Tag Archives: Alaska

Reprocessing Old Photos – Glacier Bay 2005

NEW VERSION: Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska

I’m going back through my old photos for a website update.  This one is already on my website, but I thought I would see what the current software (and my current Lightroom chops) could do with some of the files.  This is the first one I’ve tried this go-around, and I think I’ve made significant improvement.

I made a Snapshot in case I messed something up, then hit Reset.  Using the Adobe Landscape profile, I went though my usual routine with contrast, etc.  I added a gradient to the sky, using a Luminance Mask to apply the settings only to the lightest parts.  Overall contrast and saturation is much better, which is hard to see in the web versions.

It will be interesting to see what I can do with other files.  This may take a while…. 😉

Canon 20D w/17-40 f4

PREVIOUS VERSION: Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska

Clutter Update

Nickel & Nickel Winery in Rutherford, near Napa, California

Back in February 2016 I wrote this post titled Storage and Clutter, about my quest to delete files and free up space on my hard drives.  At that point I was through 2008 and had deleted 23,000 files worth 236GB.  I’ve working slowly but steadily on that project and today I finished 2012.  At this point I have jettisoned 56,000 files and reclaimed about 478 GB.  Not a bad effort so far, and the farther I go the more confident I become in my previous editing.  I’ll need to go a little further with my more recent years because I’m not sure I’ve been doing as good a job lately.  We’ll see!

Fisher Vineyards near Santa Rosa, California

These photos are from our 2012 cruise to Alaska from San Francisco, hence the diverse geography. 🙂  They are previously unprocessed files that I discovered while I was reviewing photos, but are not ones that had been scheduled for deletion. 😉

The Golden Gate Bridge viewed from our harbor tour aboard Blue & Gold Fleet
A visit to the town of Napa, California
Ketchikan, Alaska
Aboard the White Pass & Yukon Railway in Skagway, Alaska
Whale watching cruise in Auke Bay near Juneau Alaska with Harv & Marv’s Outback Alaska aboard the M/V “Alaskan” with Captain Shawn
Whale watching cruise in Auke Bay near Juneau Alaska with Harv & Marv’s Outback Alaska aboard the M/V “Alaskan” with Captain Shawn

Looking Back – 2005

Mount McKinley from Stony Hill Overlook-Denali National Park & Preserve, Alaska
Mount McKinley from Stony Hill Overlook-Denali National Park & Preserve, Alaska

I’ve recently begun a project to go back and “finish” processing photos from prior years that I never got around to finishing. These are photos that I had marked as “Picks” but for many reasons just never took the time to finish. It’s been an interesting project so far, and there have been a few photos that, now that I have gone back and looked at them again, are ones that I wonder how I overlooked.

Tree and rocks, Pilot Mountain State Park, North Carolina
Tree and rocks, Pilot Mountain State Park, North Carolina

I’ll write about the details in a future post, but my Lightroom catalog contained more than 8,000 photos that had Pick flags but had not been processed.  That number is miniscule by many people’s standards, but it has been a huge personal monkey on my back for a long time, so I decided to do something about it.  I finished 2011, then decided to go back to the Beginning of Time. So far I’ve completed 2005 and the number is now down to 6,700.  Woo-Hoo! 😉

Sunset from Waterrock Knob, Blue Ridge Parkway, NC
Sunset from Waterrock Knob, Blue Ridge Parkway, NC

 

Sunrise from Clingmans Dome, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, NC
Sunrise from Clingmans Dome, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, NC

 

Sunrise from Clingmans Dome, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, NC
Sunrise from Clingmans Dome, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, NC

2005 was a good year. I purchased my first digital SLR, a Canon 20D along with a few lenses in April that year. We traveled to the Smokies early that year, and I have a few decent photos from there and spots along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, NC
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, NC

 

Sand Ripples near the Former Coast Guard station, now abandoned, Pea Island near Oregon Inlet, North Carolina
Sand Ripples near the Former Coast Guard station, now abandoned, Pea Island near Oregon Inlet, North Carolina

 

Ocracoke Lighthouse, Ocracoke Island, North Carolina
Ocracoke Lighthouse, Ocracoke Island, North Carolina

 

Silver Lake Harbor, Ocracoke Island, North Carolina
Silver Lake Harbor, Ocracoke Island, North Carolina

 

Sunset over Silver Lake, Ocracoke Island, NC
Sunset over Silver Lake, Ocracoke Island, NC

 

Chicamacomico Lifesaving Station, Rodanthe, North Carolina
Chicamacomico Lifesaving Station, Rodanthe, North Carolina

In May we headed to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for a week. We also spent some time in the mountains later in the month.

Sunrise at Cone Manor, Julian Price Memorial Park, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina
Sunrise at Cone Manor, Julian Price Memorial Park, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina

 

Car lights leave a trail on the descent from Grandfather Mountain, North Carolina
Car lights leave a trail on the descent from Grandfather Mountain, North Carolina

 

Sunrise from the Blue Ridge Parkway near Green Mountain Overlook near Boone, NC
Sunrise from the Blue Ridge Parkway near Green Mountain Overlook near Boone, NC

 

Sunset from Craggy Gardens Visitor Center, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina
Sunset from Craggy Gardens Visitor Center, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina

In July we took the first of our two trips to Alaska, this one to celebrate our 25th anniversary. That was a Really Big Deal, and I brought back a few decent photographs.

Mount McKinley-Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Denali National Park, Alaska
Mount McKinley-Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Denali National Park, Alaska

 

Sherman City Hall-Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Denali National Park, Alaska
Sherman City Hall-Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Denali National Park, Alaska

 

Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Denali National Park, Alaska
Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Denali National Park, Alaska

 

Mount McKinley from Stony Hill Overlook-Denali National Park & Preserve, Alaska
Mount McKinley from Stony Hill Overlook-Denali National Park & Preserve, Alaska

 

Alaska Range-Denali National Park & Preserve, Alaska
Alaska Range-Denali National Park & Preserve, Alaska

 

Mount McKinley from Stony Hill Overlook-Denali National Park & Preserve, Alaska
Mount McKinley from Stony Hill Overlook-Denali National Park & Preserve, Alaska

 

No Self Service
No Self Service

 

Gracious House Lodge and Flying Service, Denali Highway, Cantwell, Alaska
Gracious House Lodge and Flying Service, Denali Highway, Cantwell, Alaska

 

Wrangell St Elias National Park near Copper Center, Alaska
Wrangell St Elias National Park near Copper Center, Alaska

 

Fog Rising from the Bay, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska
Fog Rising from the Bay, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska

After that it was back to North Carolina, mostly the mountains in the fall, a cruise and that was about it. It was a fairly “light” year as far as photos are concerned, and my Lightroom catalog for 2005 now contains only 755 photos. I was still shooting film then, and there are about 90 scanned slides in a different folder. Chances are if I ever decide to use any of those they will need to be rescanned, since I don’t think they are up to today’s standards. Plus, the more I work with digital files the less I want to work with the old film scans.

Moon Over Price Lake at Sunrise, Blue Ridge Parkway, NC
Moon Over Price Lake at Sunrise, Blue Ridge Parkway, NC

My conclusion after looking at all these files is that I was still a very “subject oriented” photographer back then. I made a lot of documentary shots, with a few of them showing signs of what I feel I am looking at today. Considering that I was just learning digital photography and really just getting started in photography in general, it shows that I still had a lot to learn but had a pretty decent start.

Classic Boats at the Lake Norman Classic Boat Show, Queens Landing, Mooresville, NC
Classic Boats at the Lake Norman Classic Boat Show, Queens Landing, Mooresville, NC

What, Me Worry?

Colorful Tourists, Fisherman's Wharf
Colorful Tourists, Fisherman’s Wharf

“Who says nothing is impossible? Some people do it every day!” (Attributed to Alfred E. Neuman, but who knows?)

The Weird Sisters Visit Skagway
The Weird Sisters Visit Skagway

I was doing my usual morning headline scan the other morning and came across one that read:

“Top 10 things to worry about in 2013”

Huh.

So, it’s not enough to just live my life, plan for the future, eat right and exercise.  I have to read lists to tell me what to worry about?  Please.  And actually, none of the items on that list are things that even affect me.  Maybe in some distant way, but will they impact my day-to-day life?  No.  I realize that it’s not good to completely ignore current events, and I don’t.  I’m far from oblivious.  But why do the media think we need things to worry about?  I suppose it provides better ratings or page views, but that’s just one more thing to get in the way.

It’s bad enough that we can’t trust any information we get these days.  But then we get these people who feel the need to tell us what we need to worry about?  No thanks!  If we want to spend our days running around like Chicken Little I guess that just adds fuel to the fire, but that’s not how I prefer to spend my days.  Especially the preciously small portion of my days that I get to spend actually doing something I want to be doing!

Don't Walk
Don’t Walk

Ketchikan

On our first visit to Ketchikan several years ago we did a boat tour around the area to look at “Lighthouses, Totems & Eagles” then we took in the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show.  Kathy wanted to see the lumberjacks, and I wanted to see Annie Oakley.

For our day in Ketchikan this time we decided to try a boat tour to Misty Fjords National Monument.  Dubbed “Yosemite of the North” for its similar geology, many of the glacial valleys are filled with sea water and are called “canals”, but they are not man-made in any way; the walls of these valleys are near-vertical and often rise 2,000 to 3,000 feet above sea level, and in some places drop 1,000 feet below it.

We sailed about the ‘St. Nona,’ one of several vessels operated by Allen Marine Tours, a family-owned tour company and one of the longest running operators in Alaska.

One of the landmarks of Misty Fjords is New Eddystone Rock, which is actually a pillar of basalt that came from fractures in the floor of Behm Canal in the last 5 million years. The broken, haphazard texture of these basalts indicates that New Eddystone Rock was part of a volcanic vent where magma rose repeatedly to the surface of the earth.

After returning from our adventure we took some time to explore the shops on Creek Street, which at one time housed the “red light district” of Ketchikan but that now takes your money in different and possibly more legal ways.  We bought a few genuine Alaskan souvenirs then set out in search of ice cream.  Amazingly we came up empty-handed.  Not to say that there is no ice cream shop in Ketchikan, just that we didn’t find one.  Hmmm, could be a business opportunity!

The next time we go to Ketchikan I think I’ll plan to spend some more time exploring the area right around the town.  There were a number of commercial areas that were too far for us to walk in the short time we had, some that might be good places for lunch and some more genuine Alaskan handicrafts and art.  That’s one of the problems with being on someone else’s schedule – so much to see, so little time!

 

More About That Boat

Questionable Boat in the Ketchikan, Alaska Harbor

Several people commented about the boat I used to illustrate my last post, and as it turns out I had taken some other photos of it but hadn’t gone back and looked at the rest of that day’s photos until yesterday.  I thought it would be amusing to post a few more.  I can’t imagine that the person who owns this boat pays dock fees for it, so I can only guess that he works for the marina or for one of the tour boats that operates from there.  Hopefully he doesn’t have far to travel.

Questionable Boat in the Ketchikan, Alaska Harbor

I don’t know much about boats but I don’t think this one would pass a Coast Guard inspection.

Questionable Boat in the Ketchikan, Alaska Harbor

I’m slowly catching up on my processing after a momentary slowdown.  Stay tuned for some better subject matter very soon!

Attitude Adjustment

Scrap pile behind the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show in Ketchikan, Alaska

At work the other morning, someone asked me how I was doing.  She was somewhat taken aback when I replied that I was doing “fantastic.”  She looked at me like I had just spoken to her in Swahili.  I then said that having just gotten back from a 2-week vacation that I was loving life, even though the benefit of the time off was quickly fading.  Cue the “must be nice,” “wish I had your money,” I could never take 2 weeks,” etc., etc., etc. commentary.  Then she said something about “coming back to this place” to which I replied that I would gladly come back to work in order to be able to do another vacation like I just did, that I thought it was a fair trade.  More Swahili.

We all know and work with people who are, let’s say, “happiness challenged.”  Not that they are depressed or anything – although it’s possible that some of them are – but mostly they just spend a lot of time with negative attitudes – toward work, their spouse, their kids, their cars, etc.  And they’re not too shy to talk about it.  But that attitude carries over to how they live their lives, to the point where, for many people, they don’t seem to have the ability to understand the concept of doing things that make them happy.  Sometimes I meet up with friends for lunch or dinner, and way too often all they do is complain about things.

We all have stuff that makes us angry or drives us crazy.  But I have come to the conclusion – and this was a long time coming – is that it is not all of these outside things that bother me and make me crazy.  It is my reaction to those things that makes them intolerable.  So I’ve been working really hard at managing my own attitude, and I’ve found that it really helps.  Don’t like the way people are driving?  Back off and think about something else.  Don’t like your cube neighbor’s Polka ringtone on his cell phone?  Laugh it off.  Neighbor’s dog barking endlessly while they are away?  I haven’t solved that one yet, so I just turn up the music.  Blue jeans in the cruise ship dining room?  Whatever!  I can’t change any of it, so fix the things I can fix, and for those things I can’t fix, I accept them and move on.  Works for me.

The great thing about taking a vacation is that it does tend to put things in perspective.  There’s a lot more to life than work, and there is way more to life than finding things to complain about.  So look for the positives!  While coming home and going back to work can be difficult, I would gladly trade a few months’ work in order to take another nice vacation.  It’s a worthwhile trade.

###

One of the best sayings I saw or heard on our trip to Alaska: “There is no such thing as inclement weather, only inappropriate clothing.”  That pretty much says it!

Don't Laugh, It Runs!

Glacier Bay

Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve in Alaska from aboard Sea Princess

Our day in Glacier Bay was my single best day, photographically, in a long, long time.  I don’t know if that is a result of the place being so photogenic, or the fact that I was prepared for my time there, with my only goal for the day to make photographs.  It’s probably a combination of the two, since Glacier Bay is certainly an amazing place and I found it quite inspirational on my first visit several years ago.  I have to imagine that what I experienced was a confluence of my own openness to the place and the renewed inspiration I felt from being there.

Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve in Alaska from aboard Sea Princess
Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve in Alaska from aboard Sea Princess

The Tourist Approach would be to slap a wide angle lens on the camera and shoot the huge expanse of icebergs, blue water and glaciers.  But what I was feeling was more intimate, although even with a 400mm lens, the actual slice of landscape I captured was still quite large.  The scale of the place never ceases to amaze me.

Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve in Alaska from aboard Sea Princess
Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve in Alaska from aboard Sea Princess

One of the most striking things about being in Glacier Bay aboard a cruise ship is how quiet everything becomes.  They mercifully turn off the sound on the outdoor “Movies Under The Stars” entertainment system (it’s just a big television), the ship slows to maneuvering speed, and except for a few comments from the onboard naturalist, the place is silent.  And I crave silent.  Silent makes me happy.

Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve in Alaska from aboard Sea Princess

 

Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve in Alaska from aboard Sea Princess

Only one ship at a time is allowed in each area of the park, which is huge (3.3 million acres!) with several “inlets,” so the captain is able to essentially stop the in front of the glaciers, and when the ship moves from one place to another it does so slowly, barely creating a wake.  The slower movement of the ship makes using a tripod very easy, both for composition and for holding the camera still.  People ask me why I use a tripod on a moving ship, but it really does make a difference.  Other than a couple of videographers, mine was the only tripod I saw on board the entire cruise.

Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve in Alaska from aboard Sea Princess

I scouted ahead of time and found a great spot on the aft of the ship that had good, unobstructed views, access to both sides of the ship and had enough room to get out of the way.  You would think that, with 2000 people on a ship in a place like Glacier Bay it would be crowded, but except for the time in front of the major glaciers and the times when they were giving away free hot chocolate on deck (there are always crowds around Free Food) I had the place pretty much to myself.  Most of the people hung out in the center of the ship, closer to the pools, the restrooms and the bars.  Silly me, the bars!

Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve in Alaska from aboard Sea Princess
Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve in Alaska from aboard Sea Princess

The onboard naturalist told us that one of her most frequently asked questions was, “what’s the best side of the ship to be on to see wildlife?”  To which she replies, “the OUTSIDE!”  She also stated that wildlife watching involved a lot of wildlife “waiting.”  But amazingly, most people didn’t like the idea of waiting.  I saw dozens of seals, sea lions, dolphins, porpoises and whales, and often I was the only person around to see them.  Once in a while someone would walk by, see all my gear and ask me if I had seen any whales.  When I replied that I had, they looked at me like they thought I was lying.  Most of them were too far away to take photos of them, but they were still fun to watch through my binoculars.

Even on a ship large enough to hold 2000 passengers – small by modern cruise ship standards – I was struck by the enormous scale of the landscape and how small I felt within it, the ability for it to remain relatively undisturbed and how quiet it was.

Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve in Alaska from aboard Sea Princess
Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve in Alaska from aboard Sea Princess
Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve in Alaska from aboard Sea Princess

My personal favorite photos from the day are the abstracts.  They really speak to the quiet and calm I felt that day.  I seem to have a thing for moving water, and some of the patterns are simply spectactular.  I’m thrilled that the photos reflect them so well.  I also enjoyed finding patterns in the glaciers and on the mountainsides along our route.  Again, the relatively slow speed made for some pretty easy composition, although I did find that I had to “lead” the scene just a bit in places.  All I did there was to keep the panning knob within easy reach, so that once I had the composition framed up and level, I could just pan the camera just a bit as needed.

Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve in Alaska from aboard Sea Princess
Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve in Alaska from aboard Sea Princess
Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve in Alaska from aboard Sea Princess
Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve in Alaska from aboard Sea Princess

One of the funny things about being an obviously serious photographer on a cruise ship is that people always ask me to take their pictures.  I always oblige, although Kathy often handles that task so I can keep making my own pictures.  What was really funny was that I think every one of the ship’s photographers took our picture at some point during the day.  They knew we would understand that they had a count to make and almost looked like they wanted to apologize for it.  We didn’t buy any of their photos but it was interesting to see the difference in composition and framing between the different photographers.  Good photos, reluctant subjects!

Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve in Alaska from aboard Sea Princess

Skagway

Maybe I Could Get A Job Here

I suppose the port areas that the typical cruise ship passengers see are about as “Alaskan” as the Caribbean cruise ports are “Caribbean.”  It’s possible to find actual native art, handcrafts and souvenirs, but you have to really look.  My impression of Skagway is that it might be a little more “Alaskan” than some of the other places we visited, but that is only my impression.  There were still the usual “Ship Recommended” stores, but based on my research those weren’t the places you were going to get the real deal.

Broadway Street in Skagway with a view of the surrounding mountains
Broadway Street in Skagway with a view of the surrounding mountains

We started our day with a ride aboard the White Pass & Yukon Railroad.  A 110-mile railroad line originally constructed in 1898 during the Klondike Gold Rush, it is now operated as a scenic railway constructed along the original gold rush route.  Our tour covered only the first 20 miles of the route, to a turnaround point at the US-Canada border.  It was a very interesting 20 miles, however, as the WP&YR climbs almost 3000 feet in just 20 miles and features steep grades of up to 3.9%, cliff-hanging turns of 16 degrees, two tunnels and numerous bridges and trestles. The steel cantilever bridge was the tallest of its kind in the world when it was constructed in 1901.

Aboard the White Pass & Yukon Railway in Skagway, Alaska

Since we were early in the season I knew that we would see snow, but I was not prepared for just how much snow we would see!  In some places near the White Pass Summit the snow was as high as the train cars.  They told us that the railroad owns a rotary snow plow – which we later saw in town – that had been restored as a showpiece but that had been put into service this winter to keep the tracks cleared.  That snow will mostly be gone by mid summer, but they’ll start seeing snow again in early September.  Short summer!

Aboard the White Pass & Yukon Railway in Skagway, Alaska
Aboard the White Pass & Yukon Railway in Skagway, Alaska
Aboard the White Pass & Yukon Railway in Skagway, Alaska

The scenery is simply breathtaking along the way, and if you don’t mind standing on one of the outside platforms of the train you can get some pretty good photos.  Since the train is moving and doesn’t have the smoothest ride, you need to be a little careful with shutter speed, and you have to be a little strategic with timing since there is really only one good spot on each end of the car, and the side to be on varies on which side of the mountain the train is on.  Since we had done this tour on our first visit and were lucky enough to have the last car on that tour, with unobstructed views from the back of the train, I mostly stayed inside and enjoyed the view from where it was warm, except for a few spots where I knew the views were good.  I also spent a good bit of time outside at the summit while they swapped the engine from one end of train to the other.  Best to have the engine in front on the downhill run!

Aboard the White Pass & Yukon Railway in Skagway, Alaska
Aboard the White Pass & Yukon Railway in Skagway, Alaska

Since we didn’t have far to travel from our previous stop in Juneau, and didn’t have far to sail to our next destination in Glacier Bay, we were essentially in Skagway from 7:00AM until 10:00PM.  That gave us plenty of time to explore after our train ride, but we only needed a few hours before we felt like we had pretty much seen Skagway.  Go figure!  We did make time to have a very good lunch and some locally brewed beer at the Skagway Brewing Company.  It was a good spot, a little pricey but worth every dollar.  There aren’t too many places where you can get an authentic Alaskan Salmon sandwich for lunch!

Nice Boots!
Random photos from walking around Skagway, Alaska

We had been to Skagway on a previous cruise, but didn’t see any of the town on that trip because we ended up booking two tours, and since we barely had time between the two of them for lunch, we didn’t have any chance to explore.  We took a much slower pace on this trip and were glad to get a chance to see the town.  The focus on tourism is very apparent, as the storefronts are all very attractive and inviting.  A lot of it is very kitschey, like the brothel tours “10 for 10 minutes, we call it The Quickie,” Glacier Ice Cream (really?) and the usual T-shirt outlets, but there were a number of shops with some really nice, locally made merchandise, such as a lot of jewelry, carvings and paintings.  You could find diamonds and tanzanite too, but I’d be willing to bet that most of those proceeds would not be staying in Alaska.  Many of the business had signs touting their native-ness, proclaiming “Alaskan-owned since 19XX” or “Alaskan Homeowners since 19XX.”  So there is a little bit of contentiousness between the natives, the seasonal business people and the permanent transplants.  I suppose that is the same everywhere.

Random photos from walking around Skagway, Alaska
Random photos from walking around Skagway, Alaska

One of the interesting features of Skagway that I have only seen in a few other ports, is that the rock cliff by the pier is covered with paintings commemorating ships that have visited.  As I understand it, each time a ship makes its first call in Skagway, it is traditional for the crew to paint a spot on the rock wall with the name of the ship, the date and the name of the captain.

Random photos from walking around Skagway, Alaska

We really enjoyed our visit to Skagway and are very glad that we took the time to visit the town.

June Wallpaper

Large and In Charge

Sorry, but I’m having so much fun going through my Alaska photos that I’m going to stick with that theme for this month’s wallpaper calendar.  I got a number of good shots in Glacier Bay, so stay tuned to an upcoming post with more photos.  This one sort of best fits my criteria for wallpaper, so hopefully it’s a photo you don’t mind looking at for a month or so while summer here gets geared up!

It’s hard to imagine as I sit here with the temperature outside hovering around 90 that I was standing on the deck of a cruise ship in boots, wool socks, long underwear, a hat and gloves!  I tried to bring some of that cold home with me but I think it slipped out of my bag in San Francisco. 🙂

I hope everyone has a splendid June.  We’ve got a few birthdays in the family in June, so special wishes to those-who-know-who-they-are!