New Year, New Light

Canon S95 Point and Shoot

This winter has not been easy for me. I'm used to some escape, and while I did spend nearly two weeks in Mexico in late November, I was so pre-occupied by preparing for, racing and recovering from the Ironman Triathlon, it hardly seemed to be an escape. In fact, this holiday season is the first I've ever spent in Alaska. Strange eh? I've lived here for 12 years and this was the first time I spent Christmas here. Basically, this means that I'm seeing this darkest time of year, in its entirety, for the first time. 

Now that we are past the solstice we are gaining back the sun in the range of 3 minutes a day, and that is enough to feel. Each day feels a bit brighter than the one before, the light lingers on the southern horizon for hours after sunset. But when the sun is up, it sheds wonderful, low-angle light across the landscape. Yesterday, New Year's Day 2011, was one such day. It is days like yesterday, when the the world no longer seems so black and white, so gray on gray, but rather an explosion of color. 

Canon S95 Point and Shoot

The 2 images here are mostly grab-shots, made with my new Canon S95 point and shoot. Got to say I'm impressed by this little machine. With a little work in Lightroom, the images are nearly perfect. I'm curious to see if my stock agency will accept a couple. I may try that this week.

Return of the Night

Canon 7d, Sigma 30mm f1.4, 56 seconds, f1.4, (Bulb setting) ISO 400

I captured this image a few weeks ago on my very first night with Canon 7D. Night imagery is tricky in the digital world because the longer the shutter speed the more noise is generated. This image at 56 seconds is pushing it, but with acceptable results. The haze is from approaching clouds which were catching the lights of Fairbanks a few miles to the south of where I made the image on my property.

Winter is a difficult time of year for photography in Alaska. Conditions can be brutally cold, which is hard on equipment, hands and the rest of us. But the rewards can be great. Even close to Fairbanks we have superb sky watching, some of the best in fact. The aurora can rise in green curtains without warning and disappear just as quickly. I have relatively few images of the aurora, and once again, on the night I made this image it was absent yet again. I'll continue to keep my eyes on the sky this winter, and hopefully I come up with some images to share.

Oh, it's clear, full moon and -5 out as I write this. Welcome winter!

Winter Afternoon

Canon 7D, 70-200 f2.8L IS @ 200mm, 1/1600th at f2.8, ISO 100

I'm afraid I'm not feeling inspired today for blogging, but here is an image from this afternoon. The last of the clouds from the past days snow blew away in the night and we were graced with a beautiful sunny day. I got away from the computer for an hour or so to take a walk with my camera. Nothing earth shattering, I'm afraid, but I like the depth of this image.

I got an email today asking about what equipment to take on a wilderness photography trip next summer. It seemed like a good topic for a blog post since I imagine a lot of you may have the same question. Look for that tomorrow.

Yard Moose

Canon 7D, 70-200f2.8L IS @ 200mm, handheld, 1/40th, f2.8, ISO 800.

It even looks like winter now. Over the past couple of days 4 or 5 inches of snow have fallen and more is coming down outside as I type this. With winter comes some difficulties, the roads get nasty, my driveway becomes an utter disaster, but it is also remarkably beautiful. The spruces become coated with a thick layer of snow, and things start to look, well, Christmasy... In Fairbanks and much of Alaska, the stereotype of Christmas is the reality for much of the long winter. That stasis makes the beauty hard to appreciate, so it is the seasons of change, like right now, when I am most enthralled.

I photographed this moose on my property this morning. I live on ten acres and through the lower section of the property a small creek flows (or ices over depending on the season). The valley is used as a corridor for all kinds of animals. There were fox tracks all over the driveway this morning and a pair of moose tracks as well. They were fresh, and sure enough, as I was heading out, there they were, two cow moose, grazing unconcernedly on the willows. I grabbed my camera and made a few images. The light was just getting bright enough and the moose were cooperative, even with the 70-200 I was able to easily get frame-filling images. I like this image the best because it says something about the animal. Moose spend a lot of time in dense brush, and despite their enormous size (1000lbs or more) they often seem invisible. Trying to portray that, and still get a tight shot, I framed through a window of spruce boughs. This is not an image I thought long and hard about, but I know a bit about moose and the decision for how to compose was an easy one. I have some other frames from the morning I'll try to post in the next few days to show some alternatives. Wildlife photography happens on the fly and knowing something about the subject before you start shooting will help you work more quickly and with better results.

Icy Sunset

Canon 7D, 70-200f2.8L IS, 1/250th at f9.0, ISO 100

I'm afraid there is no denying it anymore, autumn is over, even if winter's snow has not yet arrived. There are people skating on the local ponds and talk has gone from admiring the indian summer to eager for snow. This time of year, as I noted a few days back, is also extremely good for photography. The morning and evening colors last forever, the stars are bright and fill the sky from horizon to horizon each cloudless night.

This image is of frozen Ballaine Pond on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus. Crystals of frost were forming on top of the ice and that is why I stopped, but it wasn't the crystals that drew my attention, but the way the trees and fading sun reflected off the ice.