Denali (McKinley) Reflections, Denali National Park & Preserve, Alaska

 Reflection Pond in Denali Park is a favorite spot for photographers especially when it is a clear and calm day. North America's highest peak, Mount Denali (McKinley) and its mountain range reflects on the small tundra pond.

 During my stay in Denali Park, I commuted to Reflection Pond several times. The pond was usually still in early morning and late evening. This is under morning lights.

 Since the evening lights were the best on this side of Denali, I wanted good sunset glow on the reflection shots. The first night I tried shooting at Reflection Pond but it was too windy... I sat by the shore for a few hours with some other photographers as the pond rippled all evening... So, I returned there the next evening and it was much calmer successfully capturing beautiful reflections.

My 5 nights in Denali Park was nothing less than perfect. I captured 5 spectacular sunsets in a row. I have been busy editing thousands of images from Denali. I will continue posting more Denali images on my next blog. Please check back!

Mount Denali (McKinley) Southface, Alaska

North America's highest peak, Mount Denali, formerly known as Mount McKinley, faces Kesugi Ridge which is located north of Anchorage, in Denali State Park. (Yes, Denali State Park is distinct from the well known big brother Denali National Park & Preserve)

To capture sunrise glow on Denali's south face, I backpacked Kesugi Ridge which parallels Denali and the Alaska Range across a valley on a beautiful weekend in July. The trail ascends through forest, then rocky terrain, and opens up to alpine tundra. Soon after climbing above the tree line, majestic Denali was supposed to show off... however, Denali was hiding behind clouds, as is not uncommon. With an elevation of 20,310 feet (6,190 m), the mountain creates its own climate and often generates clouds around the mountain although it was a perfectly clear day.

Once getting up on the ridge, the trail was almost flat and continued along the ridge. The clouds over Denali slowly departed, and showed off the entire mountain while I was setting up camp. It was a perfect evening as the sun lowered behind the Alaska Range. The light rays lit the silhouette of Denali...

The sky above Denali was still clear at sunrise. View of Denali at camp. It was windy and cold at dawn as I set up the camera outside the tent door and while sitting inside my warm sleeping bag, I was able to capture the sunrise on Denali. It was early July, under the midnight sun, there was only a few hours of twilight instead of darkness. When the sun appeared on the edge of the horizon, the very first light hit the highest peak! Slowly, the golden light shifted downward...

As the sun slowly rose, the glow on the mountain lowered... The thin clouds behind the mountain turned to peach colors... In the northern latitudes, sunrise and sunset take much longer. Photographers appreciate this long "magic light" for sure!

Stunning morning lights painted Denali and the whole Alaska Range in warm crimson. Several unnamed creeks from melting snow flowed down Kesugi Ridge. What a perfect morning in wilderness.

I had captured the south face of Denali, next will be the famous north face view. I'm heading to Denali National Park & Preserve this weekend. Camping for a week, I'm hoping to capture the sunset glow on Mount Denali with bright red fall colors of tundra. Wish me good weather!

Sunset Reflections - Kenai Mountains at Cook Inlet, Alaska

 It was beautiful spring evening in Alaska as I was headed south toward the Kenai Peninsula along Cook Inlet. It was almost 11 o'clock, the tide was low and the mud bottom of the ocean was exposed. The sun slowly settled down seemingly into the ocean.



The rose-colored light glows on the snow capped Kenai Mountains above the ocean. I quickly selected the site and set up the camera gear to capture this special moment. The sky against the snowy mountains were a beautiful lavender color.

The setting sun painted the other side of the sky in bright orange!

The magical twilight sky lasted about a half hour after sunset. Slowly, the tide came in, and darkness descended upon the inlet. It was already past midnight when I packed up the gear and left.

Camera Test at Reflections Lake, Alaska

I had been pretty happy with my camera for the past 7 years and didn't upgrade when the 5D Mark III came out. However, 5DsR is a major spec change. With 50.6 Megapixels, 30 x 40 inch pictures with crispy sharp detailed prints can be produced!! After waiting for a several months, I finally purchased the Canon 5DsR in early May.

I headed to Reflections Lake, north of Anchorage for test shooting. It was a beautiful evening, clear skies with a few clouds, and no wind. I selected the perfect location along the lake shore. The spring was here already with fresh leaves growing on the trees. As its name states, the perfect reflections of Chugach Mountains - Pioneer Peak and Twin Peaks were on the surface of the lake! As I was setting up, I realized that I left the filters at home... oh, well...

The low angled sun painted the mountains with warm orange lights. There was some snow on the higher elevations... Lake is still like a mirror for a long time. Since I forgot to pack the filters, the sky was darkened with post processing... The image came out better than I expected.

As sun set on the horizon, the purple colors enveloped the entire area. This image is HDR, 3 different exposed images combined into one.

Over all, I'm more than happy with the 5DsR.

Kalalau Valley - Na Pali Coast, Kauai Island of Hawaii

After trekking the 11 mile strenuous Kalalau Trail, the beautiful remote paradise known as Kalalau Beach waited at the end. I camped on the beach the first night and captured a magical sunset with crashing waves on the Na Pali Coast. The next day was beautiful and I had one full day to explore Kalalau Valley.

Kalalau Valley is surrounded on three sides by rugged cliffs and ocean at the start. The valley is filled with thick rainforest with an abundance of streaming water. The first Polynesian settlers brought coconuts and taro root over 2000 years earlier and remnants of their habitation still exist. They built stone walled terraces for taro farming and also planted fruit trees. Taro root has been an important part of the Hawaiian diet since ancient times. Hawaiians moved out of Kalalau Valley to other parts of Kauai Island in the 1900s. Today, dozens of hippies still live in this jungle year round. They also grow taro and vegetables in the community gardens, and harvest an abundance of fruits and vegetables that grow in Kalalau Valley.

Searching for the hippie community gardens, I followed the trail deep into Kalalau Valley... The trail meandered through the rain forest along a flowing stream.

The entire valley is deeply shaded with tree canopies and lush green vegetation covering the ground. There were some signs of habitation in the valley, but the trail disappeared in the thick vegetation several times. Kalalalu Stream, surrounded with tropical greens, is a spiritual pathway up into the valley.

Crossing the stream several times, I finally found a well worn trail that led to the community gardens.  The jungle canopy soon opened up revealing patches of vegetable gardens with tall fruit trees. An irrigation channel meanders through the gardens leading to the taro fields. I felt like I was transported back to an ancient Hawaiian village. A topless woman came with a saw to do some garden work, and welcomed us to the gardens. She kindly showed me some fruit trees including the ever-present passion fruit trees. A long bearded old hippie known as Grizzly also guided us to the vegetable gardens. They were unexpectedly friendly to us outsiders. Most of the hippies live there for a few weeks to several months but some of them had settled there for several years to decades! Their life is simple and mostly sustainable; grow vegetables and pick fruits, catch fish, hunt wild goats living in the area... and sometimes trade extra camping food from hikers for locally grown herbs or vegetables or wine made from local fruits and berries. Hidden from State Park officials and government (living in State Park land is not permitted), some were likely tired of the modern world and choose to live a simple life at least for the moment.

Back to the beach to photograph another gorgeous sunset. The sky was bright red with thin clouds above the horizon that night. Each sunset is different and special. A huge cruise ship came across the sea after sunset... After all, Kalalau Beach is a remote location, but popular tourist destination to see by air or ocean if not able to physically set foot.

Here are some campsite images... Hikers can pitch the tents anywhere in the shady woods.

A small waterfall cascades down through the rocks at the west end of the beach. This waterfall is the main water source and shower for the campers.

Na Pali Coast/Kalalau Valley is an astounding place... It is a remote "Garden of Eden." I captured some beautiful moments but expressing the location's spirituality in such a short time was a challenging task... I hope you can feel the sense of this place through my images.

A few days later, I looked down the Kalalau Valley to the Pacific from above. Only a few miles above the Kakakau Valley, it takes almost 80 miles, 2 and a half hours, on winding roads to drive around the island to reach the overlook of Kalalau Valley. From above, the entire valley is filled with lush green rainforest.

As the sun lowered down on the horizon, the cliff glowed in reddish orange... and the last sun lit the rugged summit in crimson... Kalalau Valley was only a few miles below but I felt like it was far away. Sweet dreams . . .

Na Pali Coast - Kalalau Trail Backpacking, Kauai, Hawaii

The Na Pali Coast, a rugged coastline with numerous cliffs and lush tropical greens along the north shore of Kauai Island of Hawaii, is one of the most beautiful but remote places in the Pacific. Most visitors just get a glance of the Na Pali Coast by tour boat or helicopter, but I wanted to spend some time along the coast and the secluded Kalalau Beach to photograph. The only way to fully experience the Na Pali Coast is trekking the 11 mile long strenuous Kalalau Trail to Kalalau Beach as a backpacking trip.

In December, it is supposed to be the rainy season on the Hawaiian Islands. Luckily it was a beautiful sunny day when I started the trail in the morning. The first 2 miles was a breeze, a wide trail with views of turquoise ocean below, and green coastline along the horizon... The trail was busy, filled with casual day hikers.

The rough part of the trail began after the 2 mile point at Hanakapi'ai Beach. Upon crossing the river, the misty rain began and the trail became muddy. The north shore of Kauai is the one of the wettest places in the world; the rugged mountain terrain creates its own rainy climate, raining almost all the time during the winter months. The trail winds along several valleys along the coast. It was extra hard to hike up and down the muddy slippery trail with heavy packs filled with camera and camping gear. When I arrived at the 6 mile camping spot, it was almost dark... and the rain drenched all night.

It was still raining the next morning... crossing Hanakoa River was harder after the rain storm. Hiking an extra half mile into Hanakoa Valley brought views of the spectacular Hanakoa Falls vertically dropping down the green cliff was impressive and well worth the extra mile.

The weather changed often; raining followed by sunshine, then rainbows...

The roughest part of Kalalau Trail comes into view. Backpacker Magazine listed it as one the "10 Most Dangerous Hikes" in the US. Outside magazine rated it as one of "The 20 Most Dangerous Hikes" in the world. The well known treacherous spot, "Crawler's Ledge" was now ahead. Two hikers came from the other direction, and one of them was struggling on the muddy trail. It was after a hard rain, and trail conditions were rough. The muddy trail slopes steeply leading down the rocky cliff. The trail which curved along the vertical cliff became narrower... and deep blue waves crashed down below. The one part of Crawler's Ledge was sketchy; narrow footing with uneven rock terrain... the rocky trail was especially slippery after the rain. It was nerve racking... When I was about to give up and ready to turn back, a miracle happened. A couple of hikers came down the trail. It turned out the man was a local professional hiking guide who hiked this trail many times, and the woman was a client from Germany. The guide was kind enough to help me cross the narrowest part of the ledge. The sunshine broke out after that and the landscape brightened up full of natural colors.

However, Crawler's Ledge wasn't the worst part of the trail. A few miles after Crawler's Ledge, there was an even more dangerous spot with slippery mud! A big round rock obstructed the eroded trail, and the narrow part of the muddy trail was a downward vertical drop. In order to pass the spot, I had to hug the rock, securely placing my right foot on the other side, and slowly move my left foot around the rock not to mention that trail was muddy and slippery with steep cliffs leading several hundred feet to the ocean. There were some tree roots hanging above the rock on the red sandy cliff. I didn't know if I could trust the roots for my life but I grabbed them as a cable to hang on anyway... My heavy pack which hung over the outer edge of the trail was pulling my body down towards the crashing waves hundreds of feet below. If one of my feet were to slip, I would slide down the red muddy hill and drop into the ocean. Thank goodness, I made it through that part.

Finally, after a long 10 mile hike, Kalalau Valley showed off its outstanding beauties! Surrounded by razor edged rock walls, the rocky red hill leads down to sea level. The lush mountains rose straight up to blue sky with a green forest carpeting the valley floor, and a turquoise ocean with white waves at a secluded beach... this was truly marvelous scenery.

Looking back where I came from...

Another breathtaking view... the end of the trail and entering the one mile long Kalalau Beach. This is the remote paradise only reached by a long, hard hike!

After setting up camp on the beach, the sun started to set on the horizon- time to prepare sunset shots.  Sunset is quick near the equator, I had to get moving. The low angled sun lit up the mountains in blaze.

During the winter months, the large waves crash on the north shore of Kauai Island. I carefully selected the spots to capture the crashing surf against the sunset. The sun sets behind the cliffs in winter months on Kalalau Beach. Setting tripod (of course, I carried a tripod on the trail!) on the beach sand was challenging enough, nonetheless I had to run with the camera mounted tripod every time the incoming tide reached my feet...and do it ever and over again, repeating this countless times. The sky turned bright orange with silhouettes on the cliffs. Then slowly, the dark sky descended upon us. The lavender colors enveloped the paradise at twilight leaving only the sounds of crashing waves and millions of stars in the dark sky...

The next day, I explored Kalalau Valley to search for the secret hippie gardens hidden throughout the jungle... I'll update with more images from Kalalau Valley/ Na Pali Coast on the next posting. And, I promise, the next posting will be within 2 weeks.

"The Garden Island" - Kauai, Hawaii

My 2015 winter photo project took me to the northern most Hawaiian Island of Kauai. I have been spending some time in the Hawaiian Islands during the winter months for the past three years. I have traveled to the Big Island, Oahu, and Maui so this winter I flew to the northern most Hawaiian Island, Kauai. Kauai is the smallest island among those four islands, but as a nature photographer, Kauai offers a variety of outstanding landscapes in a small package. As the name of the "Garden Island", the island is covered with lush tropical greens with bright colored flowers! This sunset was shot overlooking Hanalei Bay. The storm clouds moved in before sunset and the low angle sun painted clouds in golden orange. The opening sky was red, and the color reflected on the ocean.

This is a Hanalei Bay under day light. The tropical ocean was turquoise green under blue sky. Hanalei Bay represents my dream landscape of Hawaii; tropical ocean surrounded by a rugged green mountain backdrops.

Another shot at Hanalei Bay. The bay was spiritually beautiful when a misty rain veiled over the mountains. The local surfer with his two dogs on a paddleboard. I was shooting Hanalei Bay from various vantage points, different times of the day and varying weather... I was drawn to this magnificent bay several times during my stay. It was one of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen...

Here is the sunrise at Kappa, the east coast of Kauai. Typical sunrise view with palm silhouettes.

"Garden Island" is the perfect name of Kauai. Fern Grotto, the ferns hanging on the natural lava cave along the Wailua River, accessed only by tour boat. I wish I could have spent more time to compose from different angles.

Waimea Canyon is another natural wonder on Kauai. Often described as "the Grand Canyon of the Pacific", its dramatic landscapes are greener than the Grand Canyon. This is another place that I'd like to explore in depth in future visits.

Kauai, as with other Hawaiian Islands, offers a unique wildlife presence on the island. The Hawaiian goose called the Nene is especially high within Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge.

Hawaiian Monk Seal laying on a northern beach of Kauai.

Kauai's most common wildlife is the ever-present domesticated chicken gone feral... Wild chickens are everywhere across the island... I mean literally everywhere like on the streets, airport, beaches, parking lots, and campgrounds! If one appears, groups of them suddenly shows up seemingly out of nowhere. Families with several chicks cross the highway regularly. This photo was taken at the campground at Waimea Canyon, the rooster calls woke me up at dawn, and they continuously sang...

There are countless photogenic locations on Kauai, nevertheless, backpacking along the Napali Coast Kalalau Trail was the highlight of this trip... The 11 mile trail along the Napali Coast was spectacular but treacherous and strenuous. Hiking on the muddy narrow trail along vertical cliffs with my heavy pack (photography gear and camp gear) was really challenging. The paradise waiting at the end was worth the effort.. I'll post some photos and my adventure story from Napali Coast on my next blog. Please check back in 2-3 weeks!