Kodiak harbor photos

Posted by Mark on Nov 14, 2009 in nature photography | 16 comments

Kodiak

My stay on Kodiak Island was rather brief. It was shortened in the beginning due to an approaching storm, which meant the float planes need to get you off the island in a hurry. It was shortened on the way back for the same reason, combined with a lot of rain. All the more reason it pays to be flexible and have room in your schedule to accommodate this type of thing.

The Kodiak Island Group has a population of about 14,000, with most tied to the fishing industry. It is also the largest island in the US after Hawaii, at about 100 miles long and 50 miles across at its widest point. Unfortunately with no car (all transfers were via shuttle), I was limited to seeing the area around the Best Western we stayed at on the way to Katmai. With planes that might call to leave at anytime, you couldn’t venture far. You were limited to visiting the harbor or small downtown area. It also meant if I wanted to go photograph, I would be a bit out of my element since I normally do not photograph many man-made objects. (more…)

Shelikof Double occupancy

Posted by Mark on Nov 11, 2009 in nature photography | 19 comments

Shelikof rock island

The waterway that separates Kodiak Island, Alaska from the Alaskan peninsula and Katmai National Park is called the Shelikof Strait.   Our captain during our bear trip indicated it has a nasty reputation for some very serious storms.  Thirty foot seas are not uncommon and crossings are often limited to the good days.    In calmer waters, it is about a 4 hour crossing from Kodiak Island to Katmai, which is why so many travel by float plane.
(more…)

Katmai eruption of 1912

Posted by Mark on Nov 8, 2009 in nature photography | 17 comments

Volcanic abstract

June 1912 wasn’t a very pleasant time in Katmai.   Imagine not being able to see a lamp at arms length due to sulfurous volcanic ash filling the air.   Remnants of the events of that time remain nearly 100 years later and became the subjects of a few of my photographs.  In 1912, the Novarupta  volacano produced the largest volcanic eruption, in volume and explosiveness, of the 20th century.   Ash is reported to have covered 3,000 square miles to a depth of a foot or more.   Over a period of 3 days, eruptions produced dust and sulfurous gas that would eventually drift as far as Africa.

The magma ejected from the eruption was mostly from under Mount Katmai, which caused its collapse to form a summit caldera that is now a lake.   National Geographic sent an expedition here some years later where Robert Griggs named the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes.   From various photographs I have seen of this place, I wish I could have spent some time here.

Bears and ash mountains

Still, ash remains on the many mountains of the coastal areas of Katmai, as evident in this photograph of a brown bear bringing a meal back to shore.   I even spotted some areas of ash that had bear tracks through them.   It makes you wonder about when and where the next eruption of this magnitude will take place.    Hmmm….maybe the 100 year anniversary of 2012?

Fall harvest

Posted by Mark on Nov 7, 2009 in nature photography | 14 comments

Fall harvest

My local fall shooting has been pretty dismal lately.   However, rumor is we had some pretty good color in Michigan.   The leaves are now mostly down, and color is well past peak.   My local “harvest” of fall images, with the exception of Alaska fall colors, is quite low.

One time I did get out recently had me thinking about the term fall harvest.  ”Fall harvest” is something we often associate with agriculture – apples, corn, pumpkins, etc.   Provisions for winter.   With each year, my harvest of images changes, different conditions, different time availability, different locations, and most notably, different ideas.    Even my own backyard still produces new images limited only by my imagination in seeing them.

Nature’s fall harvest can be in the leaves and nutrients that will return to the ground to feed new spring growth.   Pine’s shedding their needles creating a protective blanket underneath.   This was the general idea behind this image.  Harvest does not always need to be defined by taking – nature proves that it is a time of giving back to the Earth, as well as feeding our photographic souls.

This image was processed using a combination of Adobe Lightroom, Topaz Adjust, and Luminosity Masks in Photoshop CS3, capture by a Nikon D700 and 24-70 f2.8 AFS lens.  You will find more of my leaf pictures in my gallery.