Mt. Denali (McKinley) Northface - Denali National Park & Preserve, Alaska in Autumn

My week long Denali photo project was success. I camped deep inside Denali National Park & Preserve for 5 nights in early fall to capture Mt. Denali (McKinley) at sunrise and sunset. The weather was more than perfect, Mt. Denali was out for my entire stay, which is extremely unusual.

 In late August, interior Alaska is already in autumn colors. The tundra started turning bright orange against the blue sky; the most beautiful time of the year. Nature showed off their its prime beauty before another harsh winter.

 The lake was a little calmer in the morning... Denali reflected on Wonder lake.

 This is the entire Wonder Lake, about 4 miles long, and Denali on a calm morning.

 After a long and challenging bush whack, I made it top of the range... The entire Wonder Lake and Denali was in view on my site with a bright crimson tundra hill! This one of the best views of Denali and Wonder Lake. The midday light was too harsh... I may have to come back there for sunset on a future trip.

 A few hours before sunset, I arrived at the spot where I dreamed of photographing the mountain at sunset. After 4 nights of sunset shooting, I selected this spot where I could capture the perfect reflection of Denali on Wonder Lake. I set up my camera, carefully adjusted it, and waited for sun to slowly shift toward the horizon. As the breeze slowed down, the ripple on the surface smoothed out. The bright white sun on the mountain slowly turned to a warm golden light, then orange to pink... The entire range glowed magenta as the sun lowered. It was the brightest glow during my 5 evenings in the area. The lake was flat at the time, and a perfect mirror image was on! The glow was shifting up to the highest peak the North America, then faded... It was the image that I dreamed of since I first saw the mountain 15 years ago.

When I made it back to the campsite, the northern lights started dancing above the sky. The lights were very active that night; waving, swirling, then spread over the sky. Then the faint light band stretched over Denali...

On one morning, I was shooting the mountain by the lake and a large caribou was found feeding on tundra. He was calm and quiet, I didn't notice him until he came close by... He rose his head and looked at me but he went on continuously feeding. He seemed at ease not caring about my presence.

The 5 nights at Wonder Lake in Denali was amazing... It was nonstop photographing and exploring the area. The place is truly magnificent. I'm deeply in love with Denali...

I will post more Denali images on next few blogs.  Please visit back soon.

September Aurora #2 - Tok, Alaska

 The northern lights have been amazing this year so far. The strong aurora has been appearing in the northern sky since the middle of the August. I headed north from Anchorage to capture the great northern lights and spent the first night near Fairbanks where the northern lights were outstanding and lasted for hours.

 The next day, I camped in a mountain pass north of Tok, in eastern Alaska near the Canadian border. The sky was clear all day. The aurora was already visible while the sun was still setting. As the sky darkened (sunset takes a long time in northern latitudes), the northern lights became brighter and more intense. The curtain-like lights waved in the northern sky and stretched across the horizon.

 

 Then it turned into fish shaped lights! I like to call this "Spirit of Salmon."

 The Aurora that night was very active. It was almost nonstop movement with constant waving, dancing, circling, swirling, and spreading.

 

Light explosion from the mountain...

 Corona lights in zenith!

 Bright intense lights continuously moving.

The lights of Phoenix!

The northern lights show was all over the sky, a 360 degree view for the whole night!

It was also fall color season... The vivid and most beautiful time in Alaska. It is also nice to see the northern lights in warmer temperatures instead of 20 below.

I'll post some fall color images on my next posting, please visit back soon.

 

 

September Aurora - Fairbanks, Alaska

The northern lights started early this year! As soon as the darkness of night returned around the middle of August, the Aurora started dancing. This year seems to be the great year for the northern lights. There have already been several days that the aurora activity has been strong enough to be visible from just north of Anchorage.

When solar activity is high, the bright aurora dances across the sky in the Arctic region. Although the lights can appear near Anchorage, they are much brighter and move vibrant in more northern latitudes.

In early September, I packed up the camera gear and headed north towards Fairbanks. The sky was clearing as I got closer to Fairbanks. Around midnight, the aurora began appearing... It started as a faint straight light across the sky. Then, the lights started moving by the time I arrived at one of the local lakes. The bright moon rose, but the aurora was still bright under the moonlight. The weather was calm, no wind. The arch of lights were waving above the small lake.

The aurora continuously danced all over the sky. The ribbon like lights moved across the sky and disappeared, then the next ones formed above the horizon. 

The intense fire of lights flaming above the lake... The fire created an arrow-like light and ran across the sky!

The northern lights continued on and on for hours... Arriving at another lake, the lights were dancing all over the sky and swirling! The lake was a perfect mirror for the light show. Being able to photograph the northern lights' reflections occur only at this time of the year before the lakes freeze. At one point, the neon green colors spread from the horizon to zenith! It was one of the best aurora I have ever seen!

Wave like lights!

Lights explosion in the sky...

In the green fog...

I camped near Tok, in eastern Alaska the next day... Another great night for aurora! To be continued in the next posting, please come back to see more aurora images!

Aurora Reflections

 

The dark nights in Alaska are back. It is already late fall in Southcentral Alaska. The northern lights season officially begins.

After many rainy days, finally the sky cleared out, and the solar activity was high enough to display the northern lights north of Anchorage.

 

I was waiting at one of the lakes about 60 miles north of Anchorage. It was in the mid 30 degrees (°F), “warm” weather for northern lights photography. The lake is still not frozen yet this time of the year. It is a good time to capture the reflections of the northern lights.



Starting with faint lights on the horizon, the northern lights formed an arch around 2 am. Slowly, the arch like aurora shifted over the lake. The lake was still, like a mirror reflecting the lights on the surface. The light arch slowly waved and faded… then started all over again. It repeated several times. The lights weren’t as intense as I expected, but still a peaceful show.

On my next update, I will posts new images from the European Alps. Please check back!

Denali Aurora

When solar activity was high in early February, I headed north from Anchorage to hopefully get a glimpse of the aurora. The weather cooperated and the sky was clear. The faint northern lights arched in the north sky at 9pm which is usually a good sign for an active aurora night. It would finally be the night that I would photograph northern lights over Denali (Mount McKinley, the highest peak in the North America).

There are numerous locations about 100 miles north from Anchorage to view the south face of Mt. McKinley. The north face of McKinley is more well known - famous in postcards and books, etc, however, the best area to view the north side of the mountain is really remote, 90 miles deep inside Denali National Park. The dirt road within the park was still under the deep snow and temperatures could reach -60 Fahrenheit. Only experienced winter travelers with dog sled teams or snowmobiles can reach the area. The more accessible south side of McKinley is realistic option for winter photography.

When I arrived at the one of spots to view Denali, the faint aurora was already fading away... 

I moved on to another location with a majestic view of the Alaska Range. (Denali is part of Alaska Range) I was ready by 11pm, but no northern lights were out... just a clear sky with millions of stars above the mountains. I waited for 30 minutes at 16 degrees outside, but nothing happened. I hiked back to the car and waited... It was a long cold night with no aurora activity for hours...

At 5am, finally northern lights were appeared over northern sky. I grabbed gear and running up to the spot. The aurora was slowly stretch out and waving above the mountain. It was mostly faint green and slight pink at the lower edge. 

The bright moon was slowly setting behind the mountains yielding to an amazing show. 

The lights became more intense and danced over Denali and parts of the Alaska Range. The show kept going for over an hour! 

Dragon dancing over the mountain.

At 6am, the lights slowly faded and it was time to pack up. It was such an exciting morning.

Northern Lights over Anchorage

 

The winter season 2012-13 were among the best to view northern lights due to high solar activity. Northern lights most often appear in the high latitudes around the Arctic region. When I lived in Fairbanks (300 miles south of the Arctic Circle), I witnessed the aurora several nights a week during the winter months. Now I'm in Anchorage, 300 miles south of Fairbanks where the aurora displays are rare. When the solar activity is strong, occasionally the northern lights dance above Anchorage and the southern region of Alaska.

 

It was on one of these rare nights following a magnetic sun storm that bright green aurora waved above the city! I happened to see the lights from my front door in a residential area of East Anchorage around 8pm. The lights must have been very intense to be visible with the city lights.

 

On another day, the aurora glowed brightly above Cook Inlet in south Anchorage.
 

Spring is approaching Alaska after the long winter months. The days are getting longer every day (+5 min each day in Anchorage) The darkness is soon to give way to long days in the land of the midnight sun. The season of the northern lights will soon be over...

Arctic Alaska

"Far North" - north of the Arctic Circle – above the latitude 66°33′44″ North, the remote wilderness of Brooks Range to Arctic Ocean – an area I have found fascinating for over 10 years since my first summer in Alaska.  This part of Alaska is the land of the midnight sun - sun stays above the horizon for 24 hours at the summer solstice, vegetation grows fast under the perpetual light, and wildlife - bears, caribou, moose, and wolves are always busy feeding and reproducing during the short summer. The only road across the remote Arctic is the 414 mile Dalton Highway from Fairbanks via Steese Hwy and Elliot Hwy, a total of 500 miles to Prudhoe Bay (Arctic Ocean), 850 miles from Anchorage!

In mid August, while it was still late summer in Anchorage, my journey to Arctic began.  Passing through Fairbanks, 350 miles from Anchorage, the fall was already starting!  The birch woods were turning to yellow. 84 miles from Fairbanks, the Dalton Hwy started with dirt road and a lot of construction.  After crossing the Yukon River, the highway follows the pipeline to the north.  The Birch woods changed to the land of permafrost with boreal forest.  The open tundra was already a golden fall color when I entered the Arctic Circle.  Countless rivers and lakes lay scattered across the open valley.

The historic gold rush town Coldfoot is now a big truck stop for huge trucks which heading to/from North Slope oilfield.  This is a last place for gas and supplies until Deadhorse, on the north end of Dalton Hwy.

The highlight of the Dalton Highway is north of Coldfoot; the spectacular Brooks Mountains begin. Gate of Arctic National Park & Preserve, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and some other protected lands are laid along the highway.  The colors of the tundra was vibrantly painted in orange and red, glowing in the nearly everlasting autumn sun.

Crossing Atigun Pass, the rivers north of the pass flow into the Arctic Ocean, and the rivers in the south flow into the Pacific Ocean. The dramatic scenery - rugged mountains and tundra valley continues on.

It was an emotional moment when I finally saw the edge of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge after signing so many petitions to protect this pristine remote land from oil development for the past years.  When I first heard about this area and the issue, I was still young, maybe a teenager in Japan, but I was strongly moved and felt pain for the political issue.  Finally I was there, seeing the evening light shine down upon the rugged mountains and the valleys from the Dalton Hwy...  The landscape of the refuge is stunning. I hope this area will be permanently protected for future.

Caribou crossing the tundra on north of Brooks Range.

The darkness of night lasts for at least a few hours...  The northern lights start dancing the Arctic.

To be continued to the next posting...