Favorites from the last few years

I've been developing a new page on my website titled "alaska photo galleries" and a section includes some flash galleries which include 100 favorites of 2008. In addition, there are favorites form previous years as well. Looking back on a year's worth of travels and images provokes lots of memories and grand sights from across Alaska's landscape.

Backyard photography

I've always contended that one can find interesting subjects to photograph in their own back yard. Of course, this does depend on where your backyard is located, but in general, this is very true. I recently sold photographs to a company for their corporate calendar, and when reviewing the printed version, I realized that out of 12 photos, they picked two that were taken--well, not even in my backyard but--from my house itself. One shot of the frosty trees and mountains I took through a window from my living room and the other shot of the snowy birch trees I took while standing on my front deck.

Snow birch trees photographed from the front deck on my house.

Frosty trees and Alaska range photographed from a window in my living room.

Sunrise from AlaskaPhotoGraphics

A slow sunrise from the office of AlaskaPhotoGraphics, Fairbanks, Alaska 10:00 am

This is the view from the window at AlaskaPhotographics on a wintry morning in Fairbanks. The sun is slow to appear this time of year, with winter solstice just a little over a week away. Sunrises are long and beautiful over the Alaska range mountains, visible on a clear day to the south of the city.

Gallery additions

We have been updating our website with organizational interfaces to make searching and browsing for pictures a little easier. Our website currently serves a dual purpose of offering both stock imagery and fine art prints, and while a photo researcher may like many variations on the same image for layout and design reasons, this is generally not the case for someone looking for a fine art print . Plus, with 1000's of images, it takes a while to search around. The gallery pages are collections of 50-100 images that we hand picked for various reasons, and hopefully it will offer an easy way to scan through a bunch of pictures. Here are just a few quick links to some galleries with many more on the Alaska photo galleries index page.

A dog's eyes

Sled dog, North Pole, Alaska
Canon 1Ds Mark III, 70-200mm f/2.8L IS, (170mm) 1/320 @ f4.5, ISO 800

Last weekend the Interior Freight Dog Association had a preliminary practice for the upcoming weight pull competition to be held in North Pole on Saturday December 20th. Dogs in three different weight classes pull a sled loaded with cement blocks. This dog, anxiously waiting for its turn to pull, has one brown eye and one blue eye, a striking visual feature of sled dog breeds.

Alaska Calendars

I doubt that any other state has as many calendars available to choose from as Alaska. Some are given away free by companies, and many are available statewide at retail locations.

I joined the ranks of calendar producers in 2004 with the Fairbanks and Interior Alaska Calendar, sampling the natural beauty of Alaska's interior. That particular calendar has my work exclusively and control of image selection and design has been rewarding. For years, I've contributed to other Alaska calendars and I'll put a plug in for a few of them here, I have work published in each of these listed below.

ATT 2009 Calendar: Bull caribou in front of Mt. McKinley, Alaska

For a free calendar, check out the ATT Alascom annual wide format yearly calendar, given away at their respective ATT stores. It is a two-sided calendar and I have one side of this year. You can aslo download the image for your screensaver from the ATT website.

Fairbanks and Interior Alaska Wall Calendar
(on sale ($10) through our website with free shipping).

UAF Sea Grant Alaska Coastal Calendar (Inside)

Greatland Graphics calendars (Inside)

The Alaska Weather calendar (cover)

Alaska Wildlands calendar (inside)

Aurora Borealis calendar (cover)

Your Alaska Natural Wonders Votes

Results from the Alaska Natural Wonders Votes

#1 Mount McKinley
#2 Northern Lights
#3 Midnight Sun
#4 Calving Glacier
#5 Yukon River
#6 Salmon Migration
#7 A tie between:

• Polar bear swimming
• Volcano eruption
• Brooks falls bears
• Arctic Caribou Migration
• Tundra and permafrost
• Super cold

Alalska's Natural Wonders: Pick #7 Brooks falls bears

This selection completes my top 7 picks for Alaska's Natural Wonders. The survey on the right shows the general results from those who chimed in.

Brown bear fishing for salmon at Brooks falls, Katmai National Park, Alaska.

Selecting any "top" subjects in a list is never simple nor authoritative, particularly with a subjective category like natural wonders. There is no rigid criterion in my selection process, and narrowing down the last one is a toss up between four or five. However, I'm casting a vote for the Brown bears of the Brooks river in Katmai National Park. There are few, if any other places in the world where bears gather in such density to feed on salmon. Furthermore, they have grown comfortable with human presence so observing them in close proximity can be easily and safely achieved. Over time the bears have learned of the protein rich food source of salmon that make their yearly migration through the Brooks river. They show up when the fishing gets good and gorge themselves on the river's bounty.