Lupine wildflowers, Kodiak Island. Canon 5D Mark II, 16-35mm f/2.8L (16mm) 1/40 sec @ f/13, ISO 100

The town of Kodiak, situated on Kodiak Island’s east side is flanked by a large hill that rises quickly behind the small community. Along this hillside grows some very happy wildflowers that pop in color on a sunny summer morning. This view looks southward from the town at the convoluted shores of the expansive island, the second largest island in the U.S., behind the Big Island of Hawaii. Lupine wildflowers are early bloomers in Alaska’s interior, and are going to seed at the time that the lupine in Kodiak are in full swing.

Fossil beach, Kodiak Island. Canon 5D Mark II, 24-105mm f/4L IS, 1/60 sec @ f/14, ISO 200

Fossil Beach, Kodiak Island

That Kodiak is called the emerald island is self evident upon the first summer glance. This hills are so lush and green its like a visual beverage to thirsty eyes. And as for having thirst quenched, Kodiak is known for its fog, rain, and dynamically changing island weather. My recent visit there was filled with a mix of weather, but a good dose of sun offered some landscape opportunities. While this day was not one of them, the scene on Fossil beach, on a southern facing coastline, was filled with vibrant summer blooming flowers, as is much of the meadowlands of the island during late June, and early July.

I’ll be out of the country for a few weeks doing some photography in Svalbard while guiding for Cheeseman’s Ecology Safaris. It’s not the land of wifi and high bandwidth on an icebreaker so my posting activity may be sparse save for a few that I load in advance of departure. More to follow on that arctic landscape upon my return to the U.S.

Spotted lady's slipper orchid. Canon 5D Mark II, 100mm macro f/2.8, 1/100 sec @ f/4.5, ISO 400

Spotted lady’s slipper orchid

On a hike just north of Fairbanks, I came across this delicate blooming flower, the spotted lady’s slipper orchid, which I don’t see that often. It’s delicacy and vibrant colors make it distinctive and with a little imagination hints at its name lady’s slipper. It’s a member of the orchid family. I chose a fairly large aperture to keep the background blurred, even though the entire flower is not in focus.

There is no lack of top five, top ten, top whatever lists…these days. When making any list or selection, the process is influenced by many factors. I’ve picked a few images, 100 to be exact that were notable to me in some way during the past year. In retrospect, my photography seemed minimized in diversity in 2010, but nevertheless was filled with many great experiences. Here is a little gallery for your enjoyment.

Photo gallery from my July 2010 float trip down the Marsh Fork of the Canning River, in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Elegant Paintbrush, Marsh Fork, Canning River, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. Canon 5D Mark II, 100-400mm f/5.6L IS (275mm), 500D Close up filter, 1/200 sec@ f/8, ISO 100

I mentioned my trip into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in a recent post, and I have a few more photos to share from that journey. In a land that exhibits dramatic and distant vistas, it is not surprising to find compelling subjects close at hand as well. While hiking along the Marsh Fork of the Canning river, the elegant paintbrush was a very common wildflower present, and a beautifully colored and textured one at that. Because I was traveling light while backpacking, I chose to leave my 100 f/2.8 macro lens behind. As an alternative, I took the Canon 500D close up filter which is a magnifying glass filter that screws onto the outside of a lens. While there is a slight loss in quality, it is pretty minimal and easily worth the trade in weight for this kind of travel. The 100-400 lens offers versatile framing functionality for the tedious composition often intrinsic to macro work. I chose 1/200 sec. exposure due to a slight breeze that was blowing along the river bar, and it therefore captured a sharp image. The medium depth of field for macro adds enough eye focus control, but lets the main blossom be interpretable. Selecting a position that renders a fairly clean background can be a challenge, but the pink distant flowers work well in this picture. I used a tiny gitzo tripod with an RSS mini ballhead.

I spent 11 days in July floating the Marsh fork of the Canning river, which is one of the many rivers flowing north out of the Brooks Range and into the Beaufort Sea. The Canning river marks the western boundary of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which is substantial in size at 19 million acres. It seems that all ventures in Alaska’s arctic tap into the extremes that even mid summer can offer. One moment you are wearing every piece of clothing you brought, and the next moment you are baking in hot sun along a tundra hillside. Plenty of rain fell during the trip, and in a heartbreaking way, pumped the normally beautifully aqua blue river to bank busting brown. When you see water flowing through dwarf fireweed, then you know it is high water! I did most of the trip in a little pack raft, what amazingly fun little water wizards.

For a change of pace, when flying in we had our gear dropped off down river, and our pilot gave us GPS coordinates to find the goods. It was a mild 14 mile hike in clouds and rain and we arrived to enjoy a clearing evening and pleasant sunset (I take that back, the sun does not set, but it did dip behind a mountain). We spent a few days at this camp spot as a base for day hikes. About 2:00am, while sipping on some Black Box red wine around our campfire, a lemming dashed across the gravel bar in front of us and jumped right into the swiftly moving river. I thought…little guy…you are toast, that current will sweep you downstream in an instant. I was wrong. That amazing little animal paddled itself right across the current with amazing alacrity. I’ve been commercial fishing in big seas and the waves to that little guy must have been the equivalent of 30 footers!

I took an amazingly few photos on the 11 day journey, and barely dented the batteries of my camera. But there were a few nuggets along the way and I’ll share more in upcoming posts. This frame is a single RAW exposure and I used split-graduated ND filters in Lightroom to balance the foreground and sky tonality. I included the original flat, RAW capture to show what a pre and post Lightroom tweak looks like for this scene.

Processed in Lightroom: Dwarf fireweed, Marsh fork of the Canning River, Brooks Range, Alaska. Canon 5D Mark II, 16-35mm f2.8L, .5 sec @ f/22, ISO 50. I selected ISO 50 and the f/22 setting to maximize the shutter length which adds a little blur to the water. I forgot my Neutral Density filter pack, or I would have used a three stop ND instead. This was taken before the water turned brown and the river rose overflowing the banks.

Original RAW capture: Dwarf fireweed, Marsh fork of the Canning River, Brooks Range, Alaska. Canon 5D Mark II, 16-35mm f2.8L, .5 sec @ f/22, ISO 50.

This last June marked my second visit to the National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska, a monstrous 23 million acre area on Alaska’s north slope. It was originally set aside by president Harding as an emergency oil supply for the US Navy.  The average person knows little about the region, and it is huge. Some consider it a large wasteland full of mosquitoes. Well, the mosquitoes love the place (at least for a month or two), but there is much more going on there. There are many stories I could tell about my recent trip in June, but it is time to move on to other subjects and I’ll leave behind this gallery for casual browsing. The photos were all taken in the Utukok river uplands region, which is referenced on a map on a previous post.

Confluence of the Nigu and Etivluk rivers, National Petroleum Reserve, Alaska, Brooks range. Canon 1Ds Mark III, 16-35mm, 1/20 sec @ f/16, ISO 200.

Near the confluence of the Nigu and Etivluk river, is Puvakrat mountain, a notable ridge with a rocky spine, great for hiking and splendid views. We began a day hike in rainy and cloudy conditions, but mixed blue skies and dramatic clouds and light spilled across the grand vista as evening progressed.  The sky in the open wilderness of the arctic seems so large and luminous, and it often serves as moving photographic element, both in respect to compostiona and for the provocation of emotion. Here are  few shots from the day.

Rocky ridge of Puvakrat Mountain along the Etivluk river, National Petroleum Reserve, Alaska. Canon 1Ds Mark III, 16-35mm, 1/50 sec @ f/10, ISO 100.

Wildflowers in bloom on the slopes of Puvakrat Mountain along the Etivluk river, National Petroleum Reserve, Alaska. Canon 1Ds Mark III, 16-35mm, 1/30 sec @ f/16, ISO 200.

Wildflowers in bloom on the slopes of Puvakrat Mountain along the Etivluk river, National Petroleum Reserve, Alaska. Canon 1Ds Mark III, 16-35mm, 1/40 sec @ f/18, ISO 200.

Puvakrat Mountain along the Etivluk river, National Petroleum Reserve, Alaska. Canon 1Ds Mark III, 16-35mm, 1/80 sec @ f/10, ISO 100.

]]> http://www.alaskaphotographyblog.com/2009/07/puvakrat-mountain-national-petroleum-reserve/feed/ 3 http://www.alaskaphotographyblog.com/2008/07/gray-wolf-eyes/ http://www.alaskaphotographyblog.com/2008/07/gray-wolf-eyes/#comments Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:00:00 +0000 Patrick Endres http://alaskaphotographics.wordpress.com/2008/07/07/gray-wolf-eyes/ To to see large photos view the original post.