Seward Sunrise
The winter sunrises in Seward are absolutely wonderful. The sun is low in the sky and the mountains catch the light just beautifully. There were several dozen mergansers out on the shore and they took to the water and complied nicely with my desire for this composition. The sea otters were playing up the shore line and there was a cormorant or two in the mix. The weather was definitely warm for Alaska standards but we get our share of warm winds that blow in and take the edge off the winter.
Beautiful Afternoon
The ice fog often flows and ebbs throughout the day and as the light catches here and there on the frosted branches the fog really contributes to the atmosphere of the scene. The sun just really arcs across the sky this time of year, staying very low so the landscape gets painted with the most beautiful light.
I may still be cold but after turning the corner on the solstice we are gaining light very rapidly. This of course means some great winter sports opportunities are priming up…now if it would just get back to minus twenty…
Ice Sculptures in Town Park
The town park, downtown Anchorage has several ice sculptures on display currently. There is a nice path shoveled among them for your viewing pleasure. I enjoyed the walk but can attest that the rink area, although not roped off, is way to slick for walking. I have on my schedule a trip up to Fairbanks for this years Ice sculpting competition and I wanted to get a feel for the challenges of making photographs of them. Big One: backgrounds. very hard to make a photograph of the sculpture without some serious background intrusions. It is going to be difficult. Next is the light. Which of course gets compounded by trying to change angles to avoid backgrounds. Next is depth or shape. If you don’t get the light it merges flat. Interesting problems.
Pioneer Peak and Valley Farm
It truly is a winter wonderland here in Alaska more so than anywhere I have ever been. The snow sparkles in the low light, the ice fog plants crystals everywhere, the arctic temperatures give the air a real crisp snap to it. On a mid afternoon with no wind the silence is golden and views are incredible.
New Print of The Month
The January Print of the Month is up on Fall River Photography. You may be interested in knowing that The Print of the Month is discounted for the time that it is featured. Thank you for taking a look.
Grain Silo
We were out and about in Palmer chasing Bohemian Waxwings and came across this old silo. I liked the lines and the cool colors. Palmer started out as a farming community and still has those roots deep. During the dust bowl days the government gave away land to farmers who agreed to relocate to Alaska for at least 5 years. Most went back. It was not so much the cold winters and short summers as the annual (at the time) flooding of the valley. Every year an ice dam would break and flood the Matanuska Valley. This of course was great for enriching the soil, not so great for your house and other property. Plus of course it was ice water, very miserable stuff to be in quite frankly. The valley is not prone to flooding now like it used to be and there are quite a few farms still here. Sometimes you just have to stick it out. I hope you have a great year in 201o after sticking out the last one; here’s to you.