Alaska images: in backcountry & beyond
Next we traveled on to Nome and the Bering Sea, where we boarded the expedition ship "New World Discoverer" to photograph nature and wildlife subjects on frequently fog shrouded Alaskan islands such as the Diomedes, St. Lawrence, St.Matthew, Hall, the Pribilofs -- all the way out to the islands at the very end of the vast Aleutian chain -- Kiska and Attu. The New World Discoverer, operated by Society Expeditions, was a small but elegant ship. (This cruise line is no longer in business.) Unlike most Alaskan cruise ships, this one carried just 150 travelers. It went to places where tourists seldom visit -- places that were hard to reach, difficult to land on, often obscured by the fog and mist. Few of our Alaska destinations offered piers or ports. Donning high boots and waterproof pants, we were carried to "wet landings" via motorized "Zodiac" pontoon rafts. Our particular sailing was also unique in that it would be the first time that any cruise ship has circled the vast Bering Sea. Not only did the New World Discoverer cruise to some of Alaska's most far flung island outposts for a week -- it also continued on to explore the islands and bays of Siberia's seldom seen Kamchatka and Chukotka peninsulas for two additional weeks, eventually winding up back in Nome after three weeks of sailing the storied waters of the Bering Sea. Accompanying us were anthropologists, biologists, historians, and botanists, whose lectures and insights illuminated the meaning of what we were seeing and photographing. (To see the gallery I made during the New World Discoverer's two weeks in Russian waters, you can view "Kamchatka & Chukotka: Russia's Far East."
Making this adventure even more valuable to me was an on-board three week nature photography workshop put together by Wilderness Travel, the company that arranged this cruise for us. The workshop was open to 40 of the ship's most avid image makers, and proved to be a very intensive and productive experience. Not only were we blessed with abundant wildlife and nature subjects in spectacular settings, but we were working under the guidance of two of the best known nature photographers in the world, Frans Lanting and Galen Rowell. Sadly, this would be the last of Galen's valuable contributions to the photographic community. He and his lovely wife Barbara tragically lost their lives in a small plane crash while flying home from our workshop -- a shattering loss for all of us on this cruise, as well as to all who value nature photography. I dedicate both this gallery, as well my gallery on the Russian portion of this expedition, to their memory. I shall always cherish the knowledge and insights that both Galen Rowell and Frans Lanting offered us in their shipboard lectures and while shooting in the field. Their workshop has forever enhanced my photographic vision.
As a photographic workshop director myself, I am sure that this experience will also have significant impact on my own teaching abilities. In this gallery, I am sharing 91 of my favorite Alaskan images with you. They represent my feelings about what I saw and learned while traveling through the back roads of the state's interior as well as cruising among it's often haunting and mystical islands. Aside from sharing these pictures with you on this website, I also am using many of them to teach the principles of expressive travel photography on my pbase website http://www.pbase.com/pnd1) as well as in the tutorial workshops I give in Phoenix for those desiring instruction in photojournalism, expressive travel photography and digital imaging.
During two weeks of shooting in Alaska, I made about 1,500 images on my Canon G2 four megapixel digital camera. Digital photography, unlike film photography, offers us the chance to use each image as a learning experience. As such, I shot most of my pictures as small steps along the road to my ultimate results. I chose to keep only about ten per cent of what I shot - - 150 pictures -- and you will see a just over half of those in this gallery. I also made frequent use of Photoshop -- not to "manipulate" my photographs, but rather to simply enhance them.
To view my images at their best, just click the "slideshow" button in the top right hand corner. To end the slide show at any time, press your "escape" key. Enjoy, and if you have any questions or comments, I'd appreciate it if you would share them with us here, or send them to me via an email message. Thanks. Phil Douglis Director, The Douglis Visual Workshops Phoenix, Arizona, pnd1@cox. net
Native Alaskan sculpture, Anchorage - The best place to start a trip through Alaska is by visiting the Anchorage Museum of History and Art, the state's largest museum. One of the ten most visited attractions in the state, this museum offers startling insights into 10,000 years of history, and displays a magnificent array of art, such this wonderful piece of Native sculpture.
Caribou Antlers - These antlers grace the facade of a store near Paxon. Caribou, similar to reindeer, are known as the nomads of the north because they wander over long distances. Only 100 years ago, there were 25 million of them in North America. There are far fewer today -- we only saw one in Alaska, along the roadside in Denali National Park.
Only in Alaska - Small planes are so plentiful in Alaska that we saw them parked everywhere. In Talkeetna, this sign had to be displayed to keep them from taking up parking space needed for cars. To save even more space, the sign was posted on a trash bin. And all of this in a state that has more space than any other.
Historic cabin, Denali National Park - This cabin has served Denali's rangers since the park was established in 1917. Visitors are brought here for briefings on this immense National Park. In our three hour bus trip through Denali, we saw much beautiful scenery, a caribou, some distant White Dall sheep on a high ridge, and a rare glimpse of Mt. McKinley.
Mt. McKinley, Denali National Park - On my camera's digital viewing screen I composed a picture of this green valley and a craggy mountain in Denali National Park. I heard someone say they thought they could see Mt. McKinley, North America's highest mountain, looming in the distance. But all I saw in the sky was what seemed to be a pile of soft white clouds. I took the picture anyway, and when I viewed it later on my computer screen, I was stunned by what I saw. What I had once thought were just white clouds was actually an immense dome of snow floating in the sky, the enormous snowy summit of 20,000 foot Mt. McKinley, well over fifty miles away.
Facade, McCarthy General Store - Dawn light strikes Moose antlers on McCarthy's general store. McCarthy is one of Alaska's hidden gems. The infamous McCarthy Road ends at the Kennecott River. We had to walk the final mile or so into town, crossing two footbridges. McCarthy once hosted carousing copper miners from Kennecott. With the mines long closed, the town somehow survives virtually unchanged, a charming ghost town that refuses to die.
Time stops in McCarthy - Walking at dawn through the empty streets of McCarthy, I discovered an ancient plane with it's wings folded back and missing it's propeller. It rests across the street from an equally venerable structure that once offered groceries, meats and hardware. I had the feeling that time had stopped, at least for the moment.
Remains of the Kennecott Post Office - Kennecott, Alaska, is considered the best remaining example of early 20th Century copper mining. Most of the structures in this historic company mining town, which became a ghost town after the last train pulled out in 1938, were acquired by the US National Park Service in 1998. It's buildings, now in a state of collapse and disrepair, offer a haunted look into another era.
Abandoned mining machinery at Kennecott - When Kennecott shut down in 1938, most of it's mining machinery was left in place. Over the years much of it has been removed, but enough still remains to capture the flavor of a time gone by. I photographed this massive rusting machinery inside of one of the ore processing buildings.
Keeping the ghosts in a ghost town - Inside Kennecott's main mill building, I found this work room ravaged by time and vandals. Some might not like seeing this historic workplace in a state of decay, yet I feel sights like this offer a more moving experience than if Kennecott was restored to it's original condition. Apparently the National Park Service feels likewise. While there, I was told it intends to restore the buildings of Kennecott to simply a state of "arrested decay" -- thereby keeping the ghost in this ghost town.
Aialik Glacier, Kenai Fjords Nat. Park - FewAlaskan sights are as impressive as the ice field of a massive glacier. At Aialik Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park, the jagged edge of a huge blue iceberg looms before us. Explosive sounds of ice rending, cracking, breaking and plunging into Aialik Bay accompany the unforgettable experience.