Caribou, Moose, Dall Sheep and Ptarmigan in Trees

Alaska, Landscapes, Photography, Travel, Wildlife

Above: Mother moose sheds her winter coat, followed close by a yearling, Denali National Park, May 2, 2014.

My last post was the scenery I encountered during a long and hilly 50-plus mile bike ride inside Denali National Park. There were multiple large mountain passes, hot temperatures and in my case more then 10 pounds of photo gear.

I brought along my telephoto, predicting I would regret not taking it. While I probably could have done without, it certainly got me a few wildlife shots.

Both to my relief and disappointment, there were no bears on this trip. Bears in Denali are common, and traveling solo I didn’t want to see one too close.

These were far from the only instances I saw wildlife, most were too far away to do anything but acknowledge their presence.

Female ptarmigan in a tree, the Alaska State Bird.

Dall sheep in Polychrome Pass.

Male ptarmigan in a tree.

Caribou looks at you.

Caribou profile.

iPhone roadtrip: Fairbanks to Whistler

Black & White, Iphone, Landscapes, Photography, Travel, Wildlife

I recently returned home from a road trip through Canada, south through Washington, Oregon and California, then north through Nevada, Utah, Montanan, Washington and Canada again.

Because of the quickness both in taking and sharing pictures I really embraced my camera phone on this trip. This is the first of likely a half-dozen posts chronicling the road trip from my iPhone.

All these were featured on my Instagram account, follow me @rwoodpix to see what other adventures I embark on this summer.

The first leg of the trip was roughly 2000 miles, from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Whistler, British Columbia, to do some snowboarding. This first post features shots from the road.

Caribou cross the road near the Canadian border.

Leaving Tox, Alaska, on the morning of March 7, 2014.

Entering Canada

Liard River Hotsprings is a mandatory stop along the Alaska-Canada Highway in winter or summer.

Bison are common along the ALCAN,. The one center left moved minimally, so it was alive when we passed.

Blow out along the John Heart Highway.

Pretty light along the ALCAN.

Weekly photo challenge: Solitary

Alaska, Black & White, Film, Landscapes, Photography, Portraits, Travel, Weekly Photo Post

Solitary: being, living or going alone or without companions. The word instantly conjurs images of some distant wayfarer or contemplative individual. For this installment of the Weekly Photo Challenge, I will show you three of my interpretations of solitary, images I believe convey the mood through subject matter and compositional elements.

First: a very literal interpretation of solitary. In Denali National Park, a lone-grazing caribou is seen in vast tundra. I wont even begin to speculate on the distances, however it was shot with a 300MM telephoto lens on a Canon 7D. The importance of the 7D is the smaller APS-C sized sensor increases the 300MM lens to an effective focal length of 480MM! As focal length increases, the depth of a picture is flattened, making the relationships of everything seem closer.

In short, this caribou is very alone.

Please click on the images to view full size.

Lone caribou in Denali National Park, Sept. 16, 2012

My second image is more metaphorically solitary. The model and her shadow are all the viewer has to dwell on. I think her gaze off the edge of the frame, often deemed poor composition because the viewer wonders what the subject is looking at, gives the feeling that there is nothing besides more wall, adding to the solitary feeling. Also helping is the edge of the 4×5 film, terminating any curiosity about what else there may be.

Crystal at Creamers Field

Finally a somber event that would leave anyone feeling solitary. A woman walks past a cutout to honor a victim of domestic violence. The plaque reads,

“Nancy Tegoseak, Age 40, April, 2004. Nancy was born in Tanana and the loving mother of five children. She was beaten to death by her boyfriend. She leaves behind three children.”