Category Archive

Does this mean us?

I was photographing this cow with two young calves at sunset in Denali recently when they passed in front of this sign.  I decided to focus on the sign instead of the moose as it kinda looked like they were stopping to read it.  This is a long running restricted area in Sable Pass – an area known for grizzly bears – not a good place for moose calves.

Below is a cow moose near the front of the Park.

Moose, Denali National Park, Alaska.

Moose cow and calf at sunrise, Denali National Park, Alaska.

If you look close you can see the ears of the calf just behind it’s mom.  This cow and calf ran by us at full speed early one morning last week.  We never could see what it was running from, but it is safe to say, this is a really tough area for newborn moose.  Not only are there predators everywhere, but the vegetation is so tall and thick, this one had a difficult time just keeping up with its mother.

In the photo below is a cow with 3 calves which is some what rare.  She has taken a little different approach hanging out near the campgrounds at the front of the park where the predators are more uncomfortable, and the traveling is much easier!

Cow moose with 3 calves, Denali National Park, Alaska.

Dall Sheep, Polychrome Pass, Denali National Park, Alaska.

These are such amazing animals – it is hard to believe the steep terrain these guys can traverse with ease!

These were captured last Saturday on my recent trip to Denali, the bottom image just after 4:00 a.m., the above photo much later the same day – around 10:00 p.m.  The days can be long this time of year!

Dall Sheep, Polychrome Pass, Denali National Park, Alaska.

Grizzly Bear, Denali National Park, Alaska.

We are back from a really fun trip to Denali National Park.  We saw lots of wolves, bears, moose with calves, wildflowers and all kinds of weather – perfect!  I will be sharing more in the upcoming days.

Typically in early June, the landscape is still very brown with gullies still full of snow – it gives the park a zebra kind of look.  Not this year – Denali was incredibly green and we found all kinds of wildflowers – it was beautiful.  I thought it was at least 2 weeks ahead of schedule.  A ranger who lives in the area year around told us that many of the wildflowers were actually 3 weeks early.  So in the desert this spring they were 3 weeks late, here 3 weeks early – crazy stuff.

In the top photo is a sow with an approximately two year old cub.  We started watching them a long distance away.  At one point the sow playfully chased the cub right at us – I couldn’t roll the windows up fast enough!  They seem oblivious to vehicles and buses and hung around us feeding and interacting for a wonderful hour.  Below is a much more distant bear – notice how green it is.

Grizzly Bear near Polychrome Pass, Denali National Park, Alaska.

Mt. Mc Kinley (Denali to most Alaskan's), Denali National Park, Alaska.

As I try to power away on the office work, I can’t help but to day dream away about Alaska’s upcoming summer – it is why most people live here!  In just a few weeks we will be back in Denali – a time of year that can be great for baby animals.  I’m excited to get back up there.

It seems like in the past week or two we have sold a lot of photos of Denali for various book and calendar projects.  Funny how it works – we might go many months without making a sell for a particular subject like Denali, then all of a sudden we see a bunch of activity – then it can go right back to nothing for months.  You would think it would trickle in, but often it doesn’t.  That is why it really helps to have a wide variety of subject matter.

Wild wolves at sunrise, Denali National Park, Alaska.

This old photo shot on Velvia slide film is still one of my favorite photos and memories, and as good as any for my annual trip down memory lane.  You see it was eight years ago that I left a wonderful job and took the big plunge into being a full time photographer – a decision I have never regretted.  I could go on, but I would just be repeating what I wrote last year on my 7 Years and Counting post.

I heard about an interesting study reported on the news recently (NBC Nightly News I think).  The researchers interviewed elderly people in retirement homes to find out about their lives, and what brought them happiness and regret.  To greatly paraphrase the results, the thing that universally brought about the most regret was not having taken more risks in their life – risks they may have enabled them to pursue a dream or passion.

To this day I have to remind myself of this – I tend to be a bit risk adverse, and to this day I’m a bit surprised I did take such a huge leap.   I have to give Janine much of the credit for this decision thanks to all her help and support.  It reminds me of the great quote:  “It is better to try and fail then to never try at all”.

Cover of Alaska Magazine, November, 2009.

Having the cover of Alaska Magazine is pretty cool.  Check that, it is really cool!  We knew we had made this sale almost two months ago, and I was really looking forward to seeing the final result once we got back home – I think it turned out great!

This is a rock ptarmigan in Denali National Park.  Willow ptarmigan get all the love in Alaska – they are even our State Bird, so it is nice to see the rock ptarmigan get a little press.  🙂

After a few longs days of travel we are now safely back home – it is great to be back in Seward!  The below zero wind chill factor this morning reminded me we were no longer in Palm Springs.  But then again, so did the lack of stop lights, traffic, the fresh air, amazing scenery…