Alaska, October 2009

Denali South Overlook View

This shows the panoramic view of the south side of Denali National Park from the overlook, which is a very short walk from the parking lot. Even though the peak of the fall color had already passed, there was still some nice color to be seen in the late angle sunlight.

South Overlook View 2

There were plenty of other amazing peaks and views to each side of Denali itself. I liked this one.

Low Sun

The early flight helps me catch the first of the suns rays coming across the peaks.

Denali Weather

Just in the time we were shooting we saw the weather start to come in and obscure the peak of the mountain

Clearing Storm

A storm starts to clear over the mountains as we are driving down towards Denali National Park form Fairbanks.

View From The Road

On the way to our overlooks of Denali, we passed many other impressive views. This was the view from a short bridge. The way the big tractor trailer rigs were thundering along this road, I felt a tad nervous standing in the middle of this span to take this shot.

Denali Close-Up #2

Another shot of Denali with the zoom, framed by some trees.

Dave at the North Overlook

Dave G., my coworker for both of our trips to AK for satellite support, poses in front of an impressive backdrop. On our first AK trip, Dave did not bring a serious camera. This time, he had his Nikon D700, and knew how to use it :o)

Denali Close-Up

Really nice weather made for some really nice shots of the mountain. This one is zoomed in with the 70-200 f/4 L IS.

Denali Panorama

A wide view of Denali still peeking through increasing clouds, surrounded by a number of other impressive peaks.

Denali Drive

Sun and snow combine for a great view, driving inside Denali National Park.

Denali Drive 2

A closer look at the impressive mountains along the road inside Denali National Park.

Dual Color Display

The aurora came out of nowhere (we were planning on just shooting the stars). I got pretty excited, and I ended up underexposing a bunch of my shots. The end result is more noticeable banding in this shot, but you still get the idea.

Great Greens

After the initial red had faded, a really strong display of greens came out for a short while. The moon was also up, making things a little tough. I finally realized that the moon could be blocked by moving to the opposite side of the road to shoot. You can still see the moonglow in the shot, but the aurora comes out a bit better than many of my earlier shots. You can also notice the Big Dipper in the upper left portion of the picture, minus the last star of the handle.

Glacier View

I don't know which glacier this is (if anyone has a guess, let me know!), but it was impressive with the rising sun catching the peaks nearby.

Trackless Wilderness

You really start to appreciate how big and empty the world is up here.

Rugged Country

You've got to wonder how long it might have been since anyone set foot in some of these areas (if ever).

Glacier Track

The glaciers just carve right through the mountains in many places. Even with the low contrast caused by the plane window, I found the glaciers a fascinating viewing experience.