Quick shot taken in midtown Anchorage, Alaska on 4/2/2023
So far this year the weather has not been very aurora friendly for Southcentral Alaska. The cloudy weather makes it very hard to see what NOAA aurora forecast say is up there in the sky.
You'll never forget a Turnagain Arm sunrise or sunset. Around 50 miles from, the beginning of Turnagain Arm, starting at Anchorage, to where it ends at Portage. Every mile is a golden photo oppritunity.
Sun rising in Anchorage on a lone gravesite. While some consider cemeteries a scary place. I consider them to be a peaceful place full of interesting stories.
The last sunset of 2022 captured from Campbell Creek Estuary located in Anchorage, Alaska
Whenever I see the moon I can't help but think of the Laurie Berkner song, "Moon, Moon, Moon". In the song she refers to the moon as, "My nightlight". I have listened to this song, literally, hundreds of times. Two of my kids were obsessed with the artist and her songs. Luckily Laurie Berkner is easy on the ears, so I didn't mind listening to her on repeat.
The top of the Chugach mountain range gets to feel the first bit of sunlight.
Beautiful 9 am sunrise over Turnagain Arm. I actually shot this image while driving down the Seward highway towards Portage. I had a particular spot in mind that I wanted to get to before it was too late, but I also wanted to capture this composition.
Pioneer Peak under the moonlight.
Sunrise photo taken along Winner Creek trail looking up at the 7 glaciers restaurant. This was a sunrise shot that I had really been wanting to capture. This was my third attempt. The first two times the I failed because of rain and fog.
If you were out shooting auroras last night then this was lemon in the sky. Early on I realized that aurora shooting was going to be pretty difficult. The moon washes out the colors of the aurora. It also creates shadows where you don't want them. For instance the shadow of me and my camera were in a lot of my shots. Luckily I was able to use the moonlight to my advantage
Big Dipper over a valley in Hatcher Pass
Unbelievable Sunrise on Turnagain Arm
Another beautiful sunrise along Turnagain Arm, Alaska. Zoom in where the water meets the mountain and you can truly see how impressively large this Alaskan scenery is compared to the tiny vehicles driving along the Seward Highway
Ice climbing frozen waterfalls in Alaska.
Hatcher Pass Lodge located just below the Historic Independence Mine. It was a beautiful, but cold, clear starry night.
I had to get low for this one. I really wanted the grasses to frame the bottom of the shot . I felt like the sky needed some color on the foreground to balance out the image. Alaska is Beautiful!
Denali.
A shot i took this last winter of the the last light highlighting the top of the mountain.
Wanted to rework this image that I had previously posted. This image was taken during last winter's solstice. I had intended that morning to drive to Portage to take sunrise photos. It took me longer to drive than expected. I ended up having to pull over to this rest stop along the Seward highway.
I know there aren't any northern lights in the image, but I trty to take a photo of my aurora chasing chariot once a aurora season. Hopefully I can get out one more time before the end of the season.
This is a sunrise photo, but it's not about the the sunrise. When I saw the wind swept pattern in the snow I immediately stopped in my tracks to get a picture. The angle of the sun really brought out the lights and shadows.
To be honest, I don't know if the three women in this picture are actually friends. I saw them all get out of the same vehicle. I assume that they at least like each other emough to travel in the same vehicle together. Anyway, I thought that this was a good image to show the landscape with a human element.
This shot was taken on New Year's Eve. It is in a part of Anchorage that I newly discovered, thanks to a tip from my father-in-law. For the most part I had the place all to myself except for a moose that was roaming around in the woods to the right. My photographer's resoultion for 2023 is to get out and explore more new places right here within the city of Anchorage. There are so many parks, buildings, and streets that, like this image, are completely new and beautiful to me. I've lived in Anchorage, off and mostly on, since the summer of 1983. Yet, I am to this day still discovering new and amazing things right here in the city.. Wondering what I'll stumble upon next?
City streets of Anchorage
Capturing the lights and shadows of the snowdrifts with the fading sunlight while hiking in the Chugach mountains
Another day another sunrise. This shot was taken along Seward Highway, looking over Turnagain Arm in Alaska. I took 15 vertical images and combined them to create this 117 megapixel panorama. In other words this would be great as a large print mounted on your living room wall.
The beginning of my spontaneous road trip. Catching the sunrise on the Kenai Penisula mountains.
The wind swept landscape of Beluga Point. This is an older picture from a few years ago. I really liked this one because of how the wind has blown the snow away creating leading lines in the direction of the gorgeous sunrise.
Last night the moon couldn't compete with the auroras. This was shot on the night of March 23rd, 2023 near 20 mile River, Alaska.
This is another shot of the same sunrise I posted yesterday. I decided to post this because I actually like everything about this one more. The cropping and the lighting on the foreground bothered me about the last post. I'll leave the other one up so you can compare. Tell me what you think.
Decided to go out to capture the sunrise South of Anchorage. I had some really good light and the temperatures weren't too bad. It was warm enough to go out shooting with a sweatshirt. Mostly because I forgot my coat at home.
Trip to Anchorage, Alaska Museum
Trip to Anchorage, Alaska Museum. The entrance to the section of the museum dedicated to Alaskan History.
City streets of Anchorage
Moonbow on a cold winter night in Alaska.
Perfect sunrise in the Perfect State of Alaska. Alaska is Beautiful!
An empty cove in Whitter, Alaska
Downton Anchorage, Alaska shot from Glen Alps, AK. This section of Anchorage extends from Fireweed Ln on the left side to Gambell Ave. on the right side.
A high altitude airplane intersects the halo around the moon. If you look closely you can see the shadow of the contrail
I captured another beautiful Alaskan sunrise. This time I visited the Chugach Mountain range. This is the mountain range that you see on the East side of town. Interesting fact. Chugach State Park is around 495,000 acres, making it the third largest state park in the United States. According to the website Travel Alaska, that would make it big enough to hold both "New York City and Los Angeles within it's borders".
Anchorage on a winter morning.
Anchorage on a winter morning. Went out this morning to shoot the sunrise, but I missed it. Instead I captyured this handheld 14 image panorama of the Anchorage city view.
The final sunset of 2022, for me. Now it's time to get ready for a new year.
City streets of Anchorage
I get a sense of peace when looking at this image. To me this image is very calming. While similar to my previous shot taken at the same spot , this one mentally touches me differently. This image was shot along the Turnagain Highway October of 2022
I finally made it to this spot for sunrise. I saw this spot years ago and thought how I would like to someday capture the sunrise at this spot. I can now say mission accomplished! Alaska is Beautiful!
Just a random mountain that caught my eye while in Whitter, Alaska
Who's ready for winter? Here in Anchorage the mountain tops are covered in a light dusting of snow. Sooner than later the snow will make its way down to the Anchorage bowl. I personally am not ready for winter.