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!

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.