Majesty

Yakutat Bay, Alaska

When cruising the inside passage of Alaska, Hubbard Glacier is normally on the route as a "stop". To reach Hubbard Glacier, ships must sail through the Gulf of Alaska and enter the Yakutat Bay. Yakutat Bay was formed over centuries by the eroding forces of glacier advance and retreat. This image was taken as our ship began to leave the gulf and enter the bay. It wasn't the best time of day to shoot images, but when on a cruise, there is little control over the timing of visiting a destination. This is one of the challenges of shooting on a cruise vacation. Another challenge includes shooting from a moving boat that may be rocking. This can especially true when shooting a HDR bracket (thank God for the sophisticated alignment functions of Photoshop).

Despite the light and movement, I was lucky to have a layer of clouds against the mountains and some dissipating fog at ground level.

Guarding the Palace

Doge's Palace, St Mark's Square, Venice, Italy

The Doge's Palace was the seat of the Republic of Venice for centuries before it became part of Italy in 1866. The current palace was constructed between 1309 and 1424. Two facades of the palace border St. Mark's Square and a third facade looks towards the Venetian Lagoon. The last facade is connected to Venice's infamous prison by the even more infamous Bridge of Sighs. Each column of the palace is unique from the others. Between the ninth and tenth columns, death sentences and executions were carried out. Today, the palace serves as a museum. In addition to being able to view the Doge's apartments, government chambers and the prison cells, the palace also contains a magnificent art collection. Climbing the enormous staircase, the Scala die Giganti, you come to the second floor and look out on the courtyard and the massive statues of Neptune and Mars. It is here that I composed this image of the backs of the statues looking out to the courtyard and the ornate other side of the palace.

The Old Book

Antique Store, New Hampshire

Just a quick post and run today. This image is from an antique store somewhere in New Hampshire. The store owner was nice enough to allow us in to photograph whatever we wanted. While there were so many possible subjects, I was attracted to this old book. I could just imagine seeing this scene a long time ago with the old-time typewriter in the background and the old pewter cup in the foreground. Have a great weekend everyone.

O, Canada

Canada Place, Vancouver, British Columbia

Canada Place, with its iconic white sails, is located in the heart of Vancouver's downtown harbor front. It was opened during Expo ’86 and includes the Pan Pacific Hotel, World Trade Centre, Convention Centre and serves as the main cruise ship terminal for the region, where most of the cruises to Alaska originate or terminate. On this morning, we were coming to the end of our Alaskan cruise that we took this past summer. We had a wonderful time in Alaska and the subsequent cruise down the inside passage. Vancouver is a fantastic place to visit and we were really looking forward to our 3-day stay in Vancouver. As the cruise ship began to position to dock, I fired off a 5-bracket burst and this is the result.

Otter Beach Glow

Otter Beach, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine

Acadia National Park in Maine is the only national park located in the northeastern US. It is a beautiful park where mountains, islands and ocean all come together to form a unique experience. Located on Mount Desert Island, Acadia's origins were actually started by a group of summer residents that formed a public land trust to protect the island from development. The trust slowly acquired parts of the island and John D Rockefeller donated over 10,000 acres of land to the trust. Rockefeller also built 45 miles of stone carriage roads that traverse the park. Acadia now covers 47,000 acres of property. This image was taken on one of Acadia's famous beaches namely, Otter Beach. The beach can be somewhat treacherous as I found out by stepping on a rock and taking a fall. Lesson learned - even though there are other people on a rock, make sure that you step on a dry part of the rock like they did.

There were about 50 photographers lined up to catch the sunrise. The sunrise turned out to be a very short one as the clouds were quickly moving east. I was able to catch the little light there was giving a warm glow to the cliffs as a wave began to crest toward the beach.

Fall Countryside

Cathedral Ledge, North Conway, New Hampshire

Today we revisit Cathedral Ledge in North Conway, New Hampshire. The setting for this image is the White Mountains. This particular group of mountains are known as the Presidential Range whose peaks are named after American Presidents and other historic figures. Cathedral Ledge is easily accessable with a short walk from the parking area. On this particular night, the setting sun gave a beautiful glow to the New England countryside with all of it's fall colors and splendor. This image contrasted significantly from the same composition that I took the next morning which can be seen in this post. As you can see, weather can dramitically change a subject's appearance.

When in Rome

The Colosseum, Rome, Italy

When traveling to a new city, it is always worth doing pre-trip planning to get an idea of what attractions and photo locations there might be. Doing research on the internet, looking at post cards and calendars, perusing photo books, and looking at photos on sites like 500px and Flickr are what I usually do. There is a new tool in my arsenal that may end up being the best. That tool is Trey Ratcliff's new iPad app, Stuck on Earth. Quite simply, pick any location on earth and you will be able to see photos that were taken there by Trey or a myriad of other photographers. The interface is slick and beautifully designed. Best of all, it is free. I highly recommend the app for those who have iPads.

For this image taken in Rome, I didn't need to do any research to know that the iconic Colosseum was one of Rome's most famous tourist attractions. There are probably millions of images taken of this ancient structure but when in Rome...

Flying the Misty Fjords

Misty Fiords National Monument, Ketchikan, Alaska

Misty Fjords National Monument is located 40 miles east of Ketchikan, Alaska, along the Inside Passage coast in extreme southeastern Alaska. The area is nicknamed "The Yosemite of the North" for its similar geology. Formed by glaciers, the glacial valleys are filled with sea water. The walls of these valleys are near-vertical and range from 2,000 to 3,000 feet above sea level and drop 1,000 feet below it. The scenery ranges from tidewater estuaries to mountains often shrouded in mists, sky-blue lakes, waterfalls and the seemingly endless evergreen forest. Misty Fjords' road-less location is only accessible by floatplane or boat from Ketchikan. We took a tour boat out of Ketchikan for a 6-hour boat tour. The weather was pretty raw with periodic rain. Along the way, we saw it all, rugged mountains, eagles, the very cool New Eddystone Rock and waterfalls. Perhaps the most unexpected sight was the large number of floatplanes that were taking off and landing. Misty Fjords might be considered nature's busiest airport. I can only imagine what the number of planes would have been if the weather was nice. This is one of the floatplanes taking off with the mists and mountains in the background.

Sunlit Cupola

The Inn at Mountain View Farms, East Burke, Vermont

In this earlier post, I introduced the Inn at Mountain View Farm in East Burke, VT. The size of the Inn's property is huge and I wandered from building to building. I ultimately found this building that was dark, empty and deserted. Even though it was quite dark, there was some light coming from above through the cupola on the roof. As I looked for subjects to shoot, it occurred to me to shoot the great wooden cupola from below. I shot 9 brackets as the dynamic range was pretty extreme and I think the texture and tones of the wood came through.

Golden Morning

Pudding Hill Road, Lyndonville Vermont

One of the of the goals we had on our photo workshop was to try to shoot the sunrise of the New England countryside with fog on the ground. As we gathered in the dark parking lot, we were praying that the crispness in the air would deliver the fog. The plan was to drive about 20 minutes from the hotel to Pudding Hill Road in Lyndonville Vermont. Usually when planning for a specific weather condition, it rarely works out as planned. On this morning, we were blessed. As we set up for the shoot, the fog was there and it was looking good. As the sun began to peak over the mountain, it became apparent the photography gods were delivering a great morning. I usually shoot a 7 bracketed series of images when shooting directly into the sun to capture a decent exposure without blowing out too many highlights. I am pretty happy with the results.

Spiral Staircase

Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, Bristol, Maine

As many of you who follow my blog know, my favorite lighthouse in Maine is the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse. Today, I have decided to take you inside of the lighthouse. The lighthouse was commissioned in 1827 by John Quincy Adams and built that year. While the lighthouse appears to be tall as it sits high on a huge rocky promontory, it only measures 30 feet. To enter the lighthouse, you go through the keeper's house which is now the Fishermen’s Museum at Pemaquid. The museum contains displays and artifacts of the lighthouse and local maritime history.

This image is looking up the spiral staircase to the light itself.

No Private Boats

Echo Lake, Franconia, New Hampshire

Echo Lake is a state park located mear Conway, New Hampshire and is the scene of this fall foliage image. In 1943, the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests joined with the state to raise funds to buy Echo Lake, protecting it from commercial development. Echo Lake is open to the public for swimming, canoeing, kayaking and picnicking. There was no one to be seen when we got there before dawn. As the 20+ photographers in our group quickly set up their tripods and cameras, I am sure that there was no part of the lake that wasn't captured that morning. The water was still and the fall foliage was reaching its peak. I wanted to capture the reflections in the lake and was intrigued by the small dock with it's sign "No Private Boats". I started to wonder what a public boat was in contrast to a private boat.

New York Spires

St Patrick's Cathedral, Manhattan, New York

Walking the streets of New York City is a photographer's Disney World. Everywhere you look, there is a great shot, whether it be people or buildings. I especially love taking shots of the buildings when they get that warm glow from a fading sun. It's hard not to walk the streets and be constantly looking up for "the shot". Of course, doing that can be very dangerous when walking crowded sidewalks or crossing streets. On this particular day, I was heading to St Patrick's Cathedral to take some shots inside the church. As I approached the cathedral, I noticed the golden glow in the building beside it. As I looked at the spires that were mostly in the shade, I thought that the contrast between the two structures made a wonderful image.

Floating City

Noagara Falls, Ontario

Today, we revisit Niagara Falls. I had just taken this shot that I had posted earlier this year and wanted to get a different view of the water. I walked along the path alongside the Niagara River so I could get a view of the water before it plummeted over the edge on its way from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. As I looked back toward the falls, the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario actually looked like it was floating in the river. From my vantage point, the huge gorge between the American side and the Canadian side had "disappeared" giving the appearance that the city was on an island. The only indication that there might be a gorge is the mist from the American Falls (on the right) coming up from the bottom.  

The High One

Mt Mckinley, Denali National Park, Alaska

I have to admit it, I love mountains. I can't get enough of them. They are my favorites subjects and I always try to visit them whenever I travel. The one that I have always wanted to visit is Mt McKinley in Denali National Park, Alaska. Mt McKinley is the highest peak in North America. The mountain was originally named Denali or "High One" by the Koyukon Athabaskan people who inhabit the area around the mountain. A gold prospector later named it "McKinley" to provide political support for then-president William McKinley. I was fortunate enough to visit it this past summer. When planning the visit, I found out that Mt McKinley was visible only 30% of the year. I read about visitors who stayed a week and never saw it. We would only be there for three days and were hoping to get a view of it. When we checked into the lodge, it wasn't visible and I was worried that this was a bad omen. A few hours later, as we were about to board a bus to Talkeetna, I wandered around to the back of the lodge and saw this scene. The clouds at the top of the mountain had cleared out and it's majesty was revealed. Just to give you a size of McKinley, this image was taken from about 90 miles away.

Mosaic Reflections

Hearst Castle, San Simeon, California

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend. One of my favorite drives in the United States is the magnificent Pacific Coast Highway in California. I've done that drive, or at least part of the drive, at least a dozen times. One of my must see stops on the road is the Hearst Castle in San Simeon. Built in between 1919 and 1947 by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, the "castle" contains 56 bedrooms, 61 bathrooms, 19 sitting rooms, 127 acres of gardens, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, a movie theater, an airfield, and the world's largest private zoo.

This image is of the a diving "board" of the indoor pool that is ensconced with mosaic tiles. Definitely a place to visit.

Sunlit Treetops

Sequoia National Park, California

I would like to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all of you as you visit family and give thanks for all that we have been blessed with. I have been writing this blog for about 6 months and would like to thank each of you for your visits and kind words. In the process of starting my blog, I have discovered a wonderful group of photographers that are truly a community that gives and shares. Thank you all. Sequoia National Park is located in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains in California. It is about a 4 hour drive from Yosemite National Park. The park is famous for its giant sequoia trees, including the General Sherman tree, the largest tree on Earth.

Sequoia is not nearly as visited as it's more famous cousin to the north, but it is a beautiful place to visit and an unspoiled treasure. The lack of crowds, even during the summer months, allows you to roam freely amid these majestic trees. I headed to visit a grove near our hotel and spent a good two hours walking the grove taking in my surroundings and the serenity. I didn't once see another person despite the beauty of the sunrise streaming through the trees allowing me to be one with nature.

Bubble Net Feeding

Humpback Whales, Juneau, Alaska

This past summer, I was fortunate to revisit Alaska. For those of you who have never been there, add it to your bucket list and place it pretty high. Of all of the great memories I had there, our whale watch cruise was something I will always remember. The weather that day was quite miserable. The tour that we had signed up for started with a hike to Mendenhall Glacier and finished with the whale watch cruise. I was pretty excited as it was led by a local photographer and the boat we took was designed for photographers. The boat had windows that went outward and up, so that you could lean out of the window and have your camera stay dry. I've been on whale watches before, but not like this one. Shortly after we left, we found 13 humpback whales (at least that is what we counted) that were participating in a bubble net feeding. This feeding is unique to humpback whales but is only practiced by certain humpbacks in limited locations in the world. Bubble net feeding is a foraging behavior used to capture small schooling fish. Humpbacks have an elaborate way they use the bubbles to manipulate prey. The bubble blowing whale seems to know where the fish are because it changes depth of bubble deployment depending upon how deep the prey is positioned in the water. The process begins with the whales at the surface, diving as a group. Once the group is under water, one whale within the group initiates a series of vocalizations known as feeding calls. As the prey come close to the bubble wall, the bubble blowing whale encloses the wall of bubbles around them, creating a cylinder with the fish trapped inside. For more information click this link where you find an expanded description of the feeding.

This image shows four humpbacks starting their dive. The spray from other humpbacks can be seen in the background. I will further expand on the challenges of photographing this type of feeding in a later post. Suffice to say, it was quite an experience.

Boathouse Reflections

Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Alberta

Today, we return to Lake Louise in the heart of Banff National Park and Lake Louise. The boathouse on the lake is located very close to the hotel (Chateau Lake Louise) so you can roll out of bed, walk out of the room and be set up in minutes (my way of shooting). I almost had the whole lake to myself as there were few photographers to be seen. The morning was very still and the water was like glass. The boathouse is cast in shadows in the early morning and is a subject better suited for the evening sun. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed the serenity and the scene.

All Tied Up

Bernard, Maine

Just a quick post today. I took this image on the docks of Bernard, Maine on the way to shoot some images of the Bass Harbor Head Light. Sorry to post and run. Have a great weekend everyone!