“Capturing Alaska”
    with Wayde Carroll






Revisiting


 
   I hope that everyone had a very wonderful and warm Christmas and that you’re enjoying a break from the every day working world!
   My kids and I had been craving an adventure – and my wife, some quiet time alone at home- so I decided to take my son Jack (8), and daughter Claire (4), down to Seward for a couple of days. There is a Holiday Inn Express that has an indoor, heated, swimming pool that overlooks the harbor and its’ snow covered boats and docks. Combine that with cable tv and stunning views of Resurrection Bay and you’ve got a mini winter paradise just two hours south of Anchorage.
   While I truly love spending time with my children, I have to admit that I had ulterior motives of my own. If you drive along the coast just two miles south of downtown Seward you end up at Lowell Point. Though you’re close to town you can walk the shale- laden beach here and feel like you’re worlds away. The unobscured views of Resurrection Bay and the jagged mountains and forest that line its’ shores are breathtaking. I had explored the area several times over the summer but was thinking it would be an exciting place to revisit in the winter.
   So, after a full day in the pool, I announced on the second day that we were going to go explore the beach. My daughter cheered, my son groaned (he loved the hotel), and we went.
   My instincts didn’t fail me. It turned out to be one of the greatest times ever. Snow covered everything up to the tide line and the temperature was comfortable. Within seconds Jack and Claire were chasing incoming waves, collecting shells, and pointing out the sea lions off shore. If you could overlook the snow gear you’d think you were watching the kids on a beach in Hawaii!
   I was free to break out my camera and tripod for an hour or so of guilt free photography!
   It took a while to get here but what I wanted to emphasize is that it always pays to revisit favorite places over and over again. Every season, every type of weather, can offer a wide variety of colors, light quality, number of people, etc. And, once you know a place fairly well you know just where to go and you don’t spend as much time trying to find that great spot to photograph from.
   All the images here were taken in less than an hour and were very close to one another. One thing I like to do is take in the entire scene, look for wide-angle shots, then tighter mid-range shots and finally close up detail shots. By varying my position and lenses I was able to capture a wide variety of images in a short period of time.
   If you have a spot that is exciting to you photographically, keep going back. Odds are your images will keep getting better and better as you learn from previous mistakes.
   You might even make it an unforgettable place for others as well. My groaning son who wanted to luxuriate in front of the cartoon network at the hotel- I had to drag him off the beach in the early winter darkness.