Spruce Grouse

Spruce grouse in Alaska are known to be rather tame, and approaching them is often easy. They inhabit the dense spruce woods and feed on berries and spruce needles. The varied color and pattern in their feathers make them an attractive bird. Males have the distinct red band around the eye. A population distinction between the "Taiga" and "Franklin's" can be noted by the rusty band (Taiga) on the outside rim of the tail feathers--as observed in this male bird. It can be difficult to get acomplete bird in a frame, showing feet and all, and for this reason, I like this image. Additionally, the slight ruffle of the breast feathers shows distinct pattern. See more spruce grouse photos.

Male Spruce grouse, Brooks range forest, Alaska.
Canon 1Ds Mark II, 100-400 mm (235mm) f5.6L, 1/80 sec @f5.6, ISO 500

Male Spruce grouse have a distinctive red band around the eyes.

The rusty band on the tail feathers is one way to distinguish the "Taiga" population from the Franklin's population.

Hoar frost ice crystals

On the theme of frost, which visits Fairbanks generously during a given winter, this image reveals a brilliant pattern which sparkles under a low-angle sun. Hoar frost, or sometimes called radiator frost exhibits itself well in the Fairbanks winter conditions, partly because it is both cold and not very windy.

Surface hoar frost, Fairbanks, Alaska.
Canon 1Ds Mark II, 24-105mm f4.0L, 1/8 sec @ f14, ISO 50

Outside in

Yesterday morning was minus 23 degrees at my office, and about noon, when the sun rose over the distant mountains and cast its glow, I was struck by the light on the window frost formations. The near perpendicular angle of the sun is the cause for the amazing separation and differentiation between the crystal shapes. A little blue from the sky and a little yellow from the sun add pleasing tones to the image. This was the last frame in a series shot with the 100mm f2.8 macro in which I added a 25mm extension tube to allow a tighter composition. This specific lens has a flat-field design which is optimized for edge-to-edge sharpness of flat subjects. One needs to be very careful however to be exactly perpendicular to the subject, since depth of field becomes extremely minimal under high magnification photography. The second image reveals detail by zooming in on the frame.

Frost crystals on window pane, Fairbanks, Alaska.
Canon 1Ds Mark III, 100mm f2.8 Macro, w/25mm extension tube, 1/2 sec @ f11.0, ISO 100

Zoomed in crop of the above image.

The price of milk in Barrow, Alaska

I spent some time in Barrow, Alaska this summer, which is located in northern Alaska, along the Arctic ocean. Its an Inupiaq (Eskimo) community with a rich culture, and like many of Alaska's native communities faces a host of challenges due to changing lifestyles, economics, and climate. If you find yourself miffed at the price of gas for your car, you can be glad you don't buy milk at the prices in Barrow.

Milk at $8.99 in the Barrow, Alaska grocery store.

Serendipity

One of the most elusive animals that travels the Alaska landscape is the lynx. In my experience, the only other animal that I've encountered less is the wolverine. So, any opportunity to photograph one of these cats in the wild, in a natural settings, is a delight. This summer, I had one chance, although fleeting. I did not have time to alter the camera settings to make a technically perfect image (focus issues) but it is not bad, and usable. I shot 8 frames before the cat slid into the grasses never to been seen again.

Lynx along a grassy field, Katmai National Park, Alaska
Canon 1Ds Mark II, 500mm f4.0L, w/1.4x, (700mm) 1/160 sec @ f6.3, ISO 200

Fast lenses and northern lights

This image illustrates one main advantage of fast wide angle lenses--they offer shorter shutter speeds. Shorter exposure times mean more detail. A five second shutter speed in this case captures more distinctive shapes commonly found during the coronal display. These shapes tend to get all blurred together with long exposures.

To achieve this however, you need some money. That is to say, fast lenses are usually expensive. In this case, I used Canon's 24mm f1.4L, it goes for about $1300. If a 24mm f2.8 lens was used--same focal length but two stops slower--the exposure would have been 20 seconds. That would have rendered a different looking image indeed, lacking the detail in shape. This is especially true when the aurora is moving quickly. The focusing of this lens however, is very finicky and I've had many frustrations with slightly blurry images. In contrast, my 16-35mm f2.8L, focused in the exact same manner, in the same conditions, works beautifully. I'm often shooting two cameras, one with the 24 f1.4 and one with the 16-35mm f2.8.

There is much to say regarding Aurora borealis photography. I've written a brief and basic article, which can be read in full here: "How to photograph the aurora with a digital camera".

Aurora borealis coronal display, high arctic, Alaska
Canon 1Ds Mark II, 24mm f1.4L, 5 seconds @ f1.4, ISO 640

Elements

The natural elements contribute an edge both to a photograph and the experience of its capture. I photographed this Common loon for about 20 minutes before the rain began, and during this time, it drifted near me on the shore for an almost full frame view. Unfortunately, by the time the rain fell, the bird drifted away. My retrospective hopes were to capture rain drops splashing off its back. With little available light, I pushed the margins of exposure. A shutter speed of 1/500th of a second would have been ideal to stop the drops just a little bit more. I spent some time in 2007 photographing loons, and those images can be viewed here: Common loon photos

Common loon in pouring rain.
Canon 1Ds Mark II, 500mm f4.0L, 1/250 sec @f.4.0, ISO 500

Perspective

Photographic perspective is often a process. Many times, the initial approach to a particular scene requires a little study, some idea generation, and close observation of light direction. I chose these two images to illustrate this process on a shoot this summer. The first image is environmentally interesting, and is sort of "o.k." but the second image, which was at the end of the session shows some movement towards creative perpective, interesting angles, and general composition. It takes a little time, but in the end, the rewards are usually relative to the input. Not to mention, this is simply a very cool place to start with -- icebergs from a tidewater glacier stranded upon the beach of tidal lagoon in Prince William Sound, Alaska.

The beginning shot - stranded icebergs in a tidal lagoon
Canon 1Ds Mark II, 16-35mm f2.8, 1/180 sec. @ f20, ISO 160

The final shot - after a little work on the perspective
Canon 1Ds Mark II, 16-35mm f2.8, 1/60 sec. @ f18, ISO 100

Star trails and aurora

The Brooks mountain range, which crosses Alaska's arctic region, is the farthest north mountain range in the United States. Just north of Atigun Pass--the highest road pass in the state-- is Atigun canyon, the location where this photo was taken. The northern lights were not that bright to the naked eye, but timed exposures are able to record more light and render more color. Circumstances prevented further experimentation with subsequent long exposures, (namely a semi-tractor accident nearby) which I wanted to do burn in longer star trails, but this one image turned out with a pleasing effect of motion and color.

Northern Lights over the Brooks mountain range, Alaska.
Canon 1Ds Mark II, 24mm f1.4L, f4.0 @ 8 minutes, ISO 400

Over and under

While over/under photography is nothing new, I wanted to experiment with a few ideas last summer. Both returned usable results, but not without plenty of experimentation, and trial and error. The equipment to do this right, i.e., the underwater housing for a Canon 1D series camera costs between 5-10K! There are cheaper methods, for example, the EWA Marine plastic housings, which introduce some compromises but with a little work-around effort, can perform well.

A full frame sensor and a wide angle lens are critical. What else do you need? A good idea, and expect to get cold, that is if you are shooting in Alaska's fresh water mountain streams. I've used a wireless remote to capture some scenes, which allows you to be far from the camera. These two images however, were hand held. Getting the camera perpendicular to the water to minimize the transition line is a challenge. On the red salmon photo, I actually stuck my head partly underwater, bent over, since it was not possible to lay down in the water. It's not the easy way to ensure accurate horizon lines, but with many, many shots, I achieved an acceptable image or two. You can see a few more from the red salmon photos here.

Gold panning in a mountain stream.

Canon 1Ds Mark II, 16-35mm, 1/320 sec @ f10.0, ISO 400, EWA Marine Housing.

Red Salmon in a freshwater mountain stream, interior, Alaska.

Canon 1Ds Mark II, 16-35mm, 1/640 sec @ f8.0, ISO 640, EWA Marine Housing.