Alaska Photo Countdown to 7/13!

[WalleyeLJ]

That looks so totally fake it must be completely real!!! LOVING this thread. Keep 'em coming...

 

Hey Patti,

 

Thanks - that's one of my favorite photos from the trip:D. The only trick with that photo is that I seriously underexposed it to the get the

silhouette of the trees against the snow storm in the back ground and not blowout the snowy mountains. If I had shot the opposite direction I would have had blue skies, puffy clouds instead!

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Approaching Juneau...

 

 

 

 

Mendenhall Glacier - Check Out the "big" canoe in the lower left...

 

 

 

 

L.J.

[Nelie]

I can talk non stop for hours about nothing, yet when I see these photos I am speechless. All I can muster up is. OMG WOW

[WalleyeLJ]

I can talk non stop for hours about nothing, yet when I see these photos I am speechless. All I can muster up is. OMG WOW

 

Nelie,

 

You'll have the BEST time on your trip to Alaska. I love the signature to your posts as well. While we don't travel as much as we'd like, I am always looking forward to our next adventure when I shed the everyday reality and enter the magical world of...the rest of the world, where I become an adventurer and explorer in a way which I'm just not when I'm home. I think that's why photography is so much fun for me, because when it's all over and I get home, I have proof I really was there and in some cases I really did do______________ (fill in the blank!!!):D.

 

L.J.

[T-Rox!]

Well said. I love the sense of scale you acheived. Wouldn't have been as impressive without that canoe. I still can't find a vacancy for our arrival night in Anchorage. 2hotels and 4 b&bs have all responded they are full. Any suggestions? We're not picky at this point, but really don't want to spend a fortune just for 1 night's sleep.

[WalleyeLJ]

Well said. I love the sense of scale you acheived. Wouldn't have been as impressive without that canoe. I still can't find a vacancy for our arrival night in Anchorage. 2hotels and 4 b&bs have all responded they are full. Any suggestions? We're not picky at this point, but really don't want to spend a fortune just for 1 night's sleep.

 

Not sure. We used points for our one night in Anchorage. Looking on Hotels.com there are some options between $100 & $150, some of which don't look too bad. Bidding via Priceline might work too. Goo dlcuk,a nd let us know what you find!

 

L.J.

[T-Rox!]

One of the B&B (The Jade House) that was fully booked was kind enough to forward my email request to all members on the B&B Anchorage group and we received multiple responses for availability. Will be choosing and booking today. All between $100 - $180, and most in close proximity to airport and train depot, so I'm glad this will be taken care of.

[T-Rox!]

If this works, this is why I said your float plane photos looked familiar ...[email=http://s1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg541/Rox369/]http://s1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg541/Rox369/[/email]

[T-Rox!]

Guess I'm too stupid to figure this out!

[T-Rox!]

 

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[T-Rox!]

LJ ... what am I doing wrong here?

[T-Rox!]

[email=""][/email]

 

4th link ... just like you said. This is the photo that reminded me of yours from the Misty Fjords float plane we took a few years back. Ours was a rainy day, but still enjoyed the view.

[T-Rox!]

[email=""][/email]

 

Here's another shot from the same plane ride. We saw some mountain goats, but I didn't have enough zoom to get a good shot. Maybe this time, I will.:)

[scraplady]

Wonderful photos. I hope mine will turn out as well. 5 weeks from today we will be into the 2nd day of our land tour prior to our cruise portion. I'm about ready to start packing!!

[DragonOfTheSeas]

T-Rox---I am not seeing a link.:confused:

 

Sorry. The computer must have frozen. Your pics loaded when this message first loaded.

[Rejeana]

2013 will be our 4th trip to Alaska. Just 14 months, and I know how fast time flies....but it seems like it's sooo far away.

[Naps]

. This year I'm taking a lens I bought since the time we went to Alaska, a Sigma 150-500mm lens, and a 1.4x telextender, which will let me get out to 700mm this trip - hopefully for some great bears pics in Katmai!

 

 

 

 

Walleye, I have the sigma 50-150. I'm just getting the hang of it, still blurring pics. Tell me, how do you hand shoot when using the 1.4 teleconv? Don't you get a lot of shake?

[WalleyeLJ]

Hey All,

 

Here are a couple of shots from Icy Straight Point & Skagway.

 

 

Icy Straight Point Cannery

 

 

 

 

 

Skagway, Historic White Pass Train Display - Old School Train Snow Plow, Biggest One I've Ever Seen!

 

 

 

 

More tomorrow!

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

 

4th link ... just like you said. This is the photo that reminded me of yours from the Misty Fjords float plane we took a few years back. Ours was a rainy day, but still enjoyed the view.

 

There you go! I looked at all the photos you put put up on Photobucket - some great shots:D. I'm jealous but happy you got to see Denali. Three days and we didn't catch a glipme. One more reason to go back!!!

[T-Rox!]

Thanks LJ. That's very kind of you. I know my beginners photos with my point and shoot aren't much, especially compared to yours, but hopefully I will improve on this trip ... I'm excited to try. Any photo taken in Alaska is going to beat my views here in MS!:D

 

As always, I am enjoying yours. That snow plow looks like something out of a SciFi movie!

[WalleyeLJ]

. This year I'm taking a lens I bought since the time we went to Alaska, a Sigma 150-500mm lens, and a 1.4x telextender, which will let me get out to 700mm this trip - hopefully for some great bears pics in Katmai!

 

 

 

 

Walleye, I have the sigma 50-150. I'm just getting the hang of it, still blurring pics. Tell me, how do you hand shoot when using the 1.4 teleconv? Don't you get a lot of shake?

 

A monopod or tripod:D!

 

Seriously, without a tripod at long focal lengths (300m+), the general rule of thumb is 1/your focal length when trying to handhold (assuming no image stabilization function). So, for example 1/320 at 300mm, 1/500th at 500mm, 1/800th at 700mm. With image stabilization you can shoot 2-4 stops slower in theory - and if your subject is not moving. Here's a shot I took handheld of an osprey landing in it's nest atop a telephone pole at 500mm with AI tracking focus on my Canon at f/10 at 1/800th of a second.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I took some other shots as slow as 1/640th, but anything less than that was a loss, if not because of me, then because the bird was moving too fast. When all else fails, you can try putting your camera into Av/Shutter priority mode at the minimum speed you need, and let the camera determine the aperture, and/or set it to auto ISO if you want to set both the shutter speed and aperture. Hope that helps!

 

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Thanks LJ. That's very kind of you. I know my beginners photos with my point and shoot aren't much, especially compared to yours, but hopefully I will improve on this trip ... I'm excited to try. Any photo taken in Alaska is going to beat my views here in MS!:D

 

As always, I am enjoying yours. That snow plow looks like something out of a SciFi movie!

 

Thanks - 200,000 photos are so after my first shots, I find I get luckier than I use to in the beginning :). You have a number a really nice photos already. One easy suggestion I'd make for anyone taking photos is to look at the "Rule of Thirds" concept for composing photos. Here's a link I just googled that does a quick and easy explaination: http://digital-photography-school.com/rule-of-thirds. While like many rules, it can be broken to good effect (especially for mirror images - i.e. Denali reflecting in Wonder Lake). However, most of the time, following can often turn a snapshot into a great photo.

 

L.J.

[DizzyDallasDi]

The Rule of Thirds works great if you can take time to frame the shot. I also believe in the Rule of Luck. :cool:

 

[WalleyeLJ]

The Rule of Thirds works great if you can take time to frame the shot. I also believe in the Rule of Luck. :cool:

 

 

 

Nice one! Seeing a whale breach is still one of the most incredible, breathtaking events I've ever witnessdd - truely remarkable...

 

L.J.

[T-Rox!]

Thanks again LJ, both for the great tips and for the encouragement. Do you teach photography? If not, you should!

 

Awesome whale shot DDD. We saw lots of humpbacks, but none breached during our viewing. I hope we get to see that this time ... And with the rule of luck and rule of thirds, maybe I'll get a good shot, too!