We went out hoping for northern lights, but came up empty handed. We were still able to capture the moon lit landscape of Knik River. The moon and clouds created a very dramatic sky. 9/25/2021.
We hiked out to Portage Glacier via the Portage pass trail.At first the light wasn't that great. Plus it was windy, rainy, and snowy at various points along the trail. Magically as we approached Portage lake the clouds opened up just enough to let the sunshine through. It was the perfect combination of clouds and sunlight.
The clouds were moving in fast. My chances of capturing the northern lights were dwindling away. To pass time I decided to capture the city lights of Anchorage reflecting off the clouds. Then the lights rounded the corner. I thought this would make a cool picture. The headlights reflecting off of the train track rails. This is actually not a train at all. The Seward Highway runs parallel to the train tracks. The headlight that you see is of an oncoming car. I timed it so that the car appears to be on the track.
An out of place group of spruce growing on the the tundra.
The view from Denali Viewpoint South. Unfortunately Denali was hiding behind the clouds along the horizon. If the clouds weren't in the way you would be able to Denali in the big gap between the two large spruce trees on the right side of the picture.
A large chunk of ice from Portage Glacier sits all alone along the shore of Portage Lake. The murky, silty lake almost seems to mirror the foggy sky above.
a 25 second long exposure of a stretch of Turnagain Arm.
Everything was unusually calm at Portage Lake this morning. There was absolutely no wind. Normally Portage has a constant breeze.
Super windy day along Turnagain Arm. The view from Indian, AK was still amazing.
The crowds at Glen Alps start to leave after a beautiful sunset. Anchorage, Alaska
The hillside of Anchorage sits at the foot of the Chugach mountain range. This morning we had beautiful light rays lighting the hillside
Not as amazing and brillant as milky way shots from regions closer to the equator. Seeing the Alaskan milky way is still impressive.
Twilight takes over on the Denali Highway
The impressive wooden bridge that crosses the just as impressive Susitna River
The beginning of September in Alaska signals the end of summer. The leaves are starting to turn colors and there is a cold crispness in the air.
I went down to Portage lake hoping to catch the sunrise. The weather wasn't cooperating. As I was getting ready to turn around and head back home, I noticed this motorhome sized iceberg sitting there. What started out as a sunrise photo trip quickly turned into a Iceberg photoshoot. The weather is so unpredictable in Southcentral Alaska. You have to learn to make the most out of every oppritunity.
Bird hunting in the fog.
Morning sunrise at Portage Lake hidden by a thick fog. I normally hate foggy days. I decided that I would go out and make lemonade out of the lemons the weather was offering
Went down to Potter Marsh while patiently waiting for my landscape lenses to return from cleaning. The colors of the sunrise were too hard to pass up. So I grabbed my one remaining lens, but forgot my tripod. Turned out better than I thought for being handheld.
The Fall colors are in full swing here in Anchorage, Alaska. With the colder mornings, winter will definitely be here before we know it. This shot was taken at the foot of the Chugach mountain range, the morning after we had a dusting of snow on the mountain peaks.
This shot of Denalui was taken from Point Woronzof, Anchorage, Alaska, As the crow flies Denali is only a couple of hundred miles away from this point. Driving from Anchorage it would take you roughly about 4 to 5 hours. Funny thing that happened while I was taking the picture. What I assume was a tourist family thought that Denali was a glacier.
The milky way intersects with the northern lights over 20 mile river valley near Anchorage, Alaska
My son was in charge of the campfire during our trip along the Denali Highway
One of the many little ponds along the Denali Highway. I almost was able to get the full reflection of the mountains.
Such a concentrated beam of lght shining down from the sky onto Turnagain Arm. The family and I were driving down Seward Highway when I noticed the perfect light. Of course I had to pull over.
The ghost forest of Portage. The ground along the shore of Turnagain Arm sank as much as 30 feet during the 1964 Alaska earthquake. The town of Portage and the surrounding forest was completely flooded by water. All that remains of the town of Portage are a caved in mechanics garage and groves of these dead trees. The trees remain standing because the have been preserved by the salt water that flooded the roots.
Stopped for a quick picture at the Potter Marsh boardwalk. my duaghter isn't felling well so I only had time to stop and take this one picture.
The last photo from my trip up north to Denali Highway and Denali Park.
We hiked out to Portage Glacier via the Portage pass trail. At first, the light wasn't that great. Plus it was windy, rainy, and snowy at various points along the trail. Magically as we approached Portage lake the clouds opened up just enough to let the sunshine through. It was the perfect combination of clouds and sunlight.
The stars were had a nice glow to them because of the thin hazy clouds. I took this shot while waiting for the northern lights to become active.
The Big Dipper constellation was shining bright behind the thin cloud cover
Beautiful Lavender sunset along the Denali Highway.
The views from Denali Highway are breathtaking. Especially during Autumn.
Its all about the angles. At this angle the reflection of the iceberg has what looks like a heart at it's center.
The trees in the foreground are missing their tops due the wildfires in Campbell Creek park area. .Luckily no one was injured and they were able to put the fire out quickly.
The always quite trail that runs along Ingram creek. Starting next year the Alaska Park service will finally begin contruction on multiple bridges along Ingram Creek trail. This will turn a mile long trail into a 12 mile long trail. I'm happy that they are finally doing the work, but also sad at the same time. What is now a quite trail will soon become a busy trail.
Which one do you like better?The color version or the monochrome version.
Portage glacier 3
Short walk Campbell creek trail
Autumn in Alaska
Old timey gas pumps at Clearwater Mountain Lodge.
This was the view that I woke up to my first morning on the Denali Highway. It's hard to take a bad photo while on the Denali Highway
My final shot in this series of iceberg photographs. I thought that the final shot should be a close up of just the iceberg. In a couple of days this iceberg will have melted into the surrounding waters. what has taken hundreds of years to form, ends melted along the shores of Portage lake.
The moss is growing everywhere in this forest. All the green makes it feel like I'm walking through the forest during the summer and not at the end of Autumn.
Portage Lake, Alaska. A calm foggy morning.
It was a very windy day along Turnagain Arm. The wind gust were around 55-65mph.In the distance two ladies braved the strong wind gust at Beluga Point to take a few pictures. They only lasted a few minutes before they had enough and ran back to their car.