The Adventure of Photography
Departure: small airport in Santa Rosa California. Warm sunshine, golden vineyards, wonderful cuisine; a paradise.
Arrival: Flights to Seattle, Ketchikan, Sitka, then Juneau; increasing snow, slush, de-icing delays, low visibility, turbulence, and closed runways. Temperature less than 20 degrees. The next morning we board the ferry at 5am and make our way through the normally glorious Inside Passage. This time our 4-hour trip was grey, windy, the boat deck covered in slush and snow. Not paradise.
We arrived in Haines to fluffy snow (which had been coming down for three days). There was about a foot of dry, crystal-white powder on the ground. We made our way into town, dropped our bags at the little hotel, and drove our rented 4×4 20 miles north along the Chilkat River.
A four mile stretch of the river valley is home to thousands of Bald Eagles this time of year. They are incredibly athletic and expressive animals. About the time we arrived at the river’s edge the skies cleared up. Brilliant blues, sparkling white, all sound muffled by the deep snow except for the incessant shrieks and chatter of our national bird. It’s hard not to curse when describing the beauty of this place. Paradise squared.
We only had a few hours before the light dropped, but it was some of the best photography I can remember. Flying and fighting eagles, a surprise encounter with a grizzly bear, and incredible scenics.
Day 2 we were treated to a near-mythical sunrise. The birds were quieter, but we did get more flying photos and some nice portraits, then used the down-time to scout out more locations for later in the week.
Another 12″ overnight, with 20-30 mph hour winds = 4 foot drifts. Visibility roughly 50 feet. We’re not going anywhere today. Roads are dangerous if not impossible to navigate, assuming you can even get out of the parking lot. The eagles, if we could even see them, probably wouldn’t be moving, and our cameras would be covered in snow and ice in a minute.
This is Alaska.
And so we wait, and hope that the rest of our 6 days of photography doesn’t get completely wiped out in storm. Meanwhile we’re shoveling, pushing cars, and trying to stay upright.
