2015 Calendar Preview

This year I'm selling a calendar with an Alaskan theme, featuring a baker's dozen of photographs (when you include the cover) that I've taken since I took up photography  (you can order yours here).  With today's post I thought I'd share a sampling of the images that are in the calendar - in no particular order - with a little background of where and when they were taken.

This is the photo I used for the cover.  This was taken at Crow Creek Mine in Girdwood.  In the 30 plus years I lived in Alaska, I never made it to Crow Creek Mine, but during my recent trip back to Alaska, I made the time to stop in and take a look.  While walking around the grounds I spotted this truck: a 1929 Model A Ford.  The  morning dew melting off the truck, the flower box under the front bumper, the shack in the background made for a nice composition... This was taken September 2014...

One morning during that same trip back to Alaska I drove to Seward, hoping to be in position to shoot before the sun rose.  A few miles outside of Seward I was driving past Bear Lake when I saw the reflection of the mountains in the water, and I quickly pulled over to take a few shots.  Normally, I don't compose a photo with the horizon line in the middle of the frame, but here I wanted to give equal weight to the mountains and their reflection.  This and the photo below were also taken in last September...

That same morning in Seward I started out by walking the docks of the boat harbor.  As the light filled the sky, its reflection began to fall across the early morning's water, and soon the sun broke the horizon.  I stopped to take this photo, crouching down to emphasize the metallic reflection in the water.  

This photo was taken at Independence Mine at Hatcher's Pass north of Palmer.   When we arrived, the whole area was cloaked in a shroud of fog which started to lift as the sun rose higher in the sky.  I've always liked the moodiness of this shot.  Mining was so integral to the exploration and settling of Alaska that I wanted to include a photo that represented this part of the state's history.  Taken August 2012...

Autumn, often fleeting in Alaska, but magnificent while it lasts...  This was taken while walking along the shore at Eklutha Lake north of Anchorage.  I consider this to be one of my first successful attempts at composition, a shot where I took the time to carefully frame the scene and actually had an end result in mind.  Taken September 2008...

Last, but certainly not least, Mount McKinley.  Denali, the Great One...  This photo was taken at the first pullout on the road that winds through Denali National Park where Mt. McKinley - weather permitting - can typically be seen.  A great vantage point, if a bit crowded...  September 2014... 

With a subject as beautiful and expansive and varied as Alaska, trying to narrow it down to a dozen selections was a task filled with much internal debate, but that's a good dilemma to have...

You can purchase a calendar here

View my online portfolio, purchase prints and other merchandise here