Mt Sukakpak is a notable mountain in the Brooks range, with a prominent set of peaks that change drastically based on the angle of view. It’s always amazing in nature photography, to observe the changes in light and color from day to day, at the same location. Last October, I took these pictures less than 24 hours apart.

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.

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.

]]> http://www.alaskaphotographyblog.com/2011/12/2011-favorite-pictures-from-2011/feed/ 22 http://www.alaskaphotographyblog.com/2011/12/pehoe-lake-and-wild-pea-torres-del-paine/ http://www.alaskaphotographyblog.com/2011/12/pehoe-lake-and-wild-pea-torres-del-paine/#comments Wed, 28 Dec 2011 18:11:49 +0000 Patrick Endres http://www.alaskaphotographyblog.com/?p=4296 To to see large photos view the original post.

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.

Happy Holidays to you all

and thanks for another year of expressing interest in my photography.

Happy Holidays

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

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

Amongst the “blow your mind” views on this planet, this for sure is one of them. I’ve seem pictures from the Torres del Paine National Park in Chile for many years, but while they are luring, there is no substitute for being someplace, in person, connected to the broader sphere of senses that create real experience. This particular view reveals the Horns of Paine, or the Cuernos del Paine, in Spanish. Sunrise at this time of year in the southern hemisphere is about 5:30am, and the clouds that move across this mountain landscape create one of the most dynamically changing views I’ve ever witnessed. It many ways, it is like a theater, and I found myself just staring for long periods as the great spring winds blew cloud formations into continually changing shapes. The “Towers” which the park is named after, are hidden in the distant clouds behind the massif.

The park is located in the southernmost reaches of Chile, which is one long and slender country. For context, upon arriving to Santiago (about in the middle of the country), one takes another plane ride which is about equal to flying from Fairbanks, Alaska to Seattle, then getting in a vehicle and driving across the state of Washington to get to the remote park. So, a journey it is indeed, but one that will deliver appropriate rewards. Stay tuned for more views of the park.

Sunrise of "The Horns" Torres del Paine National Park, Chile. Canon 5D Mark II, 24-105mm f/4L IS, (84mm), 1/125 sec @ f/4.5, ISO 200

Flamigos take flight over the Atacama desert, northern Chile. Canon 5 D Mark II, 70-300mm f/5.6L IS DO, 1/250 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 1000

I’m back in the blustery snowy landscape of Fairbanks, following a few weeks in the springtime southern hemisphere of Chile, South America. That is one long, slender country, and I enjoyed the divergent environments of the consistently clear and dry northern desert to the dynamically changing slopes of the Torres del Paine National Park of the south. I’ll have a few images to share in the next few weeks.

Kejulik mountains, Katmai National Park, Alaska. Canon 1D Mark IV, 500mm f/4L IS, 1/400 sec @ f/5, ISO 200

On a morning walk in Katmai last fall the clouds were rolling, growing and dissipating quickly over the Kejulik mountains in Katmai National Park. While I don’ t normally use the 1D Mark IV for landscapes, I wanted the focal magnification factor that the 1.3x offered, turning my 500 into a 700 mm. It was happening fast so I grabbed a few frames of the clouds behind the jagged ridge of Mt Katonlinat. The photo was taken about 10:00 am. In a few minutes, the clouds were gone and without that white background to outline the ridge, the rock definition became difficult to see from such a distance. Clouds–when you see them making an interesting scene–shoot quickly.