Let it Snow HDR

Sun rise behind Pioneer Peak. 3 exposure HDR. Been getting a lot of snow around here! Love it.

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Pioneer Peak

Canon 5D High ISO

My nephews and nieces were in a production of Scrooge in the Seattle area. I was in town on business, but did not bring my fast 70-200mm 2.8 lens. I decided to try the high ISO capabilities of the Canon 5D mark II. These were all shot at 12,800 ISO except the last one which was shot at 6400 ISO. The lighting was very challenging, but I like how they came out. These are straight out of Lightroom with no noise reduction.

Skijoring in Alaska

My wife and I own a Siberian Husky and enjoy taking him out on hikes, walks and runs. This winter we will be skijoring more. I have done some skijoring years ago when I lived in Fairbanks, but have not skied with a dog since moving to Wasilla. I have tried to include some scenic photos from the trail. These were taken with a point and shoot camera. Since this was the first time Donner and I were skiing together I did not want to take a chance with my 5D. I included a short video to show what fun it is to skijor.

Skijoring in Alaska from Mike Criss on Vimeo.

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Talkeetna Sunrise

Went to Talkeetna last week for more sunrise photos.

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Denali HDR

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♠Denali HDR

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Denali HDR

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Denali HDR

I was hoping for either leaves on the trees or snow. I got neither. The first clear day after a giant snowfall I will be back.

Photographing Prince of Wales Island

Prince of Wales Island is a 3 hour ferry ride from Ketchikan. Some of its major towns are Craig, Klawock and Thorne Bay. I did not have the best weather for photography, but I enjoyed exploring the island on its extensive road system.

Some information on the ferry is here.

Thorne Bay

Hatchery Creek Falls near Coffman Cove

Deer are everywhere on the island

Craig, Alaska

On the road to Thorne Bay

Landing at Hydaburg

Landing at Ketchikan

Hydaburg, Alaska

Photographing Ketchikan

Ketchikan is a fantastic place to visit. I spent a couple days there this last week and a couple days on Prince of Wales Island. These are all HDR photos taken in and around Ketchikan.

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Photographing Denali using HDR

Got up at 4am Friday morning to drive to Denali National Park for some photo ops. I was not disappointed.

Denali National Park

Every year the National Park Service gives out lottery tickets for people to drive into Denali. Last year I had great weather for the 90 mile drive to Wonder Lake. This year, it rained on me most of the day and the road was quite muddy. The drive is still wonderful, the scenery is spectacular even if Denali is obscured by clouds.

The road into the park

This is what most of the road is like. Incredibly, many people drove their cars deep into the park.

Valley Floor

Termination dust on those mountains! It won't be long.

Long, winding road

Grizzly dwarfed by the landscape

This bear was in the middle of the road as I came around a corner. He quickly moved away, it is amazing how fast they can move.

Weather moving in

I was hoping the weather would clear so I could capture an image of Denali. It was not to be.

Ptarmigan

Caribou

Caribou

Caribou trying to cross the road

This guy hung in there with his video camera. The caribou ended up taking a wide berth around him.

From the road

One of my favorite places on the road. Took a fantastic shot here last year.

Moose through the trees

Saw lots of moose, but I see them in my yard.