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Alaska Photojournal – Coral Princess + DIY Land Tour May 28 – June 9, 2014


AryMay
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Glad you mentioned what cameras that you used.........as I also am planning on using my Canon SX50 when we go to Alaska this year. So your pictures are of great interest to me and I am enjoying seeing them.

What shooting mode do you usually use? Normally I like to use the (M) mode as I like total control over the image when possible. What setting did you use when taking images of wildlife?

I am sure any tips or hints that you used when taking your photos would be helpful to use that are following your posts.

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Glad you mentioned what cameras that you used.........as I also am planning on using my Canon SX50 when we go to Alaska this year. So your pictures are of great interest to me and I am enjoying seeing them.

What shooting mode do you usually use? Normally I like to use the (M) mode as I like total control over the image when possible. What setting did you use when taking images of wildlife?

I am sure any tips or hints that you used when taking your photos would be helpful to use that are following your posts.

 

Sorry that I'm not going to be much help to you here. I really don't consider myself a photographer and if I happen to get a good photo I chalk it up to luck! My landscape photos were all just taken using the AUTO setting on the camera. I did make use of the SPORTS setting to shoot wildlife...the rapid burst shutter was helpful to capture animals that were moving.

 

I tend to rely on "quantity of photos" to hopefully get some that are "quality"! I have edited the photos a bit using Picasa...but it is very minimal. I usually just hit "auto correct" and sometimes crop the photo.

 

My biggest disappointment was that I could NOT get a decent photo of a whale tale...and it was my fault, not the camera's. As the whale would start to arch its back, I would start shooting. When using the rapid burst shutter, you can only take so many shots before the camera stops to write to the memory card. Almost every time I was too quick to press the shutter and then just as the tail came up in the air...the camera stopped. By the time I was able to take the next shot the whale was already under the water. :mad: I knew what I was doing wrong...but each time the adrenaline would kick in and I would press the shutter too soon.

 

The only real advice I can give you is to have more than one battery with you...and make sure they are charged. And I will also repeat my previous advice...make sure your time & date stamp is set correctly in the camera. This is especially important if you are using multiple cameras or sharing photos with someone else. If not...trying to put 100's of photos in chronological order is very frustrating.

 

Have fun with your SX50...the zoom really is fun to use in Alaska!

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Monday, June 2 – Ketchikan

 

The port times in Ketchikan were the shortest of any of our stops…6:30 am to 2:00 pm. To make the most of our time on shore, we had booked a flightseeing trip to Misty Fjords at 7:30 am. I worried about fog so early in the morning, but needn’t have been concerned…sunrise was at 4:11 am…long before our flight! Weather-wise, it was a beautiful day in Ketchikan.

 

I thought it might be hard to get up for such an early morning tour, but we were up at 5 am without even using the alarm. It helped that we had to set our clocks back an hour the previous night to adjust to the new time zone. According to the Captain’s Log, between 2 am and 3 am we crossed the Canada/USA international border and sailed into Alaskan waters.

 

It was interesting to check out the homes along the shore as we sailed into Ketchikan. We were sailing pretty close to the shore and with the binoculars you could get a pretty good view of Alaskan living!

 

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The Norwegian Jewel followed directly behind us into port.

 

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Bob and I went to one of the upper decks to get a better view off the starboard side as we pulled into Berth #4 in Ketchikan.

 

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Our flight seeing tour was booked through Family Air. The reviews we read online were all positive and we liked the fact that because it was a smaller plane it would just be the four of us on the tour. Dave (the owner & pilot) had an early booking special where all four of us could fly for the price of three.

 

Dave’s niece, Kendra, picked us up at the dock around 7:15 am. Family Air’s plane was literally right next door to the ship so it took all of about 2 minutes to get to their facility. We joked that we could have just jumped off the front of the ship and landed next to the plane!

 

Here is a photo of Bob standing in front of Family Air's plane with the Coral in the background.

 

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The backpacks that we each brought were locked in their office and all we took on the plane were our cameras. Dave gave us all headsets with microphones so we could talk back and forth.

 

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With all five of us in the plane it was tight…but not uncomfortably so.

 

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Going by the Coral Princess...getting ready for takeoff.

 

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And off we go!

 

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I haven't taken a flightseeing trip to Misty Fjords, but isn't a float plane trip in Alaska a great experience ?? It really offers a different perspective; a different view of the land and sea than you get from a small boat, ship, or jet. And you were fortunate to have great weather. Look forward to the photos!

 

You did a great job capturing Stanley Park. I don't think people realize how huge it is, and what an interesting place it is to spend the day. Last yr I took my dog up to Vancouver for the weekend and we spent an entire day just walking along the seawall and enjoying the park. Then we collapsed on a park bench at the beach and watched a beautiful sunset.

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Dave was a great pilot…gave us lots of info on Misty Fjords…and had a good sense of humor!

 

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I had looked at many photos of Misty Fjords online before our trip, but nothing compared to the beauty of seeing it in person.

 

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So...do yourself a favor. If you have more than one camera...or hope to share photos between several people... MAKE SURE YOUR TIME & DATE IS SET CORRECTLY ON YOUR CAMERAS!

A SUPER important public service announcement. I was with a group of folks (about 40) once, and even asked before for everyone to set their cameras to the current time (ie Thursday 9:15am). And still ended up with days and times all over the place.

If they're all wrong, but by the same amount (as in forgetting to change time zones) you can deal... but when one is at 9:15am and one at 11:33am - lining up what was when is very difficult.

 

so No matter what - MAKE SURE YOUR TIME & DATE IS SET THE SAME ON YOUR CAMERAS!!

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Dave landed the plane on a lake near an old cabin and we were able to get out and do some exploring for about a half hour.

 

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The cabin was an abandoned cabin that had been owned by the National Forest Service. It had a sign on the outside that said “Goat Cabin” and according to Dave it was used…most appropriately…by goat hunters.

 

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A couple of other planes flew over, but didn't land.

 

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There was no wind, and with the sun shining brightly it was nice and warm and so peaceful. It felt like our little group was a million miles away from civilization!

 

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Bob would have been happy if Dave would have just taken off and left him there!

 

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I haven't taken a flightseeing trip to Misty Fjords, but isn't a float plane trip in Alaska a great experience ?? It really offers a different perspective; a different view of the land and sea than you get from a small boat, ship, or jet. And you were fortunate to have great weather. Look forward to the photos!

 

You did a great job capturing Stanley Park. I don't think people realize how huge it is, and what an interesting place it is to spend the day. Last yr I took my dog up to Vancouver for the weekend and we spent an entire day just walking along the seawall and enjoying the park. Then we collapsed on a park bench at the beach and watched a beautiful sunset.

 

Hopefully you will get a chance to take a float plane over Misty Fjords someday...it was amazing!

 

I felt like we really ran the gamut of transportation options on this trip...planes, trains, automobiles...AND boats and ships! Our friends also added a helicopter tour as well!

 

Yes...Stanley Park is very large! We got lost more than once! My husband loves to bike and kept saying how he would go there every day if he lived in Vancouver! :)

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A SUPER important public service announcement. I was with a group of folks (about 40) once, and even asked before for everyone to set their cameras to the current time (ie Thursday 9:15am). And still ended up with days and times all over the place.

If they're all wrong, but by the same amount (as in forgetting to change time zones) you can deal... but when one is at 9:15am and one at 11:33am - lining up what was when is very difficult.

 

so No matter what - MAKE SURE YOUR TIME & DATE IS SET THE SAME ON YOUR CAMERAS!!

 

Oh my...trying to deal with 40 different time settings would probably drive me insane.

 

I am trying my best to get the time settings adjusted so I can do a slide show in SEQUENTIAL order. However...trying to change the times on hundreds of picture files is hypnotic...I start working on it and then realize I am nodding off in front of my computer! :eek:

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Am enjoying your images and eagerly awaiting the next set to be posted.

Have had the SX 50 for only a little over a month now and am amazed at what all it can do.............my last camera was only a 4x, so going to a 50x is a big change and an asset. Was surprised when you said that most or your images were taken on "auto".........glad to see that the auto exposure adjusts so well to the different lighting sources.

We are also book to do the flight-seeing trip to "Misty Fjords".......real excited about that after seeing you images!

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Following our flight, Kendra was nice enough to drop us off at Creek Street. With four ships in port, the place was insanely crowded. What a contrast to the solitude we had just experienced in Misty Fjords!

 

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We are loving the trip report and the pictures. We are doing the southbound on the Island Princess in September. I sure hope there are still some type of flowers blooming and we get to see sea creatures and wildlife like you did.

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Bob and Kent played good Samaritan when a guy's truck stalled at an intersection.

 

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I'm sure everyone that visits Ketchikan has this photo in their album!

 

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The "rain guage" near the docks. We beat the odds and had a nice, sunny day in Ketchikan!

 

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I hadn't had cell service while we were in Vancouver or at sea so I found a nice bench by the docks and called home to check on my "kids". It felt a little strange to be using my cell phone while on a cruise!

 

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The Norwegian Jewel, HAL's Volendam and the Coral's twin sister, Island Princess, were with us in port.

 

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With the short amount of time we were in Ketchikan, everyone was returning to the ship around lunch time. While in ports, the gang plank was adjusted up and down to different decks during the day, depending on the level of the tide. During the times when the gangplank was very steep, a set of aluminum steps was used to enter the ship. When the gangplank was less steep...a ramp was used. In this photo we are entering on deck 5.

 

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Assuming that the Horizon Court would be very busy, we went to the MDR instead. It was nice to relax and be waited on. The hamburgers on the menu sounded good and they did not disappoint.

 

We finished lunch just in time to return to our balconies for sailaway…the sunshine and slow moving ship made it a very enjoyable spot.

 

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The ship was very close to shore and we were able to spot the eagle nest that was mentioned during the naturalist talk the day before (Laurel took notes!) Just look for a small island with a green sign!

 

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We passed by a lighthouse as the ship sailed out of the narrow passage leaving Ketchikan and into more open waters. Sitting atop the lighthouse were two more eagles!

 

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An afternoon nap was in order, but then we were back out on the balcony…enjoying the Alaska scenery…and always on the lookout for wildlife! Since we had enjoyed a late lunch in the MDR, we opted to skip dinner. Instead, Bob and Kent ran up to the lido deck and grabbed enough pizza for us all. I will admit that the food got cold very quickly, but who doesn’t like cold pizza?

 

My Princess Patter indicates that the naturalist was narrating from the bridge around 6 pm so I’m pretty sure we just spent the evening there and did not venture out for any of the entertainment. (The balcony door was open so we could hear the TV narration.)

 

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Love, love your review and your pictures. Thank you for posting. I know it takes a lot of time. I have been to Alaska 5 times and still hope we can go back next year. I love that breathtakingly beautiful scenery.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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Tuesday, June 3 – Juneau

 

Compared to our short time in Ketchikan, our day in Juneau was quite long…and we planned to make the most of it! Part I of our day was a whale watching cruise with Harv ‘n Marv…Part II took us to Mendenhall Glacier and Part III had us exploring the area around Juneau by car.

 

After the ship docked at 8 am, we had instructions to meet up with the representative from Harv and Marv’s on the dock at 8:20. We found him right away and were told they were looking for the rest of the group so we should wait on a nearby bench. Luckily the bench was under a covered area because it was drizzling rain.

 

At 8:40 we were still waiting when Kent and Laurel got off the ship to meet their morning tour…a helicopter flight over a glacier. Eventually everyone was rounded up and we were divided up into vans to take us to the marina where we would begin our tour.

 

The ride took about 20 minutes or so and gave us a chance to see a little bit of Juneau. Our driver pointed out some of the sights including an area where eagles congregate, a glimpse of Mendenhall Glacier…and oh yeah…the Walmart.

 

Once at the marina, Captain Liz quickly found the six in our group and we headed to the small boat. The rain was still coming down so Bob and I quickly pulled on our rain pants as the boat took off. Throughout the morning, we became good at spotting the whales and had a chance to see several different ones.

 

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There were other whale watching tour boats in the area and they would radio each other whenever whales were spotted. The first sign of a whale was the spout. We would see the whale blow several times and then next would be the arched back…and finally the tail as he dove down into the water.

 

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Liz would start timing at that point and knew the whale would resurface again in 5 to 8 minutes. Sometimes it would be in the same general area…other times it had swam quite a distance before resurfacing.

 

I had my camera set on the sport setting that would take a quick series of photos. After the burst of the shutter, then the camera would momentarily stop while the pictures were recorded to the memory card. Having the long zoom was great, but I was always too fast at hitting the shutter. Just about the time the whale would show its tail…my camera would stop to record. By the time I was ready to take the next shot the whale was gone. So…I got a lot of “back” photos…not so many tail pictures.

 

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Each whale has unique markings on its tail which you can see on the last photo. There was a poster hanging inside the boat showing dozens of different tails from whales in the area to help identify them.

 

The rain continued during the whole time we were out so I was also being cautious about getting my camera wet. I would keep it tucked inside my jacket until a whale was spotted and quickly try and get my photos so I could put it back again. During the time when we weren’t seeing any whales, I sat inside the boat. Even though the boat was very small, there was plenty of room for just the six of us.

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Some of the other boats we saw were quite crowded...I'm sure it would have been frustrating trying to photograph the whales with so many people.

 

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Just a few more photos of backs and tails!

 

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While Liz was trying to locate some whales we came across a seal that had just caught himself some lunch.

 

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Down the hatch it goes!

 

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The sea gulls seemed to be harassing the seal and at one point landed right above the seal on the water.

 

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From looking at the photos closely I’m pretty sure that the gull must have stolen what was left of the fish right out of the seal’s mouth!

 

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The seal popped up and seemed to be yelling…”give me back my fish!!”

 

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A group of sea lions was relaxing peacefully and comfortably on a buoy out in the water…

 

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…until this big guy showed up and wanted a spot for himself.

 

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Lots of grunting and grumbling was going on. I don’t speak “sea lion” but from the body language, I gathered that he wasn’t welcome.

 

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After several attempts, he failed and fell back into the water.

 

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