Category Archive

Another photo from Thursday evening of the Chugach National Forest, Seward, Alaska.

Update:  I just posted an updated, more extensive list here:  Gift Ideas for Photographers.

I get asked this question a fair amount as friends try to shop for their avid photographer loved one.  It is a tough question to answer because camera gear can be very expensive, and most photographers have fairly strong opinions on photo gear.  So, I thought I would throw out some less expensive, safer options to consider.

Digital frames Most photographers love to share the photos with family and co-workers, and having a  nice  digital frame for the office or home makes a great gift for most any photographer.  I can’t recommend a particular one as I don’t own one, but I have found the buyer feedback on Amazon to be pretty accurate.

Books.   I can’t own enough books, I’m running out of room to store them all.  I have books on particular animal species, books on locations, and books on photography.  Here are some of my favorites:

Outdoor photography

Galen Rowell’s classic book The Inner Game of Outdoor Photography is scheduled for re-release next May.  Until then, this great book by the master is a great read even if some of the information is dated:  Galen Rowell’s Vision: The Art of Adventure Photography

I haven’t seen this book, but know most of the contributors so feel fairly safe in recommending:  The Ultimate Guide to Digital Nature Photography

Location Guides

These can be very helpful and provide a nice running head start for any location.  I like to try to find my own “hot spots”, but there is nothing wrong with getting some help finding the existing ones.  Except for the Oregon book, I have used, enjoyed and relied on these location guides:

Photographing the Southwest: Volume 1–Southern Utah (2nd Ed.)
Photographing the Southwest: Volume 2–Arizona (2nd Ed.)
Photographing the Southwest: Volume 3–Colorado/New Mexico (Photographing the Soutwest)
Photographer’s Guide to Yellowstone and the Tetons
The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite
Photographing Oregon (Phototripsusa)

Animal Reference

Birds – every nature lover should have this valuable resource:  The Sibley Guide to Birds

Bird behavior.  If your photographer already has the Sibley Guide to Birds, this makes a great compliment:  The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior It covers nesting / feeding, all kinds of stuff.

Wolves.  If you like wolves as much as I do, and Denali, then this is a must read:   Wolves Of Denali

Moose.  I wish there was a book like this on every species.  It is very comprehensive, over 700 pages, and parts are technical, but if you have ever wondered something about moose, you can find it here.  I should warn you, books like this don’t come cheap, but Amazon has it for $75:   Ecology and Management of the North American Moose

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Or when all else fails, you can never go wrong with a  B & H gift card.

Resurrection Peaks, Chugach National Forest, near Seward, Alaska.

This was from last night at sunset.  It is probably more accurate to say, yesterday afternoon at sunset – this was a little after 3:00.

Harriman Glacier, Prince William Sound, Chugach National Forest, Alaska.

Well now that my first two Alaska photo tours are filling, (we have one spot remaining for the Kenai Fjords photo tour, and two spots for the Bear and Puffin photo tour), I thought I would promote my final offering, a photo tour into the amazing Prince William Sound.

Like the Kenai Fjords tour, this is an all inclusive boat based tour into a region of amazing scenery and wonderful wildlife.  This three night, four day tour will be limited to four guests, myself, an incredibly knowledgeable captain, and a cook – and we will have a 58 foot research vessel to spread out on!  We will have access to a Zodiak skiff for shore excursions and hikes, and will overnight in a different remote location each night.  Instead of repeating the amazing details here, you can read much more here:  Prince William Sound photo tour.

Troy Henkels kayaking in front of Cascade Falls, Prince William Sound, Alaska.

I have intended to tell you about www.outdoor-gear-deals.com and after seeing Necky sea kayaks for 45% off yesterday, it reminded me I needed to share this site.  But let me back up for a minute to explain.

By necessity, my occupation as an outdoor photographer requires a fair amount of good outdoor gear, so I’m always on the lookout for good deals on good outdoor equipment.  You may have remembered a post last spring where I talked about becoming addicted to these new websites like steep and cheap where they offer huge discounts on just a single item at a time.  Well, these one time “deals of the day” or even deal by hour are becoming more popular, with companies like Patagonia and REI getting in on the act.

Well it took too much time to try and visit a bunch of websites each day just in case there was something I “needed” so I created a little website that consolidated all these deals onto a single page.  For the last 6 months it has only been used by Janine and I, and a few friends, but I thought I should share it here as others might find it valuable.  So check it out and bookmark Outdoor Gear Deals – deal of the day website, the page automatically updates every 10 minutes.  It still needs some fine tuning, but I think you might find it helpful.

Alpenglow on Mt. Alice, Chugach National Forest, Seward, Alaska.

I took this photo out the front door just an hour or so after getting home on Sunday – what a great welcome home!  I have hundreds, if not thousands of somewhat similar images of this mountain, I will probably take thousands more – how can I resist?

During long trips and our summer in Alaska I’m getting enough new material to post to the blog 5 days a week.  This time of year I’m concentrating on office work, so I might not post as often over the next few months, maybe 3 times a week.  I know I have said that in the past and continued posting 5 days a week, but it takes the pressure off if I lower the expectations.  🙂

Correction:  Thanks to Aaron below, I now know this isn’t actually considered alpenglow.  This is alpenglow.

Rainbow over Resurrection Bay, Seward, Alaska.

I spotted this rainbow Monday – it had to be one of the brightest, most vivid rainbows I had ever seen.  Judging by the reactions of my neighbors, as they emerged from their homes with cameras in hand, I wasn’t the only one who thought so.  The best reaction came from an 8 year old boy riding by on his bike who looked at his buddy and said “Dude, look at that sick rainbow!”

Mount Marathon, Seward, Alaska.

Here is another photo from Sunday night on Mount Marathon.

Check out more Alaska photos.