Took a trip to Valdez last week. Weather sure did not cooperate, it rained on us for 3 days. Made some stops on the way there and on the way back. Stopped at the Matanuska Glacier about an hour from my house. You can drive to within a quarter mile of the glacier and even hike on it. There are even guides that will take you on a tour.

Meg and Coki on the Matanuska Glacier.

The Matanuska Glacier is a two hour drive up the Glenn Highway from Anchorage. It is 24 miles long and 4 miles wide. The hike was through some muddy moraine, but very beautiful.

Found some flowers and some rare sunlight prior to the hike. This summer has been very gloomy for us in Alaska.

Weather deteriorated once we crossed infamous Thompson Pass and the scenic views Valdez usually gives us were no where to be found.

Pink salmon were in the harbor and saw some competition for the commericial fishermen.

 These are a group of about 10 or 12 sea lions just off shore. They were having a grand time playing with the fish they were catching. They would roll over on their back and flip the fish in the air. Seagulls were playing the game as well, trying to get some leftovers. It was pouring down rain so only took a couple shots. I stood and watched them for about an hour before they got bored with us and moved further off shore. Sometimes you have to just put the camera up and enjoy your surroundings. I have learned to do this more and more.

One thing I have looked for when the sky is overcast is a waterfall. A  gray sky makes it easier to get some great effects when photographing waterfalls. Valdez has some great waterfalls right on the road system.

                                  Bridal Veil Falls

                             Horsetail Falls

                                    Lower part of Horsetail Falls

On the way home, we made a detour to Chitna. This is an area of Alaska that I have always loved. My favorite place to camp is just outside of Chitna, Liberty Falls. Unfortunately, the campsite was closed. We hiked in to find out why and discovered it had flooded.

Found the bridge inside the campground had collapsed. Stood on the bridge and took a photo of Liberty Creek.

I have been coming to this campsite for a lot of years. I hope it is repaired soon.

Mike

http://www.akphotograph.com/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alaska48/

Hatcher Pass is a recreational area about 20 minutes from my house. It is a summer and winter playground and is home to Independance Mine. We cross-country ski, hike, mountain bike and drive the pass to Willow. It used to be a well kept secret to locals until recently. You no longer need a 4 wheel drive to get up there, they paved the road a couple years ago.

This is one of the trails we hike.

It was a cloudy day with just a few moments of sun(like our summer so far).

This is Meg and Mo illustrating the steepness of the trail. Above you can see Dash, our daschound, taking the lead.

I turned around on the trail and snapped 3 exposures for this shot. I have been playing around with HDR and used automatic bracketing for this shot.

I combined 2 differently exposed shots for this image. I did not use any HDR software, just Photoshop and masking.

Lots of flowers on the hike up. Tried to get a few shots when the sun poked through.

Here is Mo on the trail. He sure is an athletic dog! He always enjoys a good hike.

Here is Meg, Mo and Dash checking out the scenery.

If you visit this area, email me and I will be glad to share some out of the way places to visit. Hatcher Pass is a family favorite.

Mike

Traveled to Homer this week, one of my favorite places and on the road system! Driving down the Seward highway is always a challenge, but when the mountain goats are out it is even harder.

This goat was a traffic stopper when it came close to the road. The goat is actually about 30 feet about the road. A whole group were higher up. If I would have had more time I would have gone for a hike.

Stopped at the Russian River when I saw some eagles high in the trees. As I was taking shots of the eagles, a black bear walked out of the woods.

The bear walked up and down the river several times across from me. Just upriver combat fishing was taking place. The bear was hunting for discarded carcasses from the fishermen.

Pulled into Homer on Sunday and it was raining. Monday afternoon the clouds parted and I got the camera out.

This is the famous Homer Spit. If you visit Alaska, Homer should be on your list.

Hiked along the Homer Spit and spotted a couple eagles. All but one were timid. One let me approach as he was cruising the beach for food during low tide. A couple times, he even came towards me.

I got lots of good shots and sometimes my 100-400mm lens was too big.

I believe the same eagle was on a piece of driftwood Tuesday. He was quite a traffic stopper as tourists pulled over to snap shots.

I sat and watched this guy as a raven swooped in and attacked him off and off for over an hour.

He acted as if nothing was going on even though the raven was actually striking him. I really enjoy watching eagles in their habitat.

Went hiking along the beach on Wednesday. Light was slightly better as I came across some more eagles.

This eagle was flying low over the beach looking for food opportunities. Watched him for a couple of hours until the sun went down. Sure beats sitting in a hotel room.

MIke

http://www.akphotograph.com/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alaska48/

Two weeks ago my wife and I hiked Turnagain Arm Trail. Never know what you will find on this trail. We ran into a crowd of Alaska State Troopers at McHugh Creek. They would not let us proceed any further. Seems a black bear and her cub had taken possession of the trail. The view of the Seward Highway from the trail is awesome!

This past weekend we came across a pair of mountain goats. The baby was very curious about us as we moved towards them. Mom was not concerned at all and did not even stand up. I was able to get some good photos without disturbing them.

After hiking, we headed into Girdwood where I wanted to try out my new ND filter on a waterfall.

www.akphotograph.com

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alaska48/