Mt Drum

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Photos, Travel, Wrangell-St. Elias 13 Comments

Mt Drum, Wrangel-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Mt Drum, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

 I picked up a magazine assignment to photograph a fisherman in Cordova.  I’m thrilled, because the timing perfectly correspondes with the amazing shorebird migration.  We had a wonderful time here last year, but weren’t sure if we were going to return this year – this made that decision easy!

We normally travel to Cordova via the Alaska State Ferry from Whittier, but  the road to Whittier was closed thanks to a landslide.  This forced us to make the long drive around to Valdez just to catch the ferry.  That’s ok, it is a beautiful drive!  We timed it so that we would pass through Glennallen right at sunset Sunday night so the we could photograph the Wrangell Mountains.  Sunset wasn’t anything special, but the mountains sure are!

Cow Moose

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Chugach, Photos, Travel 9 Comments

A moose cow outside of Seward, Alaska earlier this week.

A moose cow outside of Seward, Alaska earlier this week.

Just out of sight was a year old calf who will likely be abandoned soon.  Mortality rates for moose during their first year of life is very high.  Once they hit the age of one, the rate drops substantially, and the mom’s job is done.

Kayaking and Camera Gear?

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Ask Ron, Chugach, Photos, Travel 10 Comments

Kayaking in Prince William Sound, Alaska.

Kayaking in Prince William Sound, Alaska.

As part of the ask Ron theme, adventure photographer Ryan Bonneau asks how I handle my camera gear while kayaking.  Ryan is going to be spending two months kayaking in Prince William Sound this summer (lucky guy!).  He went on to say he has tried storing his gear on deck in a dry bag, as well as in his cockpit in a dry bag, and has never felt comfortable with either system.

Well, unfortunately I don’t have a solution for this one.  I do the same thing as Ryan, and have never felt comfortable with those options either.  Usually I keep my camera in a dry bag under the bungees on the deck in front of me, kind of like the yellow bag you see in this photo.  My camera’s dry bag is red – it is probably sitting on my skirt and just out of sight in this photo.  Getting the camera in and out of the bag and stowed away is always a wet, awkward proposition full of risk – I dread hearing that plunking sound of a lens dropping overboard, so far I have been fortunate.  I’ve seen this topic come up in photography forums, but have never heard of a better solution.

By the way, the dark area between both bows is a large school of salmon.

I hadn’t seen Ryan’s photography until today – check it out, he has some great stuff.  Looks like he just started a blog as well.

KPTCM Cover

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Kenai Fjords, Photos, Shameless Self Promotion, Travel 4 Comments

Cover of the Kenai Peninsula Tourism Marketing Council Travel Guide, Alaska.

Cover of the Kenai Peninsula Tourism Marketing Council Travel Guide (KPTMC), Alaska.

This is actually a composite of two of our images combined by KPTMC.  You see, they really liked this photo from Harriman Fiord in Prince William Sound.  Problem was, even though it looked like it could have been captured in Kenai Fjords on the Kenai Peninsula, savvy viewers would certainly recognize this as part of Prince William Sound which is outside the Kenai Peninsula.  So they replaced the background with an image of ours from Kenai Fjords.  They did such a good job that when this arrived last week, I forgot it was a composite – it even fooled me!

Sandhill Cranes

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Chugach, Photos, Travel 12 Comments

Sanhill Cranes, Seward, Alaska.

Sandhill Cranes, Seward, Alaska.

Seward was inundated with seasonal visitors this weekend, but I’m not talking about the two legged tourist type that typically start appearing about now.  Actually, there really weren’t any tourists in town with the Seward Highway closed all weekend.  No, we received hundreds, if not thousands of birds this weekend!  We went from very few birds, to huge flocks in just a couple of days.  The transformation this time of year is a treat to watch.

The most exciting to me were the Sandhill Cranes.  You could see and hear large flocks working their way up Resurrection Bay.  Most of the large flocks stopped for a quick bite to eat before moving on.  There were also large numbers of White-fronted and Canadian Geese, and lots of ducks, especially Northern Pintails, and even a couple of swans.

A flock of sandhill cranes leaving Seward, Alaska.

A flock of Sandhill Cranes leaving Seward, Alaska.

What do I do for Power on Extended Trips in the Field?

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Ask Ron, Chugach, Miscellaneous, Travel 11 Comments

Camping in the Chuach National Forest, Alaska.

How do I handle the power needs for my digital camera and file storage on long trips away from electricity?  This was an ask Ron question brought up by two fellow blog’en photographer friends of mine Richard Wong and Gary Crabbe.  Both guys operate great blogs – blogs I read everyday, so if you have extra time, do check them out.   Read More

How Did I Capture the Ferris Wheel Photo?

Ron NiebruggeAsk Ron, California, How to, Los Angeles, Photos, Travel 11 Comments

A ferris Wheel at night, Long Beach, California.

A ferris wheel at night, Long Beach, California.

Well I hate to post the same photo twice, especially in the same week, but in response to my “ask Ron” request, this was the most asked question.  More specifically, Dennis Barton wanted to know how many tries it took to capture this image, while Sheri Lyons wondered how the photo came to look like this.Read More