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

After many years of photographing in Denali National Park, I can tell you that it is not everyday that a bull moose walks in front of Mt McKinley, on a clear day, when you are situated in an opportunity to photograph it. As a matter of fact, probably only a handful of times in my career. In late August I had an amazing opportunity, which was largely serendipitous, a little bit lucky, and a tiny bit of persistence. The bull moose had wandered into the shadowed alders to browse, while a group of us photographers waited around for it to make a possible reappearance.

Meanwhile, I wandered off to photograph Denali reflecting in some small tundra ponds in the area, as the morning light was fading and beginning to get bright. After meandering back from one pond to this one, the bull moose had moved out of the shadows and apperaed to be going in the opposite direction. I waited by the pond in hopes that it changed its mind, which it did, and traversed right across the tundra in front of Denali. In retrospect, a photographer replays this event over and over, considering all the ways the scene could have been shot. I was still a bit in landscape mode, and I was preferring to get a shot of the moose centextually placed by the colorful tundra pond. But the shooting window is very narrow and you only have a few frames to compose. I picked off a couple that I like, but when comparing with my colleague’s photos, who was not as near to the water as I was, I liked his vantage point better. Oh well, its hard to complain about this kind of opportunity, and I’m pleased that these few pictures are sharp and clean. Thank you moose and mountain.

I used a polarizer to limit some of the reflection on the tundra vegetation. This worked due to the perpendicular angle of the sun to the scene. The filter robs over a stop of light, so I bumped up the ISO to 400, and used an f/stop of 9 to get some depth of field. An f/stop of 13 would have been nice, but while the mountain is not super sharp in the picture, it is pretty distinguishable. I shot in manual mode and maximized exposure for the shadows, knowing that the dark moose would need some fill light, and I wanted that capability without introducing too much noise.

Bull moose reflection in a small kettle pond with the summit of Mt McKinley in the distance, Denali National Park, Alaska. Canon 5D Mark II, 24-105mm (105mm) 1/160 sec @ f/9, ISO 400, w/polarizer

Bull moose walks across the autumn colored tundra by a small kettle pond with the summit of Mt McKinley in the distance, Denali National Park, Alaska. Canon 5D Mark II, 24-105mm (40mm) 1/160 sec @ f/9, ISO 400, w/polarizer

Some open skies let the sun shine into the western region of Denali Park last week and I was able to capture a few images of that magic mountain known as Denali, although officially named Mt McKinley. It’s face is under constant changing light and for this reason, it never seems to get old. Pure clear skies do present a problem in that they lack interest. In such cases, I try to fill the frame of the image with as much foreground detail as possible, and limit the amount of plain sky. Below are a few scenes of the mountain from different times of day, and different locations. The late evening and morning light was elusive due to horizon cloud cover.

Mt McKinley reflects in a small kettle pond in the autumn tundra, cotton grass grows on the edge of the pond, Denali National Park, Alaska. Canon 5 D Mark II, 24-105mm (47mm), 1/30 sec @ f/14, ISO 200

Mt McKinley reflects in a small tundra pond with lily pads, sunset in Denali National Park, Alaska. Canon 5 D Mark II, 24-105mm (70mm), 1/8 sec @ f/16, ISO 100

Mt McKinley, Mt Foraker visible along the Alaska range with the McKinley river bar in the foreground. Autumn tundra blazes in late August, Denali National Park, Alaska. Canon 5 D Mark II, 24-105mm (24mm), 1/5 sec @ f/16, ISO 100

Grizzly bear on the autumn colored tundra in Highway pass in Denali National Park, Alaska. Canon 1D Mark IV, 500mm f/4L IS w/1.4x, (700mm), 1/250 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 200

The colors in the high country of Denali National Park last week were stunning. The grizzly bear photography was less stunning, simply due to lack of opportunity on my short visit. However, this is the one scene I photographed for just a few minutes. In spite of the harsh light, the colors revive the image and give it some sparkle. As is often the case in wildlife photography, getting a subject in just the right spot is a challenge, and all the more so with Denali Park bears since when they are close for photography, one needs to be inside a vehicle and movement is thereby restricted. This bear is very well fed with a healthy layer of fat and a thick coat of fur that it will carry into winter hibernation.

My digital workflow always moves towards simplification whenever possible. Taking thousands of photos a year, and needing to move them from a flat, RAW state, to a processed version ready for a stock photography sale takes time. If there is one lesson universal to age, it is that time takes on a more premium value. At this stage in the capture and post production process of a digital file, great leaps and bounds have been made in both camera sensors and post production software.

The image below is a good candidate to illustrate my approach in shooting a landscape whose end state requires taking Lightroom experience into the field. Any experienced landscape photographer knows that “sky control” is a fundamental factor for balancing tonality in an image. In the days of film, we all used split graduated neutral density filters, and applied the necessary style to the end of the lens given the demands of the scene. While these are still of value today, I use them quite infrequently. This is so because the quality of low ISO digital files and the local adjustments possible in Lightroom make the post production process fairly simple, and rather dramatic.

In this scene, I exposed for the sky as the dramatic clouds whirled over the McKinley river bar in Denali park. The colorful tundra in the foreground, is rendered nearly black. However, with a split grad filter in Lightroom applied (approximately 2.5 stops), the foreground comes to life. This degree of exposure change does introduce some noise in the shadows, but with noise reduction and a slight grain value applied, it resolves nicely.

One could have applied that 2 stop split grad in the field, but there is not always time, and conditions are not always conducive to doing so. When dynamic clouds are involved in a landscape scene, my experience tells me to shoot and shoot fast because the clouds change quickly and the once pleasing light play on the land can vanish in no time.

Original RAW capture, with the exposure made for the highlights in the clouds, rendering the foreground nearly black.

The same scene with approximately 2.5 stops of exposure correction to the foreground with a split grad in LR. Canon 5D Mark II, 24-105mm f/4L IS, (24mm), 1/125 sec @ f/11, ISO 100.

Dall sheep rams, Polychrome Pass, Denali National Park

Dall sheep rams on a mountain ridge in Polychrome Pass, Denali National Park, Alaska. Canon 1Ds Mark III, 100-400mm f/5.6L, 1/80 sec @ f/9, ISO 200

Having just returned from a few days in Denali Park, it is clear that autumn is in full swing in the high country, and the vibrant colors have scattered the hills with richness. In the latter part of the afternoon while passing through Polychrome Pass, these dall sheep rams were resting on a mountain outcrop. White subjects on a sunny day can present an exposure challenge, however in this particular scene, some vital elements of a photo fell into place. In particular, I try to find a strong degree of perpendicular lighting if possible. This introduces many layers and brightness/darkness edges that make the composition interesting. Additionally, I looked critically at the background for linear dimension and angles, both for context and for visual interest. The low lying clouds just over the mountains create a strong mood for the mountain scene, and although there was blue sky above that, I preferred the tonal range of the grays. The initial RAW capture had a tiny bit of blown out highlights and blocked up shadows, but they were recoverable with basic adjustments, rendering a pleasing tonality with plenty of contrast. Eventually, the sheep stood up and walked from the ridge and began feeding in the willow bushes. The trip in general was filled with lots of sunshine, and at times too few clouds, but overall, very productive. It’s always a delight to be in Denali park during the autumn colors.

Mt McKinley, North America’s tallest mountain rises to 20, 320 ft, and dominates the Alaska range with its prominent face and ridges that capture light in an everchanging fashion. These are some images I’ve gathered over the years.

This was a horizontal image cropped to fit the cover of a magazine featuring an article on wildlife management and predator control. A Cow moose defends her newly born calf from the Grant Creek wolf pack in Denali National Park. In the end, the wolves got the baby moose. Canon 1Ds Mark III, 100-400mm f/5.6L IS, (135mm), 1/500 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 800

I recently sold a photo from the most popular series of pictures and subsequent blog post of 2010. The image was chosen for the cover of a small magazine doing an article on the issue of wildlife management and predator control. The subject was the attack of a wolf pack on a moose calf, and the diligent defense of the mother moose. It was an extreme scene to say the least, and although it was very popular on the blog, I do not expect the subject in general to sell much due to its brutal content.

Life as a successful professional nature stock photographer requires the nuanced understanding of the photographic market, along with finding the delicate balance of making a living from the imagery you enjoy shooting. I know my colleagues agree that it is not necessarily the easiest job to undertake, especially in these quickly changing “digital” times, but it is rewarding and filled with opportunities intricately bound with nature itself. To participate in this venue as a form of work is a privilege to me.

To see a scene like the one above is rare, troubling, and awe inspiring. I doubt that I’ll ever see anything like it again, let alone have the chance to document it. What was interesting and equally disturbing to me about people’s response to these images was the wide range of comments they provoked. Disturbing in that it revealed a severe disconnect from nature and the cycle of life and death that occurs daily around us in the natural world. Raw scenes like the one above are often hidden even from those who trek the natural landscape, but all the more from those isolated to an urban-only lifestyle.

There are two books that come to mind when discussing this topic and I recommend both of them.

Ordinary Wolves by Seth Kantner: A novel contextualized in Alaska, addressing the complex issues of land, development, and changes to rural and indigenous culture.

The Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv: A semi-scholarly discussion about the ways children are becoming increasingly disconnected from nature.

If you are interested you can see the two original posts on the subject here:

• Wolf attack
• About photographing the wolf attack

“There are no rules of architecture for a castle in the clouds.”

G. K. Chesterton

My growing affinity for something as intangible and transient as clouds is the result of years of treading the land and looking up. The magic and art of the sky is ever changing, fleeting, ominous, lovely and at times simply spellbinding. I don’t know if this is a hidden source for my fondness for landscape photography, but indeed, a dramatic happening in the clouds is a sure ingredient for a striking landscape photo. The big, open and ever changing skies that unfold across Alaska’s mountainous landscape is one aspect that ties me to this chunk of geography.  I wanted to share some with you here in a gallery.

Trumpeter swans swim in Wonder Lake, with the summit of Mt. McKinley, North America's largest mountain in the distance, Denali National Park, interior, Alaska. Canon 1Ds Mark III, 100-400mm f/5.6L IS (100mm), 1/200 sec @ f/9, ISO 200

This morning it was minus 17 degrees in the town of Fairbanks, and 10 degrees above zero at my office, just outside of town, up in the hills. That’s 27 degrees warmer, quite a difference. Do I live in Fairbanks? Sort of…. While winter is in full gear here in the interior, my mind occassionally drifts back to summer, or thoughts of the snow melting and the return to a colorful landscape. I’m not ready yet however, as great cross country skiing, and the beautiful skies of the winter season are rich.  I paused at this shot when reviewing a folder of images that I took in Denali National Park last year. For those who are aching for a little color on the landscape, here is a reminder of that season that will come all too soon. Or not too soon for some. I blended two images because I wanted both swans in the scene and their distance apart was too great for one vertical image at this focal length. So I panned an additional shot to the left and blended them in PS.