Young Moose, Matanuska-Susitna Valley, Alaska

Spring came 2 months early in South central Alaska this year. By March, almost all snow was gone in Anchorage, and the greening started in early April.

It was in late February, while there was still some snow along the high elevations in the Matanuska - Susitna Valley area. Moose, especially cows with calfs search for eatable plants in lower elevations this time of year. It is not uncommon where moose can be spotted in residential areas as they feed on vegetation in backyards. This young moose was chewing on birch in the woods. He is still young and small although his antlers began to form above his eyes. He was staring at me for a long while...

Then, he began running across the road...

Running faster...

The peaks of Alaska Range was still white, shining against a blue sky.

Fresh snow covered a boreal forest. Spring is in the air!

It is time to explore a new season in the Alaskan wilderness.

Bull Moose, Alaska

 

Moose are the largest of the deer family that live in the Northern Hemisphere. Alaska has a large moose population including about 1500 that live within the Municipality of Anchorage. They wander in and out of residential areas, grazing on landscaping and natural shrubbery in backyards, and sometimes hold up traffic on city streets or cross busy highways giving all involved an adrenaline rush.

During late August until early October moose are in their mating, also called rutting, season in Alaska. Moose, a solitary animal most of year, become more social this time of the year staying up all night while eating and resting during the day then staying up all night and doing it all over again.

 

Bull moose grow their huge antlers every year starting from small nubs in spring to massive fighting weapons doubling as shields by fall. When the mating season begins, the bulls' antler velvet starts shedding and with assistance from the bulls, will be ready for the mating season. Here is a younger bull moose I photographed in the mid September in Anchorage. The velvet is still hanging on his antler.

Sunrise at the Tetons

Alpenglow on the Tetons is one of the most beautiful scenes you can imagine. When it’s clear (preferably a few clouds around the peaks), the first pink light hits the tips of the peaks… then gradually widens across the whole mountain range. As the morning progresses, the rose color began to fade, and the sun’s rays light up the whole mountain.

One of my favorite views is the Tetons from the pass where I live at this moment. One cold morning before sunrise, 20 degrees below zero, I set up my camera at my favorite spot, and waited until the sun came out… it took for 20 min, My fingers began to stiffen despite my warm gloves; my toes began to tingle with pain despite my heavy boots, and my cheeks lost sensation… Finally, the sun came out and lit up the distant peaks.

As the sun rose, warm golden lights brighten the aspens on the hill. The Tetons were already in full of sun. The snow crystals sparkled on the intricate grasses!

Another day, I was setting up at the famous “Snake River Overlook;” the eastern sky was turning vivid red right before sunrise! I turned around, and shot the most amazing colors in the sky. Then, I turned to face the Tetons again… The glow on the mountains was stunning, but merely ordinarily beautiful compared with the other side of the sky. Sometimes, we find something better than what we looked for.

On the way back, a bull moose cross the road right behind me.

Camping in Denali National Park, Alaska

Early July.

After photographing bears along the Katmai Coast, my next destination was Denali National Park, located in the interior of Alaska. Denali NP is famous for the highest peak in North America - Mount McKinley ("Denali" in the native language), and its abundance of wildlife: grizzly, caribou, moose, Dall's sheep, lynx and many small animals.

After 6 years, I was back in Denali again. During the summer of 2001, I worked at a hotel at the entrance area of the park. Since then, I have been in love with Alaskan wilderness. My main purpose for going back to Denali was photographing Mt. McKinley and its reflection on Wonder Lake during sunset and sunrise time with "magic purple light." So we stayed at the deep end of the Parkroad at Wonder Lake Campground.

A huge cow moose greeted us before getting on the camper shuttle bus by the Visitor Center. Everyone grabbed cameras! She likes to hang out in the area because the predators will most likely stay away from busy tourist areas. Since she came too close to people, the park management put a collar on her in order to track her.

It was lightly raining when we got on the shuttle. I was hoping it would clear up later. The mountain was hiding behind the clouds most of the time; only 1/3 of visitor ever get to see part of the mountain during their trip! Only lucky visitors ever seen a whole mountain. The French photographers in Katmai told us that they couldn't see the mountain at all for 3 days.

Unlike my expectations, I didn't see so much wildlife from the bus on the way. I only saw several white dots (supposed to be Dall's sheep) and a few gray dots supposed to be caribou. and one more, a moose far behind of bushes. Where were the bears? At that point, my closest wildlife sighting was the collared moose at the Visitor Center. After a quiet 6 hours, the shuttle arrived to Mile 85, Wonder Lake Campground.

The rain stopped, but the mountain was far behind heavy clouds. The campground was luxurious for that remote wilderness area. We picked a nice site where there is supposed to be a Mt. McKinley view. There was a food cache house with covered cooking/ eating area nearby, and flush toilets and running water. The whole area was an open view with alpine tundra - vivid green! It was also peak season for the wildflowers blooming! Only problem was mosquitoes... a lot! There were crowds of them following whenever I go. We had to wear head nets!

Although it was overcast, the sun didn't set until 2 a.m or so, and without getting real dark, the sun rose again a few hours later. Denali NP is located in the far north.

Next morning, the mountain only showed its middle part - a long strip line between the clouds - then, it hid behind of the clouds again, all day.

The clouds got lighter at night, I was hoping it would clear up in the middle of the night, so I set the alarm clock every one hour and checked if the mountain was showing up. It would be my last opportunity to photograph the mountain with purple light. I periodically checked outside every one hour until 5 a.m when finally the bottom part of the mountain was visible.

Around 6 a.m, most of the mountain was shown up! It had already passed the magic hour time, but I was very excited to see the entire mountain. The sky cleared up while we were having breakfast. I photographed the mountain and reflection on the pond. However, when I was rush walking to the point where I can look down Wonder Lake, small clouds forming around the mountain. The clouds grew so fast! when I finally got to the hill, most of the mountain was hidden behind clouds even though other parts of the sky were still clear! I was glad to see the entire mountain for a while. We packed our camp down, and rode an afternoon shuttle out the park.