Masthead header

Polar bear sleeping in Alaska’s arctic

Polar bear symmetry

Polar bear sleeps on the snow covered arctic barrier island in Alaska

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.

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.

Brown bear and red salmon

Brown bear (ursus arctos) and red salmon (oncorhynchus nerka)

Brown bear holds a red salmon caught while fishing in the Brooks river in Katmai National Park, southwest, Alaska. (Patrick J. Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)

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

 

Patrick Endres - Dick and Tim, thanks for appreciating my work and taking the time to comment.

Dick Thomas - Hi Patrick- I continue to enjoy your blog posts and look forward to each new photograph. I most enjoy your wildlife photos that show the animal as part of the landscape. I beleive it takes as much or more of an artistic eye to capture that type of photo rather than a close up portrait. With that said, this particular bear photograph is so striking and beautiful because of the compositional elements you have captured. It’s a true winner! The bears head and the salmon both serve as diagonal lines, while the sweeping paw coming into the lower left fills a somewhat negative space with an indication of action as well as power with those claws. Add to that the sense of motion from the water and the fish, the dynamic red of the salmon, and the eye of the bear. I stared at this one for a while! Beautiful work, as usual! Thanks.
Dick Thomas

Tim Newton - A perfectly exquisite portrait! Wow!

Dall sheep ram with full curl

 Full curl Dall sheep ram

A full curl dall sheep ram stands on the snow covered tundra of Alaska

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

Katmai brown bear, stitch from 4 images

 (Patrick J. Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)

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.

 

Carl D - Hey Patrick,

I hear ya – I don’t even think I was around; I was probably still sleeping, or sipping coffee or some such.

No aurora here, either. 10 days of bluebird days and the clouds rolled in yesterday afternoon. :(

Cheers

Carl

Patrick Endres - Carl, I was looking for counsel on that subject, but you were the only other person around, so there was simply no one to ask. I’ll try to do better next time. As for the aurora, it was insanely windy in Fairbanks last night, and cloudy also.

Carl D - Hey Patrick

Yes, you should’ve been at 800 or 1000 .. next time you might wanna ask someone who knows about such things; if, of course, there happens to be someone like that around.

Hope you got and got some aurora tonight.

Cheers

Carl

Patrick Endres - Hey folks, Thanks for the comments and taking the time to visit.

Emlyn - Great image and a very interesting process to achieve it. Regards
Emlyn

Rob Siciliano - Views/images like that make the early morning hours worth it. Great shot! Makes me look forward to heading back out there (that and the -20 degrees outside).

Leiv Arne Åkset - Amazing shot!
Love the light, siluett and background!

Have a nice weekend!

Regards!

Patrick Endres - Carl, just barely, the other three were soft. Should I have been at 800 or 1000 ISO? Of course! But this one squeaked by.

Carl D - Hey Patrick

This is sweet. Amazing it’s sharp for 1/25sec.

Cheers

Carl

Virgin Island beach views

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.

Patrick Endres - Ron,
No release, just a grab shot – too bad though. I was parenting my 11 year old niece so serious photography was slim.

Ron Niebrugge - Looks like a beautiful place – love the color of the water!

Did you ask for a model release?

Great Barracuda, St John, Virgin Islands

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

Patrick Endres - Cree, you know exactly what that looked like :)

Cree - Beautiful colors. This turned out great!

Patrick Endres - Jon,
EWA housing for lightweight. Not a serious photo trip, as I took my 11 year old niece. My friend had an Aquatech and I may go that route in the future. My Ikelite, although I liked it, is for sale. Too big for most of what I like to do.

Jon Cornforth - Cool picture. EWA housing? I thought that you had an Ikelite? I’m really enjoying my Aquatech housing, if you ever need something more compact & rugged.

Cinnamon Bay, St. John Island, US Virgin Islands

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.

 

Angus Rose - Patrick- We were there for about a week last January, my first time going anywhere tropical. Definitely a place I want to return to.

Patrick Endres - Angus,
It’s a fantastic place indeed and worth a revisit sometime in the wintry future. How long did you stay?

Angus Rose - My girlfriend and I camped at Cinnamon Bay almost exactly a year ago! St John is an incredible place, less touristy than I expected especially if you make the hike to the other side of the island. Glad to see you had fun there!

Patrick Endres - Eli, “to drop well below zero”, have you checked the forecast, -40 below by tomorrow night! But it is rather warm right now, only -2.

Eli Mitchell - Temperatures are well below zero? It’s a toasty 28 degrees here. :) Nonetheless, your vacation looks like it was an enjoyable escape.

2012 AT&T Calendar

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

Patrick Endres - Thanks Richard, sometimes things do come together nicely, and it is great when it happens.

Patrick Endres - Thanks Mike.

Mike Criss - Congratulations Patrick. THE Alaska Calendar for sure. Beautiful image, well deserved.

Richard Siggins - Everything came together nicely for that shot. Even the sheep cooperated! That would look great as a 4′ wide calendar print.

Polar bear photo on Bing

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.

 

Patrick Endres - Thanks Jakkes and Phyllis.

James,
The image was licensed through an agency that reps my work, so it wa legit.

Jakke Röntynen - Hi

I have to say, AMAZING photos in your site and wonderful bing picture.

Best regards Jakke R. from Sweden

James - Sweet! How’d they get the picture to use on Bing.com? Wouldn’t that be a concern to you?

Phyllis Burchett - Big congrats Patrick, when I saw this image yesterday I wondered if it might belong to someone I knew. Awesome!

Patrick Endres - Sue, indeed, that would be slick. I’m hoping you get some similar views this autumn!

sue rakes - ok, Patrick, yes, “pretty cool”. That is it? HOORAY from the mountain tops! That is super super super cool!! Such a cute image. Too bad there wasn’t a link to your calendar ordering site.

2011 Favorite Pictures from 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

*******************************************************

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.







Thank you Jim Goldstein! | Timages Gallery Photo Blog - [...] 100 Favorite pictures from 2011 – Patrick J Endres [...]

289 “Best Photos of 2011″ Blog Posts | Gallery Photos, Photography and Camera - [...] 100 Favorite pictures from 2011 – Patrick J Endres [...]

Jim Goldstein Does It Again « ©jw fujimagari blog - [...] 100 Favorite pictures from 2011 – Patrick J Endres [...]

289 “Best Photos of 2011″ Blog Posts | - [...] 100 Favorite cinema from 2011 – Patrick J Endres [...]

Vinko Jovanovac - Some rely nice shoot, was a good photo year (=

289 “Best Photos of 2011″ Blog Posts | Benjamin Hall - [...] 100 Favorite pictures from 2011 – Patrick J Endres [...]

289 “Best Photos of 2011″ Blog Posts - Digital Photo Help - [...] 100 Favorite pictures from 2011 – Patrick J Endres [...]

Patrick Endres - Kris, Thanks for your kind comments and for appreciating my photography.

Kris Rupp - Stumbled across your site and am in awe of your images and travels. What a wonderful way to spend your days capturing these beautiful images of places many of us will never see in person. Thanks for sharing and I hope you enjoy every moment of where life takes you ;)

Best Photos of 2011 — the list @ Chuqui 3.0 - [...] 100 Favorite pictures from 2011 – Patrick J Endres [...]

Best Photos of 2011 by JMG-Galleries Blog Readers » JMG-Galleries – Jim M. Goldstein Photography - [...] 100 Favorite pictures from 2011 – Patrick J Endres [...]

Patrick Endres - Chuck, thanks for the well-wishes. The same back to you.

Patrick Endres - Thanks Emyln and Phyllis, cheers to you in 2012.

Patrick Endres - Sue, you are so correct. The review process is quite the picture story with many memories. Thanks for appreciating my work.

sue rakes - this is one fun part of the year…gathering up my many blessings from this last year, analyzing my favorite images noting goals i set out to focus on only a year ago, looking forward to what is coming and setting new sights once again! i truly look forward to seeing what wondrous treats you encountered on your adventures…i know the work it takes for you to create this body of work and i admire your effort even more! great job Patrick!

chuck ashley - Great images Patrick, hope your trip to South America was fruitful image wise. Loved all your faves from 2011, incredible shots of the northern lights,polar bears & foxes my fave I think is the bull moose by wonder lake & Denali in the background-Awesome!
May 2012 be just as fruitful for you!
Shalom & blessings for the coming year!

Emlyn - Happy New Year Patrick More images to inspire one on in this crazy world. While we in South Africa do not have the vistas you have in Alaska it makes me work hard to get better landscapes and seascapes. Great selection, maybe we will see you sometime again. I see you are due to do more trips to Antarctica, one under Hugh’s leadership, that should great.
Regards Emlyn & Liz

Phyllis Burchett - WOW fabulous work Patrick, I just want to follow you around for a year. Happy New Year!

Patrick Endres - Jon and Bruce, thanks so much… A fruitful 2012 to both of you. I’m off to the Virgin Islands for a week or so of sun. Timely, since it is minus 30 degrees in Fairbanks!

Jon Cornforth - Outstanding collection of images! I wish you a successful & prosperous 2012.

Bruce Faanes - Another absolutely stunning collection of photos for 2011. You are a great ambassador for the state of Alaska for showing the world all the beauty that is up there to behold. As much as I love the majestic moose at Denali, the polar bear standing on one foot is very, very cool. Can’t see the ear buds, but it looks like he’s line dancing to tunes. Probably getting ready for New Years Eve. Thanks again for sharing and have a great holiday!

Pehoe lake and wild pea, Torres del Paine

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

Patrick Endres - Thanks Buff,
Glad you enjoy the calendar, it was new this year. I thought people would be interested in the process behind the photos. Next October is a ways out there, but it will be fun for sure….

Buff Corsi - Just beautiful, Patrick. Also want to say how much we admire your 2012 calendar with the personal comments about the photos along with shooting details and data. Not to mention the wonderful photographs themselves.

Gray glaicer, Torres del Paine National Park

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.

Phyllis B. - Amazing….must have been a fabulous trip.

The Towers (los torres), Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

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

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

Patrick Endres - Thanks Emlyn and Inge, some parts of Patagonia are “point the camera and shoot” as it is hard to miss in that outrageous scenery.

Inge - I must say I agree with Tim :) I can see a very clear ‘Patrick stamp’ on this photograph, one I recognize immediately from your Alaska photo’s. Good for you!

Emlyn - Hi Patrick I must say that I prefer the color version of the scene even having had to capture the image in harsh light. as always great pictures of your trip to Chile.

Patrick Endres - Tim, your comments are always well written. I’m enjoying that dollop of winter here in Fairbanks, and loving every bit of it! Especially the skiing.

Tim (Graybeard) Newton - Wow, beautiful!!! :-)

You travel to the other side of the world yet still refuse to turn your back on the barren rocks, wind, ice, and snow! Obviously, this planet contains not enough frozen austerity for you. Accordingly, your friends in Alaska are setting aside a big dollop of winter for your return! You’re welcome! :-)

Firebush and Grande Paine

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

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

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

derrick - Wow looks absolutely incredible. The wind gods were certainly blowing!