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.

Mont Blanc - The Highest Peak in the European Alps

 

Meaning “White Mountain,” the massive Mont Blanc lies on the border of France, Italy and Switzerland. When the summit of Mont Blanc and its glaciers appear under blue sky, it is breathtaking.

 

I was exploring the European Alps in July to photograph this massive Mont Blanc and surrounding landscapes. I hiked the entire “Tour du Mont Blanc” trail, 110+ miles (160+ km) circling the mountain with camera gear for 2 weeks.

 

I saw and photographed Mont Blanc from different angles throughout the walk. The French side, above the town of Chamonix is the most impressive. When it’s clear, the white peaks tower above the town. Since Mont Blanc is massive, the mountain creates its own weather, which is often covered with clouds, just like Alaska’s Mt. McKinley. Viewing the entire Mont Blanc requires good luck.

 

What is most convenient for a photographer in this area is that there are some transportation options to take us to amazing vantage spots in just a few minutes using cable cars. These close up images are from the top of Aiguille du Midi (12,605 ft/ 3,842 m). It was foggy and white out when I reached the viewing deck on the summit in the morning. The thick fog slowly drifted away, and Mont Blanc is seen slightly through the fog. It was a teasing. The strong breeze blew away its white veil and the entire mountain showed off against blue sky! The mountain was huge, shining white under the morning sunshine! It was very close to where I was! I kept shooting the mountain while the fog came and went… Then the mountain decided to stay out for a long period.

 

This is the Italy side of Mont Blanc (“Monte Bianco” in Italian). After some rainy days, the mountain showed off again just before sunset. The mountain was still out next morning. The summit was glowing in golden orange with the rising sun.

 

Another image from the Italy side. Old ruins along the trail.

 

Some more images from the French side. From Le Brévent summit (8,284ft/ 2,525m), across Chamonix Valley, the perfect view of Mont Blanc when it’s clear. After several rainy days, finally the weather was nice on my last day in the area.  

I will continue posting more photos from European Alps on next update.

Reflections of Kenai Lake, Alaska

The spring came early this year... In early May, fresh greens sprouted from the ground soon followed by trees turning lush green about one month earlier than in normal years! 

In June, Alaska is already in midsummer! Plants are growing fast during the long day light hours while wildflowers celebrate in beautiful weather. I've been busy photographing the most beautiful season in Alaska.

Kenai Lake is a large glacial lake located on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula at the headwaters of the world famous (for salmon fishing) Kenai River. When the lake is calm, this blue green water reflects the Kenai Mountains... 

I've always been fascinated with landscape reflections... 

It was early in the morning, the rain had stopped, and sky was a partly clear. No wind of any kind giving way to a water surface perfectly still... very quiet. The sunlight came through the clouds right after sunrise lighting the peaks across the lake. The lights on the mountains were slowly descending... I love the patterns of the lights and shade. I was at the lake for a few hours, watching the lights shifting on the mountains.

Another Kenai Mountains reflections near Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet.

Portage Glacier, Alaska

 



Portage Glacier, located within Chugach National Forest southeast of Anchorage, is one of the most popular tourist attractions. However, the glacier has rapidly receded during the past century; the glacier face can hardly be seen from the highway or visitor center.

On a gorgeous summer day in July, I hiked 4 miles each way through a mountain pass to reach the current glacier face to view and photograph up close.

I camped in front of the glacier where a natural Fireweed garden was blooming in vivid pink, decorating the valley. The glacier and glacial lake were right in front of us under a perfect clear sky.

 

The glacier was actively calving and creating new icebergs with roaring thunder.

 

During the long sunset, ice bergs glistened in golden orange. In the northern latitude, sunset takes a long time, nearly one hour of the magic light - a photographer's dream. 

 

Here is the campfire in twilight.
 

At sunrise, the rose colored light glows on the mountain peaks above the glacier. The light slowly shifted down to the glacier. Glacier shined in the warm morning sun. Sunrise in nature is always a spiritual moment for me.

 

 

Denali Sunset

In the mid July, I went camping in Denali National Park to photograph Mount McKinley, or Denali as it is known to Alaskans, the highest peak in North America.

It was overcast in the morning when I entered the park via the park shuttle. Unfortunately, Denali (Mt. McKinley) is often hid behind clouds during the prime summer season. At an elevation of 20,328 feet high, the mountain generates its own weather.

After several hours on the park's only road, I arrived at Wonder Lake Campground, at Mile 85. The campground's location offers a broad-side view of Mt. McKinley. However, most of the early part of the day revealed only gray clouds as background. It was cloudy all afternoon while hiking the McKinley Bar Trail to the river and back. I didn't expect to see the any of the mountain that day.

Around the time when I arrived back at the campsite that evening, the clouds started moving and created some windows. Part of the mountain peak began appearing. It was in mid summer in the interior Alaska with over 20 hours of day light when the mountain slowly revealed itself.

In just a few hours, the veil was gone; Mt. McKinley was out! The clouds moved away and by late afternoon the sun also came out. In the northern latitude, sunset takes a long time... which is a photographers dream! The lower-angled sun lit up the mountain with golden orange light. As the sun slowly shifted above the horizon, McKinley was aglow in pinkish orange for quite some time.

Mother nature sometimes shows us magnificent and beautiful views.

 

Denali (Mt. McKinley) from Cook Inlet, Anchorage

It was in early October, the weather was perfect for the weekend in Anchorage.  The sky was clear and the air was crispy clean.  I was waiting for a perfect sunset to dip behind the mountains across the Cook Inlet.  The rugged snow capped mountains: Mt. Susitna, Mt. Spurr, Mt. Redoubt, and Mt. Hayes were in outstanding backdrop!

Located 350 miles south of Fairbanks, Anchorage was 2-3 weeks behind, still in Autumn.  Fall leaves were still hanging on the birch trees, and the temperature was 10 degrees warmer than the interior of Alaska near Fairbanks, where I currently live.

The orange sun was slowly moving to the tips of the volcanic mountains.  Bright orange glare reflected on the calm water.  I was focusing on the dynamic landscape spread in front of me.  It took me a while to notice the high distinctively shaped snow covered mountain standing out in the northwestern horizon.  To my surprise, I realized it was the highest peak in North America, Mount McKinley (Denali)!  When it's clear enough, Mt. McKinley can be seen from 300 miles south in Anchorage!

The warm light from the setting sun glowed on the south side of Denali for a long while.  The colors were slowly changing to soft pink, and then fading out.  The western sky and the inlet were bright orange for awhile afterward.  Viewing Denali from the city was a surprising bonus for the day!

Rose Color Moments in Arctic North

Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) are special in winter in the north. Winter alpenglow is another special lights in Alaska. During a long winter, day lights are short in Arctic North. On December 21, the winter solstice, we only see 3.5 hours of the day light plus a few hours of dim light in Fairbanks area in Alaska. The days are gradually getting longer in January... sunrise is 10:30am and sunset is 3:30pm in the mid January. There has not been any direct sun lights since mid November.

In this northern latitude, sun only stays right above the horizon for a few hours, moves only a short distance, and then set under the earth... The low angle sun lights up the snowy mountain peaks and paints to rose pink. In the most part of world, alpenglow last only for a several minutes; in the north, alpenglow last for a long hours! The bright pink lights slowly shifts to northwestern peaks to northeastern peaks for 3-4 hours until it disappears! A Photographers' dream moment lasts a few hours.

Photographing in sub zero climate is a challenging... Layers of clothing and face mask would reduces ones mobility... and tripods are icy cold. Setting up the camera with grabs is a bit of frustrating work... Then, standing one place for a while, toes and finger tips start feeling pain from the cold. Eye lashes start frosting... after 10 min, the camera and tripod are frost covered! Holding a filter by hand is a painful work in -20 degree... Soon, time to pack up and move on.

Despite of the cold weather, I feel privileged to explore the vast wilderness under the low angle lights. The frosted trees are the art of mother nature.