photo sharing and upload picture albums photo forums search pictures popular photos photography help login
Joshua | profile | all galleries >> Alaska tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

Alaska

Alaska appeals to us like no other place does! The rugged beauty, the abundant wildlife, and the remoteness – it is simply like no other place on earth. Alaska is a piece of America that offers incredible fjords, breath-taking ocean coasts, rushing rivers and waterfalls, green temperate rain forest, majestic mountain peaks, awesome glaciers, raw wilderness and multi-cultural people to satisfy your photographic appetite. At times, it even gives you the feeling of traveling back in time. For the first time in my life, I took in excess of 2,000 images on a single trip! A small portion of the images is presented here. Since we were there in the early part of June, with other words prior to the salmon spawning season, I did not have any images of bears catching salmons that I really admire. That will give me a reason to go there again next year to capture those images.

Our trip started on a cruise ship in Vancouver, Canada. Through the Inside Passage we sailed to Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway. At each stop, we ventured inland and visited various interesting spots. From Skagway we sailed through the open ocean of Gulf of Alaska, “stopping by” at Glacier Bay on the way to Prince William Sound. We witnessed “icebergs” being born from tidal glaciers at College Fjords, one of the "arms" of Prince William Sound. The cruise ended in Whittier/Anchorage. From Anchorage we flew up to Fairbanks and there, we hopped on a small plane and flew north over Yukon Flats Natural Preserve and passed the Arctic Circle to a "dot" in the map called Coldfoot. The main attraction there was to visit an even smaller “dot” on the map, a place called Wiseman, where approximately 11 people live a subsistence life in this remote area. Normal chores that we take for granted, such as grocery shopping in a supermarket, become "luxurious" trips that they do only a few times a year. From Fairbanks, the northernmost railroad end, we boarded the Midnight Sun Express to Denali National Park, known for its vast taigas, tundras and braided rivers. The name "Denali" is an Athabaskan Indian word meaning "The High One" for Mount McKinley. At 20,320 feet, Mount McKinley is the tallest peak in North America. After almost two weeks in Alaska, our trip ended in Anchorage....

The wildlife in Alaska was abundant but circumstances did not allow me to capture any presentable images. Aggressive mosquitoes close to the size of small bees stung and sucked me almost to dry. Needless to say, I did not feel like taking pictures of that kind of wildlife. I would like to go back to Alaska in March or April to take pictures of auroras and in early July to take pictures of bears catching salmons; again something to look forward to and to round up my Alaska picture collection. For right now these images will have to do. Thank you for visiting and enjoy!

Since I don't like tiny images -they simply don't carry that much impact I would like to convey-, I deliberately did not scale down the images too much. As long as it is not for commercial usage, I let you use my images at no charge, but please keep my name on the images intact as a token of respecting my copyright. Thank you.





previous pagepages 1 2 3 4 ALL next page
The main lobby of our cruise ship, showing two of the grand stair cases and one of the two elevators
The main lobby of our cruise ship, showing two of the grand stair cases and one of the two elevators
A view of the ceiling of the main lobby
A view of the ceiling of the main lobby
Ketchikan/Salmon Falls - A view of the coast, taken from a bridge near the marina
Ketchikan/Salmon Falls - A view of the coast, taken from a bridge near the marina
Ketchikan/Salmon Falls - A small but pretty water fall
Ketchikan/Salmon Falls - A small but pretty water fall
Juneau - Dungeness crabs for dinner tonight, honey!  A fairly high concentration of crabs was up for grab near the harbor
Juneau - Dungeness crabs for dinner tonight, honey! A fairly high concentration of crabs was up for grab near the harbor
Juneau - Kayaker in Action
Juneau - Kayaker in Action
Juneau - Kayaker in Action
Juneau - Kayaker in Action
Juneau - Chapel by the Lake
Juneau - Chapel by the Lake
Juneau - Mendenhall: the Glacier next door
Juneau - Mendenhall: the Glacier next door
Juneau - Sky tram to Mount Roberts with the city/harbor in the background
Juneau - Sky tram to Mount Roberts with the city/harbor in the background
Juneau - A cruise ship approaching the harbor
Juneau - A cruise ship approaching the harbor
Near the top of Mt. Roberts - A field of vigorous Dracaena-like plants: soaking up plenty of light during the summer months
Near the top of Mt. Roberts - A field of vigorous Dracaena-like plants: soaking up plenty of light during the summer months
A closeup of Dracaenas(?)
A closeup of "Dracaenas(?)"
Color contrast
Color contrast
Not tyipcal for Alaska but it is wildlife alright
Not tyipcal for Alaska but it is wildlife alright
A higher elevation: brings a different type of vegetation
A higher elevation: brings a different type of vegetation
Near the peak of Mt. Roberts: only ground cover is present at this elevation
Near the peak of Mt. Roberts: only ground cover is present at this elevation
Closeup of a ground cover patch
Closeup of a ground cover patch
A deep and blue crevasse of Mendenhall Glacier
A deep and blue crevasse of Mendenhall Glacier
The best way to drink glacier water
The best way to drink glacier water
A watery crevasse of Mendenhall Glacier
A watery crevasse of Mendenhall Glacier
Waiting to be picked up by our helicopter
Waiting to be picked up by our helicopter
Skagway - Coach ride, anybody?
Skagway - Coach ride, anybody?
Skagway - In deep conversation with a friend
Skagway - In deep conversation with a friend
previous pagepages 1 2 3 4 ALL next page