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/

Using HDR in Photography

I was working on a moose image this weekend and had to use HDR software to bring in the mountains. I have learned to use my histogram to evaluate a photo's exposure. I especially watch for blown out sky highlights. When I can't get the dynamic range I need, I think HDR.

When I saw my histogram was pushed all the way to the right, I set up AEB (automatic exposure bracketing). I set exposure for 0,+2,-2 stops. The images I obtain don't look impressive, but when I pull them into Photomatix the results can be stunning.

A lot of my photos are taken with the camera handheld. To get the best HDR images you should use a tripod. One of the problems with taking 3 images is getting everything lined up. The software does a pretty good job even when hand holding the camera.

This was a series of photos I took on a tripod, but a breeze was blowing the tree in the foreground. It is hard to see on this small image, but the result was "ghosting". Just one more thing to watch out for while bracketing.

I use HDR to improve the range of my camera. I have seen a lot of HDR where the images are surreal. One thing HDR does is make cloud formations look interesting.

This was a photo I took looking down on Bonnie Lake. It was an uninteresting photo, but I had taken different exposures and decided to pull it into my HDR software. HDR really brought out the cloud formations.

This is a shot I took in Eagle, Alaska. I like the way the clouds turned out in this one. I try not to over do HDR, it is easy to get carried away with it.

Some HDR work does not look like HDR. This shot was taken hand held on a drive up to Tok.

I have found HDR to be another tool and may well be the future of digital photography.

Mike

http://www.akphotograph.com/

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

Photographing Petersville, Alaska

My wife and I have two 4 wheelers. There is no better way to quickly explore Alaska's backcountry. I have been a hiker for years, but on Sunday we covered 50 miles in one day's riding. We arrived on Petersville road just after sunrise. I was hoping Denali would be out, but it was shrouded in clouds all day. We had four 4 wheelers to explore the trails. The more, the better. It is important to at least pair up, anything can happen.

This is my wife Meg and her twin sister as we were starting out. Although it would get to be about 50 degrees, it was 34 when we started.

Petersville is a gorgeous area of the state. Here is a shot from the road as we took a break. There are dozens of places to camp, but can get crowded during hunting season.

Here is Meg and Kim heading up the road. Kim's husband John is far out in front, scouting the road.

Another shot as the road winds into the foothills. We would eventually make it to the snowline.

As we got futher down the road, we came across quite a few water crossings. Nothing too deep though. I have had my 4 wheeler swept away by the Matanuska River once. I do not want to repeat that.

Meg and Kim enjoy the view. We took a lunch break here and enjoyed the solitude. We were the only ones up here. This photo does not do justice to the view.

Meg and Kim coming around a corner on the way back. This is truly some beautiful country. It was hard to keep your eyes on the road.

Another shot from the road. We really enjoyed the road and trails in Petersville this weekend, but we also appreciated the beauty and solitude the 4 wheelers gave us.

I usually do not take my camera on these outings, but have done so the last couple trips. I will share another trip soon.

By the way, I was notified that I won the photo contest for the Homer Visitors Guide. I am not sure which photo won, but it will appear on the cover of the 2009 Guide.

Two of my photos appear in the online version of the Alaska Magazine photo contest. The fox and farm are mine.

Mike

http://www.akphotograph.com/

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

Photographing Merrill Pass Alaska

Merrill Pass is an infamous route through the Alaska Range. Many aviators have lost their lives in Merrill and wreckage litters the floor to prove it. My scariest flight ever was in Merrill Pass. As weather descended and we lost visibility, we were forced west. We made our way to Illiamna with low fuel and even lower cloud layer. After staying the night we woke up the next morning and flew back to Anchorage through Lake Clark Pass.

I have a link to plane wreckage photos on my website

http://www.akphotograph.com/

This is one of the many glaciers in the pass. As you can see, the colors are already starting to change on the trees.

This is another look west before the pass narrows.

This is look west near the center of the pass. This is where it narrows and weather builds in this area. I hiked to 5 plane wreck sites from here.

This guy came out to see what humans were doing on the floor of Merrill Pass, a rareity for sure.

Weather improved as we headed home. This is a look east with Shamrock Glacier in the background. There is a black bear on the flats in this photo. I got a couple shots of two bears as we flew over. We stay high and try not to bother the wildlife.

A closer look at Shamrock Glacier. It is rare to see no wind in Merrill.

Here is a shot of Blockade Glacier as we head futher east.

Hope you enjoyed your tour through Alaska's notorious Merrill Pass.

http://www.akphotograph.com/

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

Photographing Wasilla

With all the media coverage of Sarah Palin, I thought I would give readers a view of mine and Sarah's hometown Wasilla, Alaska.

This is Main Street in Wasilla. Post Office on the left, library across the street, City Hall is just around the corner. Although it is called Main Street, the main throughfare through town is the Parks Highway.

Here is Wasilla City Hall where Sarah was Mayor for 2 terms.

Pioneer Peak dominates the Wasilla landscape. This is the Parks Highway through Wasilla. If you drive from Anchorage to Denali or Fairbanks this is the highway you will take.

I was able to capture the train as it went through town.

The following images show the excitement Wasilla is showing for our one time mayor. She was a popular mayor, is a popular governer and the support shows.

The local radio station.

My favorite expresso stand.

Even the movie theater.

I wish the Palin family luck and hope the media frenzy is not too harsh.

Here are some more photos from around Wasilla. These were taken with better light and composition.

This is a photo of Hatcher Pass just outside of Wasilla. It is our summer and winter playground.

This is a farm between Wasilla and Palmer about 6 miles out of town.

Good luck to the Palin family.

Mike

http://www.akphotograph.com/

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

Photographing Denali

The weather forecasters were off one day. The next morning I was able to get some okay views of the mountain. I was hoping for a little better light. There is a moose in the photo below. Moose hunters were everywhere. Personally, I only hunt with a camera. I was surprised to see any moose out in the open with all the activity.

The one below is one of my favorites. Love the way the mist is coming off the water. Can mean only one thing....winter is coming.

I took a photo of my truck with the mountain in the background.

The mountain can be difficult to photograph, but I am determined to get some good shots this fall. Wish me luck, the weather has not cooperated.

Mike

http://www.akphotograph.com/

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