Dengler Images

Endless view of mountains makes you wonder

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Sunrise on coastal mountains seen from Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to Juneau in southeast Alaska. SPECIAL NOTE: iPhone photo (John L. Dengler)

When you see several hours worth of endless coastal mountains when flying from Seattle to Juneau, you have to wonder how many of these mountains have felt the footsteps of a human being.

When I first published this image on the Dengler Images Facebook page, some folks commented that they wish they were along with me. Little did they know that less than 24 hours later after taking this photo, I would be sitting in the dark in my car during a howling blizzard as I waited to board the Alaska Marine Highway System ferry in Juneau for the 4.5 hour trip to Haines.

I try to blog as frequently as possible on my trips (assuming I have internet access).

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New images of Haines and Juneau, Alaska – Summer 2011

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(Slideshow of new images of Haines and Juneau, Alaska)

While traveling to and from Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in Alaska this summer, I spent just a few days in Haines and Juneau. The four and a half hour ferry trip up the Lynn Canal to Haines on the Alaska Marine Highway System M/V Matanuska was spectacular due to the unusually warm and clear weather. Travelers on the top deck acted like they were on a cruise ship in the Caribbean, taking in the sun, mountain scenery, and sights like the Eldred Rock Lighthouse, and historic Fort William Seward.

While in Haines, I checked out folks enjoying the recreational activities in the Chilkoot Lake State Recreational Site. Kayakers were enjoying the unusually calm waters of the lake, and while I was visiting between salmon runs, there were some people testing their fishing luck on the Chilkoot River. I had hoped to see some bears on the river to illustrate the troubling bear/human conflicts that I have witnessed in the past at the river but low number of people fishing keep those conflicts thankfully low.

During flight and ferry layovers in Juneau I made quick trips to the Mendenhall Glacier and the Juneau cruise ship dock with its float planes. Tall fireweed was in full force at the Brotherhood Bridge Park so I tried to capture their beauty with the Mendenhall Glacier in the background. That will be location that I’m sure to try again on return visits as I try to top each previous visit.

ABOVE: Slideshow of photos of Juneau and Haines, Alaska taken during the summer of 2011. (Slideshow requires Adobe Flash).

Don’t shoot the bald eagles!

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(Slideshow of landscape photos from Haines Alaska)

It was easy to get caught up in photographing nothing but bald eagles during my recent trip to the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve near Haines, Alaska.  To get a sense of place, I would occasionally break away from the eagles and shoot landscapes . Subjects included the nearby Four Winds Mountain, and Takhinsha Mountains, Mount Jonathan Ward and Takhin Ridge which are popular heli-skiing destinations. All are visible from the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve.

For many of these “landscape” images I used my 600mm lens. A 600mm lens isn’t thought of as a typical lens for landscape photography but I found forcing myself to use it as one provide me with unique images that I might not have seen through more traditional landscape lenses.

During a layover in Juneau I was able to take advantage of a windless day at Mendenhall Lake at the foot of the Mendenhall Glacier to photograph reflections of icebergs. I have found the area to be windy during previous visits so I wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass. The stillness of the wind reflected the stillness of the scene. During the summer, thousands of cruise ship tourists visit the glacier every day. It’s a mad house then. During November, there was nary a sole.

While traveling on the Alaska State Marine Highway Ferry system back and forth between Haines and Juneau, I took advantage of the early evening light and the setting sun above the mountains and glaciers along the Lynn Canal of the Inside Passage. On my return trip to Juneau on the FV Fairweather I was especially lucky to photograph a rising full moon above the Herbert Glacier near Juneau.

A full moon rises above Mount Ernest Gruering and the Herbert Glacier near Juneau, Alaska as the final rays of the sun at sunset baths mountain tops in alpenglow light. The view is from the Alaska Marine Highway System ferry FVF Fairweather as it traveled down the Lynn Canal from Haines. (John L. Dengler)

TOP: Slideshow of landscapes from Haines and Juneau, Alaska. (Slideshow requires Adobe Flash).

ABOVE: A full moon rises above Mount Ernest Gruering and the Herbert Glacier near Juneau, Alaska as the final rays of the sun at sunset baths mountain tops in alpenglow light. The view is from the Alaska Marine Highway System ferry FVF Fairweather as it traveled down the Lynn Canal from Haines.

To license image, click image. To see our collection of fine art prints, click here.

Nugget Falls – impressive falls through an impressive lens

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Hikers to Nugget Falls located next to the Mendenhall Glacier near Juneau, Alaska are dwarfed by the 377 foot waterfall. (John L. Dengler)

I would venture a guess that thousands of tourists visit the Mendenhall Glacier located just outside Juneau, Alaska every day during the summer cruise season.  Juneau is a major stop for cruise ships during the summer and the easy access for cruise lines to bus tourists to the glacier is likely to make a visit a somewhat crowded experience, particularly at and near the U.S. Forest Service visitor center.

With all these tourists armed with cameras, this past summer I wanted to try to get a photo different from the pack. In the past, I have taken some interesting landscape photos with my 600 mm lens — definitely not a lens often thought of for landscape photography. I figured why not try. Instead of focusing on the actual Mendenhall Glacier, I set my sights on the neighboring Nugget Falls, an impressive waterfall coming off the same icefield as the glacier.

I selected a slow shutter speed to give the falls the silky look. Obviously, that slow of a shutter speed with such a long lens, required the lens and camera locked down a tripod and the use of an electronic shutter release cable to take the photo.

Normally, I’m used to being the only person around when I’m taking photos. This time not only was I in a sea of tourists, I was the center of attention — not the falls nor the enormous glacier! It seems that the tourists were more impressed with my lens and began to snap photos of me and my long lens. Guess you could mark this one up to “lens envy.”

ABOVE: Hikers to Nugget Falls located next to the Mendenhall Glacier near Juneau, Alaska in the Tongass National Forest are dwarfed by the 377 foot waterfall. Photographed using a Nikon D3, 600mm f4 VR lens, on a Gitzo GT3541LS carbon fiber tripod with a Really Right Stuff BH-55 ballhead, and a Nikon MC-36 Multi-function Remote Cord. Image capture: 1/8 at f22, ISO 100

To license image, click image. To see our collection of fine art prints, click here.

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