I wasn’t looking for photos to post when I found this one. There is nothing too complicated (or perhaps even interesting) in this picture, though it is an action shot and the photographer understood something about “the decisive moment”: the picture was snapped at the precise instant the guide gestured upwards toward the totem pole.
I don’t know what it says about me that I take more pictures of things than I do of people. I don’t know the answer to that but I do know that I don’t see my youngest son, Jon, enough.
This photo was taken near Sitka, Alaska, a few years ago. At the time, Jon was working for an adventure company and we got the royal treatment when we visited. And I liked Sitka, except that it stayed in the 50s the whole time we were there. (July!)
Frankly, I don’t think you’d want to cuddle a brown bear. With front claws that are 4″ long and with an ability to run at speeds approaching 40mph, the Alaska brown bear is best kept at a distance, as this bear was in a habitat near Sitka that had been created for bear cubs that had been separated from their mothers. As the story goes, if you and a friend are caught in the wild being chased by a bear, you don’t need to outrun the bear. You just need to outrun your friend.
Of course they prowl. And they do other things as well. Here a mother bear and her cubs are watching tourists watch them.
I don’t do much wild life photography, mainly because it seems to take too much patience. It also helps if you have a really big lens, and I don’t.
But sometimes I get lucky as in this photo. We were visiting our son Jon in Sitka, Alaska and he had taken us in the company boat to see the flora and fauna of a few nearby islands. We don’t have puffins in South Dakota so I felt lucky to be close enough to a few to get some photos. I took 10 or so photos but this is my favorite because it does a good job of showing the flared wing tips and the excellent aerodynamics of neatly tucked legs and feet.
I’ve been lazy in my search for new subjects to photograph and so I am dusting off the archives. This photo isn’t that old – I took it this past summer on our visit to Jon in Sitka, Alaska.
Kruzof Island is a rugged, unhabited island best traversed by rugged 4 wheeled machines. Walking would work but, unless you encounter and angry bear, it doesn’t cause the same adrenaline rush the green noisy Yamahas cause.
Canon 5DII 1/40s f/4.5 ISO500 24mm
The only wildlife I seem to photograph is captive, such as the butterflies I’ve posted. And now a lumbering brown bear, on display at a zoo a few miles south of Sitka, Alaska, named “The Fortress of the Bear.” This young bear is one of two at the compound. They were orphaned after their mother had to be be destroyed. The crime the mom had committed was that she had made her way into the kitchen of a resort. Once a bear has tasted peanut butter and jelly, she is less inclined to eat berries and salmon. And before you know it, they’ll be back in your kitchen. Here’s another view. (click)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License
I read somewhere that for every day we spend fishing we should add a day to our lives and for every day we spend golfing we should take a day away. I guess it has something to do with the relative stress and frustration of the two activities.
It would be hard not to enjoy fishing in this place – even if the fish weren’t biting. I use the term “fishing hole” tongue in cheek in this post since the man is actually fishing in Starrigavan Bay, which is a few miles north of Sitka, Alaska. The snowy mountain in the distance is Mt. Edgecombe, a potentially active volcano.
There were many things about our brief visit to Alaska that are memorable. But oddly, the profusion of these tasty, orange berries stands out. No doubt there is a name for them but all I know is that I didn’t eat enough.
;
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
It would appear that I’m trying to score points with my in-laws in this blog over the last few days. But of all the photos I took in Alaska, this is one of my favorites. When we walked by the cut-out on the streets of Sitka, Alaska, my mother-in-law agreed to pose. But she didn’t agree to be the “Picture of the Day.” I guessing I’m out of the will. Again.
Canon 5DII 1/60s f/5.6 ISO100 28mm
;
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License
