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Cruising Alaska
Hi Y'all,
During the first week of this month Linda and I did an Alaskan cruise. I had always wanted to see Alaska and hoped to fly up there and then drive around. Mrs. B however prefers a higher comfort level, so in our family tradition we voted and Mrs. B won by a 1 to 1 majority. So a cruise it would be.
We flew into Seattle and hung out for a couple of days.
As we left the hotel I found the market area to be infested with LaRochekettes.
She was happy posing but got a tad surly when I asked her about Lyndon's mail fraud conviction. Fortunately the other folks we meet were much more amiable.
He once was on one of those "reality" TV dancing shows and made the finals.
He wasn't what I would call amiable but he had a big gun a big knife and some impressive tats so I let it slide.
Seattle was fun but we had to start our cruise. I had been on one cruise before and hated it. I don't like knocking companies so I won't mention their name but it sure wasn't a carnival.
Our first stop was Ketchikan
Some folks say they can see Russia from Alaska but we were lucky to see Alaska from Alaska.
All the cruise stops are the same as the towns had 57 jewelry shops, two bars and one Del Sol store.
We hopped on these karts to drive up the mountain. This definitely wasn't the comfort Mrs. B preferred.
Some nice views though
Right after this capture the shutter on my D3 failed.:cry Fortunately the D300 was still in good shape.
Our next stop was the highlight of the trip, the Tracy Arm Fjord.
It was early morning and the normally fairly loud cruisers were absolutely silent. It was like being in church.
I'm still processing the rest of my captures and I will try to add them later on.
During the first week of this month Linda and I did an Alaskan cruise. I had always wanted to see Alaska and hoped to fly up there and then drive around. Mrs. B however prefers a higher comfort level, so in our family tradition we voted and Mrs. B won by a 1 to 1 majority. So a cruise it would be.
We flew into Seattle and hung out for a couple of days.
As we left the hotel I found the market area to be infested with LaRochekettes.
She was happy posing but got a tad surly when I asked her about Lyndon's mail fraud conviction. Fortunately the other folks we meet were much more amiable.
He once was on one of those "reality" TV dancing shows and made the finals.
He wasn't what I would call amiable but he had a big gun a big knife and some impressive tats so I let it slide.
Seattle was fun but we had to start our cruise. I had been on one cruise before and hated it. I don't like knocking companies so I won't mention their name but it sure wasn't a carnival.
Our first stop was Ketchikan
Some folks say they can see Russia from Alaska but we were lucky to see Alaska from Alaska.
All the cruise stops are the same as the towns had 57 jewelry shops, two bars and one Del Sol store.
We hopped on these karts to drive up the mountain. This definitely wasn't the comfort Mrs. B preferred.
Some nice views though
Right after this capture the shutter on my D3 failed.:cry Fortunately the D300 was still in good shape.
Our next stop was the highlight of the trip, the Tracy Arm Fjord.
It was early morning and the normally fairly loud cruisers were absolutely silent. It was like being in church.
I'm still processing the rest of my captures and I will try to add them later on.
Harry
http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
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Sam
Thanks Sam. It was a very expensive suite but after my first cruise experience I've found that if you're gonna cruise go upscale because you spend more time in your cabin than you would in a hotel room on a land based trip.
Did I mention that we had a butler who served us high tea every afternoon.
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How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
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Did you get any bird pictures?
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Thanks and I wish I could had made the Sitka workshop.
I was more interested in landscapes on this trip so I wasn't actively looking for wildlife captures. I got some eagle captures later in some extremely low light from a swaying boat. I'm not expecting too much from those images. I really missed the D3's low light capabilities later in the trip.
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How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
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Alaska is a great place I do not have to ask if you had a great time
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Hope you enjoyed this cruise more than your previous one.
Sorry about your D3!
The weather has been about the same here the last week or so.
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Phil
Thanks Awais, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do when I view your images.
http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
Thanks Jeff, I was considering the Republican tour but Linda objected to traveling in a conestoga wagon.
http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
A small price to pay, I'm just glad your monitor survived.
http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
Thanks Dan.
http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
Harry, I learned a heluva lot this trip up in Alaska - shooting from a moving boat (quite a bit smaller than your floating Old Folks Home!) requires a steady hand and fast glass! Of course, fast glass is heavy, thus compounding the problem.
I think the setup that works best for such shooting is a Nikon D3X and Nikon 200-400 VR lens. In fact, I think I'm gonna get this setup for shooting Africa in 2011
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I wasn't shooting whales and eagles from a cruise ship but you're right about the fast glass.
If I was shooting landscapes at base ISO I would go with the 3X but for Africa I want better low light performance and a faster frame rate. If the creeps at Nikon haven't released the D4 by then I will probably go for the D3s.
I'm going to be renting out and testing a some glass from the folks at borrowedlenses.com before the trip, the 200-400 will be one of those lenses.
http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
Its more than awesome. Here's a piece from Thom Hogan's D3s review:
"Nikon gave us an additional marked ISO value (12,800 versus the D3's 6400) plus an additional extended one (HI3 versus the D3's HI2). The implication in those numbers is that the D3s is one stop better than the D3 in noise handling and produces images that are in some way usable at two stops beyond what the D3 does. As incredible as those two statements seem, they are correct. In my use of the two cameras side by side, the D3s does indeed give you a pretty strong one-stop advantage over the D3."
http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
Fantastic.
I am so glad you and Linda enjoyed this trip
xxxooo
Gale
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Thanks Glenn. The D# is in Nikonland getting repaired and should be back soon.
This cruise was so much better than the first. We had a "veranda" on the first cruise that was narrow you had to sit sideways and couldn't look towards the ocean. They served one of my chili rellenos on the first cruise. Have you ever tasted chili rellenos that are stuffed with tatter tots as opposed to cheese? :yikes
http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
Thanks Phil, I agree with you about cruising but every once in awhile I have to compromise to the non-shooting half of the family. I wish I had more control over the times I shot which of course is something you lose on a cruise.
Then again the butler serving us high tea in the afternoon wasn't too shabby.
http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
I stayed at a place called Wilderness Lodge once. They served tea and the most delicious pastries in the afternoon--all day ski and a nice snack before a sumptuous supper. I got kind of used to that.
Thanks Gale we surely did. See ya soon.
http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
I'v missed the butler since we returned. I asked Linda to take over for him but her response was not appropriate to be repeated here.
http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
That sounds hideous!
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You should have tasted it if you want to know from hideous.
http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
they were waiting for us
we watched some whales
some seals taking a nap
Hiked on a trail
If you go to Alaska remember that bears have the right of way. I wasn't planning on doing wildlife on the hike so I was using my 28-70.
We hiked to a glacier
on to Skagway
we took a late afternoon boat on the river and I got to see a few eagles
http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
What a fun post to read and view, for sure.
Your humor is trumped only by your great imagery. After reading about Ian's loss, I carefully threw a see-through glad bag over my monitor and keyboard
I look forward to getting to know you and your wife (majority vote) in Africa. Will you be cruising from Florida to Africa?
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Thanks Mark. I'm not really a cruise person so we will be flying to Africa. It will give me a few days in NYC where I can get some decent pastrami, revisit Peter Luger's, and chow down an some real pizza. Then we will do a couple of days in London before the final leg to Nairobi.
I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to the workshop and the chance to meet you.
http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"