alaska pics
Great pictures. I went on the cruise to Alaska on the Princess line as well. I would have to say it was the best vacation I have ever been on. Eventhough the pictures are awesome you truly can't appreciate the size and the coloration of the ice bergs unless you see them for yourself. That was all in Glacier Bay wasn't it?
Originally Posted by UNC04SuzukaBlue,May 23 2005, 01:50 PM
Keep in mind I'm only showing you the good ones. I have many, many more (probably over 200) that aren't this good. And that's not counting the ones I took and deleted on the spot.
And again, the orca shot is not pro quality. It's blurry and you can't completely see the head/face. A pro would have had a faster and sharper lens and also wouldn't have been a split second late in firing the shutter.
As for how rare these opportunities are and how lucky I got, I can't really answer that, since this was my first and only trip. Bald eagle sightings were frequent. Our tour bus drove across the Denali Highway, which is a gravel road through acres and acres of undeveloped land. A bald eagle was sitting on a snowy hill right by the road. Our driver stopped the bus, and the shot was easy to get. Is it rare to find a bald eagle sitting next to the road? I don't know. The orca breached three times in a row. I missed most of the first and the third, but got the second. Is it rare for an orca to breach three times in a row right by your boat? I don't know. But the captains are skilled at getting you close to the action without disturbing the animals, and I know that bottle-nosed dolphins in Florida often do come right up to boats, so maybe orca do as well.
As for the ice calving, I spent many minutes on three different days shooting different glaciers, and this is the only calving shot I got that was worth a
. The captain told us that a particular patch of ice looked like it was about to go, so I just waited for it. Also, the D70 can shoot about three pics per second in continuous shooting mode, so for the orca and ice calving shots, when you see something start to happen, you can just hold down the shutter release and hope for the best.
And again, the orca shot is not pro quality. It's blurry and you can't completely see the head/face. A pro would have had a faster and sharper lens and also wouldn't have been a split second late in firing the shutter.
As for how rare these opportunities are and how lucky I got, I can't really answer that, since this was my first and only trip. Bald eagle sightings were frequent. Our tour bus drove across the Denali Highway, which is a gravel road through acres and acres of undeveloped land. A bald eagle was sitting on a snowy hill right by the road. Our driver stopped the bus, and the shot was easy to get. Is it rare to find a bald eagle sitting next to the road? I don't know. The orca breached three times in a row. I missed most of the first and the third, but got the second. Is it rare for an orca to breach three times in a row right by your boat? I don't know. But the captains are skilled at getting you close to the action without disturbing the animals, and I know that bottle-nosed dolphins in Florida often do come right up to boats, so maybe orca do as well.
As for the ice calving, I spent many minutes on three different days shooting different glaciers, and this is the only calving shot I got that was worth a
. The captain told us that a particular patch of ice looked like it was about to go, so I just waited for it. Also, the D70 can shoot about three pics per second in continuous shooting mode, so for the orca and ice calving shots, when you see something start to happen, you can just hold down the shutter release and hope for the best.
Originally Posted by wannabuy,May 24 2005, 09:47 AM
Not hijacking your thread but since you had a wonderful time if you don't mind here is a couple pics when I was up south of Craig last month.
Looking at a map, "south of Craig" looks like a whole lotta nothin'. What brought you there? Fishing? Is there somewhere to stay, or were you camping? Just curious.
Nice pics, BTW. I particularly like the sunset (sunrise?) pic.
Mode of transportation.

Another little sun pic.

I was up there for a hunting/fishing trip for the company I work for. We were filming for our T.V. show on the outdoor channel. I didn't get anything :-( but had the most fun in my life to date. It was just beautiful and there was nothing like having you're own skif and boat to use and stay on. We went down to the Klakas Inlet. The area there in that inlet has never been logged so it was just gorgeous. I took about 1 gig of 5mp pictures when I was down. I wanted some snow but just the wrong time of the year. I would recommend Alaska to all those that enjoy the outdoors and love the piece and quiet away from the pavement. Just awesome up there.
Later
Another little sun pic.
I was up there for a hunting/fishing trip for the company I work for. We were filming for our T.V. show on the outdoor channel. I didn't get anything :-( but had the most fun in my life to date. It was just beautiful and there was nothing like having you're own skif and boat to use and stay on. We went down to the Klakas Inlet. The area there in that inlet has never been logged so it was just gorgeous. I took about 1 gig of 5mp pictures when I was down. I wanted some snow but just the wrong time of the year. I would recommend Alaska to all those that enjoy the outdoors and love the piece and quiet away from the pavement. Just awesome up there.
Later
i don't mean to sound like an ass or anything, but the 70-300mm lens you used is trash =X
that is why your telephoto pics didn't come out too great looking. i used it for a day and returned it the next. i reccomend you pick up a nikkor 70-210mm D lens from ebay. it's ALOT faster and ALOT sharper. i got mine on ebay b/c it's discontinued now for $305 shipped. here's a review on it:
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/7021056.htm
make sure you get the D version =]
other than that, great pics ;D
that is why your telephoto pics didn't come out too great looking. i used it for a day and returned it the next. i reccomend you pick up a nikkor 70-210mm D lens from ebay. it's ALOT faster and ALOT sharper. i got mine on ebay b/c it's discontinued now for $305 shipped. here's a review on it:
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/7021056.htm
make sure you get the D version =]
other than that, great pics ;D


