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.
Sunflowers, Anchorage Visitors Center - In Alaska, land of the "Midnight Sun", summer flowers flourish. I found these enormous sunflowers growing around the base of an old log cabin that serves as Anchorage's Vistors Center.
Moose, near Anchorage Airport - We saw several moose while were in Alaska, most of them not far from the Anchorage Airport. This one was grazing within a few hundred yards of a runway. Our guide told us that moose hang around the airport because there are few predators around.
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.
Under the Flying Bear - This Brown Bear, floating over a bar in Talkeetna, once may have weighed nearly 1500 pounds. We did not meet any live bears during the few weeks we were in Alaska, but bearskins such as this one are plentiful.
Retired Chrysler, Talkeetna - Alaskans enjoy their old cars, whether they run or not. This one is parked next to a shop in Talkeetna. The license plate expired nearly 10 years before I took the picture, so it's probably safe to assume that it no longer serves as transportation.
Sled Bed - A future sled dog sleeps on a dog sled just outside the headquarters of Alaska's famed Iditarod Race.
Double Duty - When not in use, dog racing sleds are used as beds for future racers. An entire litter makes use of this sled at Iditarod Headquarters near Talkeetna.
Keeping warm - Sled dog pups curl up together under a sled at Iditarod race headquarters.
In Harness - Mature sled dogs rest in harness at Iditarod Headquarters. In summer they haul tourists riding in all-terrain vehicles, good training for the event they are bred for -- the 1,131 mile long annual Iditarod sled-dog race from Anchorage to Nome.
A roof of Antlers - The roof of a sod house near Paxon, built more than 50 years ago, sprouts a thicket of caribou antlers.
In the Old Sluice Bar - The Old Sluice Bar, near Paxon, papers it's walls and ceilings with dollar bills provided by it's customers.
Greetings - This massive carved bear greets visitors at a restaurant near Denali National Park.
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.
Sunrise, Tangle Lake - Near the end of the 135 mile gravel Denali Highway, open only in the summer, is Tangle Lake. Archeologists think this area was on the main route of ancient peoples moving from Asia to North America.
Ghost Chassis, Chitina - The ghostly shell of a long forgotten automobile rusts in the old railroad town of Chitina. From here we traveled the tortuous, spike-studded, abandoned bed of the Copper River Railroad for 60 miles to the old mining towns of McCarthy and Kennecott.
Mount Blackburn, wreathed in clouds - 16,390 feet high Mt. Blackburn soars over Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, the largest US National Park. I photographed it from the Richardson Highway, about 50 miles away.
Abandoned trestle, Gilahina River - This railroad trestle stands as a remnant of the Copper River Railroad, abandoned in the late 1930s when copper mining ended in the Kennecott area.
On the Bridge over the Kulskana River - We were offered a brief respite from the brutalities of the gravel road between Chitina and McCarthy by taking a stroll on the flat, firm boards of this bridge over the Kulskana River.
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.
The McCarthy Lodge - While in McCarthy, we ate extravantly at the McCarthy Lodge, then slept on antique beds in the charming Ma Johnson's Hotel across the street, part of the same establishment.
Showing the colors at the McCarthy Lodge - Alaska's rugged weather has taken it's toll on the McCarthy Lodge's flag, supported on the horns of moose antlers.
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.
Collosal Kale - The "Midnight Sun" helped grow this colorful flowering kale to huge proportions. It flourishes at the Alyeska Ski Resort near Girdwood.
Kennecott River Valley - From the footbridge across the bed of Kennecott River, just outside McCarthy, I made this wideangle image of the sweeping Kennecott Valley. Just over the trees in the far distance at the center of this picture, is the ghost mining town of Kennecott.
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.
Kennecott's silent power plant - The geometric patterns created by sunlight striking the rooftops of Kennecott's vast but empty power plant recall the glory days of early 20th Century heavy industry.
A Kennecott building crumbles - Exploring the ghost town of Kennecott can be hazardous. Many of the buildings are unsafe -- in this photograph we see one of them literally falling apart before our eyes.
The chimneys of Kennecott - Two of Kennecott's chimneys, and a lowering sky, frame the snowcapped peak of Mt. Blackburn.
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.
Symbol of Kennecott: the main mill - The towering main mill structure still climbs the hill at Kennecott, it's long ore chute now under scaffold to prevent it's collapse. Inside, copper ore was once processed.
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.
Halibut on the hooks at Valdez - Valdez is the terminus of the Alaskan Pipeline. It's also the principal port on Prince William Sound, home to such fish as these freshly caught halibut.
Windy day in Whittier - Just across Prince William Sound from Valdez is the small port of Whittier. It offers a tunnel through the Kenai Mountains as well as a place for breakfast.
Hope, Alaska - The big sign atop the tin roof of Hope's cafe is by far the most prominent feature in town.
Hope's main street: where the road ends - You get to Hope by staying on a Kenai peninsula road until it ends by running into Cook Inlet. It's gold rush days are long behind it. It has not been commercialized, and offers visitors a genuine touch of the frontier.
Pancake breakfast in Hope - Locals get together on the weekend for a pancake breakfast in Hope's community hall.
Over 50, and still running - Looks aren't everything. This battered 1947 truck still works in Hope, Alaska.
The old truck does heavy lifting in Hope - Yes, it's the same 1947 truck in the previous picture. It not only still runs, but it continues to do heavy lifting for the fellow who is restoring old buildings at Hope's community museum.
No-frills room in Alaska - For many who live in Alaska's remote communities, life is often honed down to the essentials. This room, preserved as part of Hope's museum, offered warmth, a bed, and a wire for a light.
Dusk falls on the Aspens of Hope - The setting sun floods a grove of Hope's Aspen with golden light.
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.
Kittiwakes on the cliffs of Kenai Fjords - Thousands of nesting Kittiwakes make the cliffs of Kenai Fjords National Park their home.
Kittiwake Nest, Kenai Fjords - Tiny chicks can be seen in this Kittiwake nest in Kenai Fjords National Park.
Birds, cliffs, and falling water - A massive waterfall plunges past colonies of Kittiwakes in Kenai Fjords National Park.
Sea otters, Kenai Fjords Nat Park - A pair of sea otters float on their backs within a few feet of our boat in Kenai Fjords National Park.