Rohn at 40 below

I work as an engineer for the FAA and travel throughout the state on the Weather Camera Program. I enjoy my job tremendously and have met some of the finest pilots in Alaska. I travel to some very remote places in Alaska, anywhere that we have a camera.
I have a lot of adventures and have accumulated a lot of stories, most of them aviation related. Last year a co-worker and I scheduled a trip to Rohn because the site was down. Like most of our trips, weather always plays a factor. Most warm days are cloudy limiting flying through the mountain passes and clear days in the winter bring frigid cold. Availability of aircraft can be a problem as well. We needed a DeHavilland Beaver because of all the gear we needed. The site is run on solar power, wind generators and batteries so we needed spare wind turbines and a generator to charge batteries. It was -20 F in Anchorage, but Talkeetna was -5 F. We decided to try it, we had arctic gear, food, sleeping bags and there is a BLM cabin at Rohn. We were planning on spending one night. Our plans would change.

This is R.J. as we loaded the Beaver. What a luxury being able to load in a hanger.




DeHavilland Beaver on skis would be our ride to Rohn. It wouldn't be our ride home however.

View of Denali on takeoff.

As you can see, it was a beautiful day. The sunrise on Denali was spectacular, unfortunately, I didn't have the time to stop and take photos.

Another view of Denali

Chelatna Lake

Chelatna Lake is about 35 air miles from Talkeetna. This is a view looking north. Rohn is due west and is about 100 air miles from Talkeetna.

The Alaska Range

The Alaska Range is truly mountains as far as the eye can see. It is a treat to be able to fly over them instead of trying to fly below the clouds and through the passes.

Middle Triple Peak

I wish I could find my gps tracklog for this trip to verify this exact location. I believe this to be Middle Triple Peak. The first ascent was 1976. A very remote part of the range.

Rohn Airstrip

Rohn Airstrip is an unmaintained gravel strip. It is used by the Iron Dog Snowmachine Race to stock fuel and as a checkpoint. The Iditarod Air Force flies food and supplies in here for the Iditarod. We wanted to get the cameras working because of the upcoming races and activity.

Lining up

The tracks are from an aircraft flying fuel in for the Iron Dog race.

Turning around

The pilot got the aircraft stuck in the soft snow at the end of the runway. Nothing like pushing an aircraft out of the snow with prop wash and -40 degree temperatures. -40 degrees can be dangerous working conditions for the unprepared. We made sure there was still wood at the cabin and that we could get our generator started. We made the call to stay until the next day and get the cameras working. Unfortunately, on takeoff the pilot tried to stay out of the ruts and drifted too close to the trees. He ended up damaging a wing. We called Talkeetna with our satellite phone to verify he made it back.

Rohn Roadhouse

First order of business would be to get a fire going in the roadhouse's wood stove. We had stocked the cabin with lots of wood when we widened the runway the summer before.

Rohn Roadhouse

Another shot of the cabin. It was quite comfortable inside although we would see -46 degrees F. before we got out.

Next order of business was to check on the site. We snowshoed over to the site towing our spares and test equipment behind us in sleds. We found a bad power supply on the satellite modem, but everything else was in good shape. We had a hard time installing a new power supply because the cold weather makes the wiring very frail. I left my camera behind because of the frigid weather. We had to keep all electronics close to our bodies as we hiked in and out. We had to return to the cabin to warm up every 20 to 30 minutes.

The next day we called for our pickup but the carrier told us the plane was damaged and could not come get us. They would send their 185 out the next day.

Grey Jay

The grey jays were getting to know us by now. There were several that hung around outside. They seemed to have a fascination with our snow shoes.

Grey Jay

They also liked to roost on the antlers on the front of the cabin. They would be constant companions for the next couple days.

Cessna 185

Day 3 we hauled all our gear to the airstrip for what we thought would be a pickup. A 185 flew low over the strip then headed east, back to Talkeetna. We were not pleased. We had a ground to air radio, but were not able to communicate with the pilot. Later we found out the pilot did not think the runway was safe to land on. Now we were stuck. Although it was -40, we were still comfortable, had plenty of wood, a chainsaw just in case and plenty of food. I have found out long ago to pack at least 3 days food. My boss, however, was worried and trying to set up a helicopter to come get us. Our carrier found someone with a Super Cub to come get us. A Super Cub is a great airplane for getting in and out of places, but we had a Beaver full of gear to take.

Day 4 the Super Cub showed up to haul us and our gear to Puntilla Lake. Rainy Pass Lodge is located there and is another checkpoint on the Iditirod trail. Once he ferried all our gear, a Beaver from Anchorage would come haul us back to Talkeetna.

Super Cub on Puntilla Lake

Part of Rainy Pass Lodge

Beaver on Puntilla Lake

The folks at Rainy Pass Lodge were very accommodating, as always, and brewed a fresh pot of coffee for us while we waited for our aircraft.

This trip was just another part of the job I love. Sometimes they pay me too much for what I do and sometimes they don't pay me enough. I will share one where they don't pay me enough with you sometime.

Mike Criss

http://www.akphotograph.com/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alaska48/

Photographing Dogs

One of my favorite subjects to photograph is the dog. We have four ourselves and my sister-in-law has six. There is no shortage of opportunities.
Dogs can be difficult to photograph, especially if you try to get them in a studio setting.



This is our bulldog Chesty. He is not too hard to photograph. He thinks his job is to hold down the couch anyway. He ignored all the commotion associated with setting up lights and umbrellas and posed well for a couple shots before dosing off again.


This is Pippin and he is much more difficult to photograph. I would not want to make my living from this type of photography, it is not easy.

Capturing Pippin outside can be a chore also, but sometimes I get lucky.Picking your background can really make the image.


Here is another example of composing the dog with a great background. This was taken at Berner's Bay in Juneau.

Our boxer Mo is a challenge to photograph as well. Full of energy and never resting, it makes it hard to get a good shot. Here I captured him on a hike in Hatcher Pass near our home. Another example of paying attention to the background.


The hardest, but most rewarding, is capturing dogs in motion. This shot was taken on Lake Lucille during a Dock Dogs competition.


Another Dock Dogs photo. It was sure fun to capture these images, the dogs had a blast.

Capturing owners with their dogs make some of the best shots. This is my lovely wife with Pepper. We had to put Pepper down this summer after 14 years of being in the family.

Another owner shot with Meg and Pippin. You can sure tell he is loved!!

I have tons of dog photos and will probably post a blog on photographing the Iditarod or mushing in general.

Mike Criss

http://www.akphotograph.com/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alaska48/

Photographing Eagles

I am organizing and cataloging my digital files using Lightroom. I had no idea how many photos I had or that I had so many of certain subjects.
One of my favorite subjects to photograph is the bald eagle. Living in Alaska gives me that opportunity, but it is not as easy as you think. A lot of things have to happen to get a "keeper" image. I have thousands of eagle images, but only a handful I would rate 5 stars.

This image taken in Juneau combines light, wind direction and background into a good eagle image. Once I found these conditions and the eagles, it was very hard to pull myself away. I came across a group of them feeding on something near the shore and scared them off when I got out of the car. After sitting quietly for 30 to 40 minutes they started to come back and I was able to take hundreds of photos.
I had positioned myself so the light and wind would give me the best chance of getting good shots. Even if I can't photograph eagles, I will watch them and try to learn their characteristics.
You need to take advantage of wind direction to help your photos. The light on the above image shows detail in the wing feathers. This is not always easy.
Catching eagles as they land can give you striking poses. This is a Juneau eagle landing on the rocks next to the shore.
This eagle put his head under water and pulled this out. Not sure what it was, but he was really serious about getting his food.

The above eagle photograph was taken in Valdez last year. It was a beautiful, cold day and the eagles around town were active. I have been to Valdez dozens of times and only once did I get some good eagle pictures. A lot of it has to do with weather and with it, lighting.
Another picture from Valdez. Nothing like a mountain and another eagle for a background!

Homer is my favorite places to photograph eagles. The image above was taken while walking the beach. This eagle was not bothered by humans at all and cruised up and down the beach for a couple hours feeding on minnows at low tide.
Another shot on the beach at Homer. If you have never been to Homer, you owe yourself a trip. It is a beautiful place.
A young eagle cruising the beach in Homer. This one was a little more shy around humans.

I have been very fortunate to have solitude in most of my endeavors to photograph eagles. There are times, however, where an eagle will pose just off a busy road in the middle of summer. This is what you get:
A lot of glass on this hillside in Homer. There was an eagle sitting on a piece of driftwood along the road.

Hope you enjoyed my eagle photography.

Mike

Photographing Juneau Alaska

I have been to Juneau dozens of times. The weather is always unpredictable and I end up packing rain gear, cold weather gear and dress in layers.

If you are lucky enough to be in Juneau while the weather is nice, there is no place like it. It is one of my favorite places to travel within the state. Apparently the cruise ship industry likes it also. There can be 3-5 ships in port at once. They even have to anchor a couple in the channel and ferry the passengers in.

This was shot last summer. The cruise industry brings a lot of visitors into Alaska.

One of the first things people do when they get here is shop. Downtown Juneau is full of jewelry stores and t-shirt shops. One of the second things they do is visit Mendenhall Glacier.

Mendenhall Glacier can be seen from the airport and is a must see when in Juneau. They have a nice visitors center and nicely maintained trails. This was taken last week.

Juneau has one main road out of town and it travels north 40 miles. I drove up it last week and had to stop along the way to take photos.

This is Auke Lake as the sun was rising.

The road dead ends at Echo Cove.

I hiked around Echo Cove for about 3 miles to get to Berners Bay. It was very peaceful, I was the only one in the parking lot. Just me and all the birds out there.

As I hike around a corner towards the bay, this is one of the views.

These mountains are a part of the range that surrounds Berners Bay.

Echo Cove finally gives way to Berners Bay.

I can't tell you how peaceful this was. I could sit and enjoy this view for hours.

Thor thought he would enjoy the view!!

Mike Criss

http://www.akphotograph.com/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alaska48/

Photographing Hawaii

A lot of Alaskans like to escape the cold once in a while. We are no different, and usually get away to a warm climate once a year. Last year we went to Mexico and this year we went to Hawaii. We would have probably gone back to Mexico, but my son decided to have his wedding on a beach in Hawaii.

We left the house and it was 13 degrees F. The next day my wife Meg was walking on a beach in 85 degree weather.

My main job while in Hawaii was to photograph my son's wedding. It also allowed me to work on my night photography. For Alaskans, dark equals cold. After so many years here, it is a strange feeling to step into a dark night and be warm. It was sure comfortable to be able to set up and photograph in the warmth of a Hawaiian night.

I came across this police officier on his Waikiki Beach beat. I did not have my tripod so I set my camera on a post and exposed for 3 seconds.

I hiked down to the beach one night and captured some images.

It is almost impossible to find a secluded beach around Waikiki so I had to deal with a lot of people.

Because of all the people, we would get in our convertible and explore the island and scout out the wedding location for lighting.

We got up at 5am one morning to catch the sunrise on the east side of Oahu. This is a shot of Meg enjoying the ocean spray.

We spent a lot of time on the North Shore as well.

This is a shot of a North Shore sunset. It was incredible.

Of course I had to try some HDR with sunset shots and came up with this next photo.

I climbed a lifeguard tower to get this shot. A photographer then set up his tripod just below me, so I moved in front of him.

Hawaii is a great getaway, but Oahu has too many people for me. Next trip will be to one of the other islands.

BTW, I have a new daughter-in-law.

Mike

http://www.akphotograph.com/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alaska48/