Denali: From the National Park and Beyond

Denali boasts many accolades. It is North America's highest peak and one of the Seven Summits. It is the world's third most prominent peak by the official "topographical prominence" measure. It has, by far, the highest latitude of the Seven Summits. By all measures, it is an incredible mountain. 

Denali is also elusive. A widely used anecdote claims that only 30% of visitors who seek the mountain even get to see it. The other 70% find only a swirl of clouds where the mountain should be. That is why on a recent trip when we got three full days of completely unimpeded views of the "Great One," we were truly lucky.

A visit to Denali National Park & Preserve, however, is much more than just a visit to this great mountain. Along the way we also saw two grizzly bears, six caribou and three Dall sheep, three of "Big Five" Alaskan animals (wolves and moose were elusive on this trip, though I have seen both, especially moose, before). Though many of these encounters were too far even for the 400 mm lens to capture a good image, there were times when I just had to put the camera down and realize this adventure wasn't just about photos.

After leaving the park, we were treated to incredible views of the big mountain all along the Parks Highway. The glaciated summit and ridges swan in and out of view like a ghost rising and sinking through the trees. We made several pit stops to frame up new views of the mountain's many facades. And before heading back to my home on the Kenai Peninsula, we passed a night in the quaint town of Talkeetna where the views of the mountain somehow seemed even better.

Though the skies were too blue and there was no sunrise and sunset in July to make for ideal photography conditions, it is hard to complain about three incredible days circling one of the world's iconic mountains, and some of the images I captured were good enough to satiate the photographer inside me.

Denali area image gallery (click to view higher resolution images)

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The Lights that Dance

Experiencing the Aurora Borealis is one of the most magical things about living Alaska. Living in coastal southern Alaska, these lights often feel tantalizingly close yet elusive. Too often overcast skies block views during strong geomagnetic storms. In late winter 2023, however, several incredible aurora nights coincided with clears skies and the opportunity to witness and capture the dancing aurora was incredible. Anyone who has never seen this lights, and wants to, I can't encourage you enough to make it happen. It is something you will never forget.

Photographing the northern lights is not easy. I have seen many photographs on Instagram and online with blurry foregrounds or skies filled with distracting noise. The trick I found is to point your camera at the farthest away light source you can find, like the moon or a distant street light, and get the camera in focus. Once you have done that don't touch the focus ring or change your zoom! And don't be afraid to boost your ISO. It's better to have a little noise in the sky than have a terrible under-exposed image. You can always use one of the great denoise AI programs, like Topaz or the 2023 Lightroom/Camera Raw AI denoise update, to get rid of that distraction and create a clean, well-exposed image. While no photograph could ever capture the majesty and movement of the lights that dance, northern lights photographs are guaranteed to make people's jaws drop.

NORTHERN LIGHTS IMAGE GALLERY

(For best results, click for larger images)

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Visit THE ARCHIVE: A list of most of my articles and posts sorted by category

Copyright notice: This website and all its contents are the intellectual property of Brian Wright Photography. None of the content can be used or reproduced without expressed written approval.
For information about how to contact us, visit this link

Homer, Kachemak Bay & Grace Ridge

My wife and I had not had a night alone together since our daughter was born. Not that I am complaining; I love my sweet little two-year-old daughter more than anything. But when the chance came to hand our kiddo off to the grandparents and do an overnight exploration of Grace Ridge in Kachemak Bay State Park near Homer, Alaska, we took it.

Kachemak Bay State Park is a wonderland of impressive crags, sharp ridges and cracked glaciers. It was one of the first places in Alaska I was able to explore back in 2007 and one of the reasons I fell in love with Alaska. In 2020 we backpacked in to Grewingk Glacier with our packrafts and paddled around the towering icebergs that splinter off in the lake at the toe of that mammoth glacier. This time, we wanted to see a new area of the park, and we were not disappointed.

Grace Ridge is a 9-mile hike up and over a mountain through the alpine tundra with views of Tutka Bay and Sadie Cove off to each side. We approached it by staying at the Kayak Beach yurt the night before. It was what I kept calling an "old school" adventure for us, the type that we used to take all the time before undertaking the even bigger adventure of becoming parents. It had all the features of one of our trips circa 2010: a mountain climb, some evening lounging after gulping down backpacking food, even a splash of inclement weather. We were treated to an incredible display of light that left me clicking the shutter for hours on my camera the evening before our hike. The pictures I got that night and during the foggy climb the next day were incredible.

All-in-all it was a super successful overnight trip in a part of Alaska that gives a taste of adventure without being too out-of-reach. I highly recommend it to any photographer (or anyone, really) who happens to be in the area. The views and the photographic compositions are hard to beat.

(A collection of photos from the location/trip. For best results, click to enlarge)

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Visit THE ARCHIVE: A list of most of my articles and posts sorted by category

Copyright notice: This website and all its contents are the intellectual property of Brian Wright Photography. None of the content can be used or reproduced without expressed written approval.
For information about how to contact us, visit this link