spark of color which helps this scene. It was very windy, and for reasons lacking a good excuse, I was without my tripod. So, I stabilized the best I could and shot this hand held at 1/20th of a second., at f/18. The foreground is a little soft, but the color is still engaging. What a gorgeous place.
Los cuernos, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile. Canon 5D Mark II, 24-105mm f/4L IS (28mm), 1/20 sec @ f/18, ISO 100
Friday, December 23, 2011
Happy Holidays to you all
and thanks for another year of expressing interest in my photography.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
For an Alaskan, glaciers are not a new sight. But even so, they are always impressive, forceful features that make and mark the geological landscape. The Gray glacier is one of the easily accessible glaciers in the park, and I took a short boat ride past it’s face after a 10 mile hike up along its northern moraine. During my visit, I encountered a surprising little amount of rain, and certainly less than I planned on seeing. On this overcast and rainy day, the blue face of the glacier is brilliant and the gray skies contribute a foreboding feel to the landscape.
Gray glaicer, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile. Canon 5D Mark II, 24-105mm f/4L IS (70mm) 1/160 @ f/8, ISO 200.
Monday, December 19, 2011
The towers (los torres) are one of the most popular hikes and sights in the Torres del Paine National Park. It is about a 12 mile round trip, with some notable vertical gain on the final ascent to the towers. I would have preferred to be there at sunrise, but that was not an option that day, so I photographed the scene in mid day, under overcast lighting. I was at least fortunate enough to see the towers, since clouds are common in the mountain summits. With the absence of strong color drama, I was curious how the contrast would render in black in white. It’s not bad actually, considering a mid-day time frame. And, regardless of the light and color, it was a really fun and memorable hike to a very magnificent, other worldly, view!
The Towers (Los Torres), Torres del Paine National Park, Chile. Canon 5D Mark II, 16-35mm f/2.8L, 1/80 sec @ f/16, ISO 100
Black and white conversion. The Towers (Los Torres), Torres del Paine National Park, Chile. Canon 5D Mark II, 16-35mm f/2.8L, 1/80 sec @ f/16, ISO 100
Friday, December 16, 2011
The brilliant red blossoms of the firebush decorate much of the landscape around the lakes and hillsides in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile. Such a color is often a signpost of autumn in Alaska, but here it is prevalent just a few weeks prior to their summer solstice. What is also prevalent at this time of year are intense winds, which are evidenced by the blur in the red blossoms. And I mean wind! Sometimes its hard to stand up, let alone take a picture. On this particular morning, the summit of the distant mountain named Grande Paine is cloaked in clouds, which was a common fare for this peak, although the clouds were continually moving.
While the dynamic range was considerable in this frame, it is a single exposure with some basic graduated ND filter and brush applications in Lightroom.
Firebush and Grande Paine, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile. Canon 5D Mark II, 24-105mm f/4L IS (32mm), 1/5 sec @ f/14, ISO 100
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by Patrick Endres
2 comments
Patrick Endres - Hey thanks Phyllis, lots of good memories from those photo tours, thanks for joining us on one of them!
Phyllis Burchett - This is wonderful Patrick.