Alaska and Pacific Northwest Cruise
Last year was a very eventful year for me as I got married in June and my wife and I decided to go on a cruise from Seattle to Alaska for our honeymoon. Neither of us had been on a cruise, or out of the Eastern time zone (ever), so we both wanted to go somewhere far away and different from Virginia. The decision to go to Alaska was more the result of a compromise, though. I wanted to do something nature-oriented and see some spectacular landscapes while she was more interested in the whole concept of floating hotels… so we sort of decided that taking a cruise into near freezing temperatures right at the start of summer was a great idea. As it turned out both the cruise and the landscapes were wonderful and we both enjoyed the whole experience. I am still sorting through a zillion photos from the trip and starting to get a handle on the concept of post processing, so I thought I would share a few of these and look for any comments or suggestions.
I would say that I’m still learning a lot about photography and at the time had only owned a DSLR for less than a year. I set myself up to capture mostly landscapes on the trip, and even though we did see some wildlife, most of it wasn’t up close and 200mm was the furthest telephoto reach I had which really wasn’t enough. Still, I feel like I got many landscape shots that captured what I liked about the area and we’ll be able to look back on those forever.
The glaciers were the most spectacular part of the trip for me, but many of the towns and local landscapes were very intriguing. We also really loved Seattle and spent a day there in beautiful weather before flying home. I think we’ll try and go there again sometime. Anyway, here are some photos. Equipment used was a Canon Rebel XTi, Canon 17-85IS, and Canon 70-200F4 L
The day we arrived in Seattle was overcast and cold; the kind of weather that was forecasted for most of the trip. I got this shot as our ship was leaving the port and I think it really captures the colors from my first impressions of the Emerald City
The first thing we did in Alaska was a zipline adventure tour in Juneau, promoted as the biggest “thrill” in the state. I was sort of hoping we would be flying along cables at high speeds down the side of a mountain, but that was far from being the case. There were a series of 5 zips (relatively short) that didn’t have much of a slope to them so we never topped more than about 20mph. Still, the scenery in the area was really awesome. This shot captures the technique that we were trained to do if we got going too fast and needed to slow down.
In Juneau we rode the tramway to Mt. Roberts where there was still snow on the ground in some places. I thought it was interesting how some of the trees were growing
Our next stop was Skagway, Alaska, which had the most unique and different feel to it. It was a small town in a spectacular setting surrounded by mountains with a really cool history. I thought the horse carriages and the outfits worn by the tour guides were the most memorable
In Skagway we took a side trip to Davidson glacier, where we had to paddle a canoe more than a mile before coming face to face with the glacier itself. It was a little more work than I was expecting but the area was beautiful
The next morning at about 4AM the sun came up, and we were very happy to see it
The landscape in some of the fjords of Southeast Alaska are spectacular and we also had some decent lighting in the early morning. This was the first big iceberg that we passed en route to the glacier itself
As we approached Dawes glacier, a small boat from our ship was sent out to fetch an iceberg to bring back, and also provided a little perspective on the size of the glacier – although it was still further away than it looks. [The first iceberg they tried to lift actually broke the hoist on the ship and I’m not sure if they ever got another one up]
Dawes glacier was very active and was calving about every 20 minutes or so. I got many shots of the pieces falling off but this one I think is my favorite, even though many others were much bigger. As cool as it looks, the sounds the glaciers made were the most spectacular quality about them. The sharp cracking and thunderous crashes echoing off the rock walls around us were really incredible
The clouds stayed away for the next couple days and I got several shots around the ship that I really liked. This is probably my favorite from the whole trip
Another shot of the cruise ship landscape that we became very familiar with over the course of the week. I’ll have to do some research to figure out exactly what this fixture is. It seems to have quite a bit of personality with the right lighting effects
Rocks and a lighthouse along the coast of British Columbia. The weather on this part of the cruise was very misty / hazy, and I had to do a good deal of editing to make this one clear. I’m not sure that I need the darkened corners but it seemed to help focus the lighthouse
Church on a hill in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. I love the colors and tree lines in this shot
A day later we were back in Seattle where warm temperatures and clear skies were waiting. We spent the day checking out some local attractions and getting some photos along the waterfront. I’ve seen a lot of redundant pictures of Seattle taken from the same places so I tried to be a little different with this one
Finally we made our way to Kerry Park to watch the sunset. I really love the view from this place and it looks even better in person than in the million photos that are taken from here
Overall this was a really great experience for us and I hope to do it again many years down the road when I have some more photography experience (and hopefully a better lens collection) under my belt. Thanks for reading.
-Chris
I would say that I’m still learning a lot about photography and at the time had only owned a DSLR for less than a year. I set myself up to capture mostly landscapes on the trip, and even though we did see some wildlife, most of it wasn’t up close and 200mm was the furthest telephoto reach I had which really wasn’t enough. Still, I feel like I got many landscape shots that captured what I liked about the area and we’ll be able to look back on those forever.
The glaciers were the most spectacular part of the trip for me, but many of the towns and local landscapes were very intriguing. We also really loved Seattle and spent a day there in beautiful weather before flying home. I think we’ll try and go there again sometime. Anyway, here are some photos. Equipment used was a Canon Rebel XTi, Canon 17-85IS, and Canon 70-200F4 L
The day we arrived in Seattle was overcast and cold; the kind of weather that was forecasted for most of the trip. I got this shot as our ship was leaving the port and I think it really captures the colors from my first impressions of the Emerald City
The first thing we did in Alaska was a zipline adventure tour in Juneau, promoted as the biggest “thrill” in the state. I was sort of hoping we would be flying along cables at high speeds down the side of a mountain, but that was far from being the case. There were a series of 5 zips (relatively short) that didn’t have much of a slope to them so we never topped more than about 20mph. Still, the scenery in the area was really awesome. This shot captures the technique that we were trained to do if we got going too fast and needed to slow down.
In Juneau we rode the tramway to Mt. Roberts where there was still snow on the ground in some places. I thought it was interesting how some of the trees were growing
Our next stop was Skagway, Alaska, which had the most unique and different feel to it. It was a small town in a spectacular setting surrounded by mountains with a really cool history. I thought the horse carriages and the outfits worn by the tour guides were the most memorable
In Skagway we took a side trip to Davidson glacier, where we had to paddle a canoe more than a mile before coming face to face with the glacier itself. It was a little more work than I was expecting but the area was beautiful
The next morning at about 4AM the sun came up, and we were very happy to see it
The landscape in some of the fjords of Southeast Alaska are spectacular and we also had some decent lighting in the early morning. This was the first big iceberg that we passed en route to the glacier itself
As we approached Dawes glacier, a small boat from our ship was sent out to fetch an iceberg to bring back, and also provided a little perspective on the size of the glacier – although it was still further away than it looks. [The first iceberg they tried to lift actually broke the hoist on the ship and I’m not sure if they ever got another one up]
Dawes glacier was very active and was calving about every 20 minutes or so. I got many shots of the pieces falling off but this one I think is my favorite, even though many others were much bigger. As cool as it looks, the sounds the glaciers made were the most spectacular quality about them. The sharp cracking and thunderous crashes echoing off the rock walls around us were really incredible
The clouds stayed away for the next couple days and I got several shots around the ship that I really liked. This is probably my favorite from the whole trip
Another shot of the cruise ship landscape that we became very familiar with over the course of the week. I’ll have to do some research to figure out exactly what this fixture is. It seems to have quite a bit of personality with the right lighting effects
Rocks and a lighthouse along the coast of British Columbia. The weather on this part of the cruise was very misty / hazy, and I had to do a good deal of editing to make this one clear. I’m not sure that I need the darkened corners but it seemed to help focus the lighthouse
Church on a hill in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. I love the colors and tree lines in this shot
A day later we were back in Seattle where warm temperatures and clear skies were waiting. We spent the day checking out some local attractions and getting some photos along the waterfront. I’ve seen a lot of redundant pictures of Seattle taken from the same places so I tried to be a little different with this one
Finally we made our way to Kerry Park to watch the sunset. I really love the view from this place and it looks even better in person than in the million photos that are taken from here
Overall this was a really great experience for us and I hope to do it again many years down the road when I have some more photography experience (and hopefully a better lens collection) under my belt. Thanks for reading.
-Chris
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Comments
I enjoyed reading and seeing your nice pics of Alaska and Seattle nite view was a good photo too.
OneTwoFiftieth | Portland, Oregon | Modern Portraiture
My Equipment:
Bodies: Canon 50D, Canon EOS 1
Lenses: Canon 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5, Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS, Canon 50mm f/1.4, Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro, Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8
Lighting: Canon 580EXII, Canon 420 EX, 12" Reflector, Pocket Wizard Plus II (3), AB800 (3), Large Softbox
Stability: Manfrotto 190CXPRO3 Tripod, Manfrotto 488RC4 Ball Head, Manfrotto 679B Monopod
www.Dogdotsphotography.com