More from Alaska

[joecolson]

Ron Reznick has posted some of his shots from our Alaska trip and I have posted some of mine on DPR. Here are a few that I just uploaded today that were taken on the same trip and haven't posted elsewhere. The group, now known as the Bear *** Alaska Boys, consisted of Mike Worley, Bernie Weinzimmer, Bernie Campoli, Huan Pham, Paul Frye, Ron Reznick and me. After flying to Anchorage on August 5, we took small planes, one a float plane, to the Katmai Peninsula and Lake Clark National Park. We stayed at the Silver Salmon Creek Lodge and were guided by John Hohl, a photographer and astute biologist. After spending five days with excellent record breaking weather, we flew to Anchorage and went by train to Denali National Park. When we arrived, smoke from forest fires near Fairbanks had drifted into the park and obscured most of the mountain scenery. We were able to see Mt. McKinley but not as clearly as we had hoped. Most visitors never see the mountain at all. So that will be a shot for another trip.

I shot with a D2X and 200-400mm VR almost exclusively. For a couple of occasions I used either a 1.4TC or 1.7TC for more reach. But surprisingly that wasn't need for most of our bear shots. For some of the shots even 200mm was too much glass! The D2X performed magnificently and I do appreciate the 12 megapixels as I've begun to crop some of my shots.

I hope you enjoy these samplers and more of the shots in my Alaska gallery (http://www.pbase.com/jcolson/alaska__august_2005):

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All comments and critique are greatly appreciated.

 

[Keith]

Joe your driving me crazy!!!!!!!!!! Man it must be hard to get that smile off your face. beautiful series, whats not to like. luv the puffin!!!!

 

[joecolson]

Keith,

The only thing that could make my year even better would be a winning football season at NC State.

Seriously, our trip exceeded our wildest expectations. When Huan Pham and I started putting the trip together last fall based on Scott Tatu's experiences, we only had a glimmer of an idea of what to expect. All I can say is we're planning to go back next year in July.

Thanks for the comments on the shots.

Joe

 

[Flew]

So you're the BAAB now. :lol:

Great shots Joe. Looks like a great time was had by all. The photographic evidence so far would seem to support that conclusion. 8)

 

[joecolson]

Frank,

Yep, we were the Bad *** Bosque Boys last year and now we're the Bear *** Alaska Boys. There's a common denominator in the themes that is obvious.

Thanks for your comments Frank.

Joe

 

[DiverX]

Love the shots Joe, must have been an awesome trip!

 

[hans]

Joe,I never get tired of bears so post some more as grat as these are.

It's high on my wishlist take pictures of bears in the wild

 

[joecolson]

George, it was an awesome trip. Thanks for looking at the pics.

Hans, you can see more bear shots at http://www.pbase.com/jcolson/alaska__august_2005 and I will post more to this forum in the next few days. Thanks for commenting.

 

[drueter]

Fantastic shots, Joe! Alaska is a fabulous place and I'd love to go back some day. Thanks for sharing!

 

[james thiel]

Joe your pictures are truly amazing. I am sure it will take a while to process all of them. I thank you and the others for posting these pictures for all the rest of us to drool over!!!

How did you find the D2X for tracking moving objects? A lot has been written of late and I am just curious to your experience. Sure wish I could afford that 200-400 vr.

 

[Kevin Scott]

These are great shots! I really like the Puffin!

 

[greyflash]

Absolutely beautiful images Joe. Of course I like the Puffin the best also.

 

[joecolson]

Thanks to you all for posting such nice comments. I need critical feedback as well so please don't hold back.

Jim, the D2X did just fine tracking motion as long as you recognized its limitations. For example, trying to lock on a flying Puffin against a busy foliage background was impossible. But locking on the Puffin against blue sky was easy, allowing us to track its flight from the Cook Inlet back to the island and lock again when it emerged against the blue sky background. Paul Frye and Bernie Weinzimmer of our group mastered the technique and have some excellent "Puffin with fish" shots to show for it. The 200-400mm VR was a perfect lens to have for this shoot. It covered the range we needed and could easily be coupled with a 1.4 or 1.7TC. I didn't have good luck using the latter but it was more attributable to my technique than the gear.

Joe

 

[Steve S]

WOw Joe, so many good shots in the gallery

Hard to even pick a fave, but the Puffins all in a row, and the Griz comin right at ya really stand out for me. So, tell us, what new goodies did you learn from Ron this time? You've been to several sessions with him, haven't ya?

 

[joecolson]

Steve,

This was just a group of good friends this time. No workshop, no lecture, no late night computer sessions. Just fun shooting. Ron and I have done this a few times now after our initial workshops together. He's an interesting guy to hang around with and I hope I am equally so.

Thanks for your comments, Steve. It's difficult for me to pick a favorite or set of favorites but I've noticed that the line of Puffins is currently the most clicked on.

Joe

 

[hillrg]

Hi Joe

You guys got some great light for some of the bears. Glad you had a good time. Paul stopped by and he seemed to still have a bit of zip left, so you must have been taking it easy on the home stretch ;^)

 

[joecolson]

Rory,

We took it easy on the old man ;-) Plus he had Marj join him on the trip to Denali so he was revived by her presence.

Did you have some good shooting with Paul in your neck of the woods? He was looking forward to eagles.

Joe

 

[royk]

The puffin shot is amazing! Excellent color and sharpness. It looks like it was posing for you.

Roy