tips on wildlife within alaska

possible alaska trip coming up soon, late may early june.

would anchorage be more of a favorable destination for natural history
photography?
hoping to get some shots of the following: iceberg, whales, bears, eagles,
and such.

i think i read somewhere of a bald eagle sanctuary somewhere within alaska.
a private home where the eagles know to come for a good meal if tired and/or
hurt. i believe many photogs went there for photo opportunities, will need
to research the article since i don't really remember it that well.

believe it or not i still shoot film, planning on taking plenty of kodak
400asa.
what would be my best bet for wildlife photog/sightseeing in general?

thank you greatly,
rick

From: "Scaramouche"

possible alaska trip coming up soon, late may early june.
would anchorage be more of a favorable destination for natural history
photography?

It's a good base but since it's the biggest city in the state it's not exactly
a wildlife refuge. You'll need to get out of town to see much.

hoping to get some shots of the following: iceberg, whales, bears, eagles,
and such.

Try Seward and Portage Glacier, which are south-east of Anchorage and easy to
drive to from ANC on a day trip. The SeaLife center is well worth the price of
admission too. One of the naturalist led boat trips out of Seward should give
you photo ops of icebergs and maybe whales but not of bears. You can arrange
these from most ANC hotels, they'll pick you up, drive down for the tours and
bring you back in a day. Or you can just drive down on your own if you have a
car.

i think i read somewhere of a bald eagle sanctuary somewhere within alaska.
a private home where the eagles know to come for a good meal if tired and/or
hurt. i believe many photogs went there for photo opportunities

There's a lady in Homer, Jean Keane, who feeds the eagles during the winter and
I've heard about 80-90% of all published eagle photos were taken here. But she
quits in March, I think. http://www.photosafaris.com/AlaskasEagleLady.asp for
a very good write-up by Joe Van Os.

There's also a sanctuary and rehab center near Girdwood, on the way to Seward
and Portage Glacier, called "Big Game Alaska" where you can photograph most of
the state's big game animals close up (thru a fence) ...
http://www.biggamealaska.com/

The best known eagle sanctuary is outside Haines on the Chilkat River, where
the eagles are thick as fleas in the winter due to a late run of chum salmon,
but those are long gone by May.

For bears, you need to fly into Katmai for the absolute best shot, there are
many day trips for this out of Homer and fewer out of Anchorage. Brooks Camp
won't have bears at the falls until July but the fly-boy outfits will take you
to coastal areas where you'll be able to see brown bears close up.

what would be my best bet for wildlife photog/sightseeing in general?

For sight-seeing I'd try to get north to Denali National Park, the mountain
scenery is wonderful there. You might see a grizzly or two if you take the
shuttle bus, we usually see 3-5 bears on this and have seen as many as 18 in
one day when the blueberry crop failed and the bears were on the gravel bars
eating soapberries. For bears, fly into Katmai for a day (bring money, this
isn't cheap). The Seward boat tour should be perfect for icebergs, etc and
Portage Glacier should also have icebergs in May.

It's a great state, you'll have a wonderful time.

Bill

thank you greatly bill for your prompt reply to my post.
it has been most helpful.

kindest regards,
rick

"Bill Hilton" wrote in message
...
From: "Scaramouche"

possible alaska trip coming up soon, late may early june.
would anchorage be more of a favorable destination for natural history
photography?

It's a good base but since it's the biggest city in the state it's not
exactly
a wildlife refuge. You'll need to get out of town to see much.

hoping to get some shots of the following: iceberg, whales, bears,
eagles,
and such.

Try Seward and Portage Glacier, which are south-east of Anchorage and easy
to
drive to from ANC on a day trip. The SeaLife center is well worth the
price of
admission too. One of the naturalist led boat trips out of Seward should
give
you photo ops of icebergs and maybe whales but not of bears. You can
arrange
these from most ANC hotels, they'll pick you up, drive down for the tours
and
bring you back in a day. Or you can just drive down on your own if you
have a
car.

i think i read somewhere of a bald eagle sanctuary somewhere within
alaska.
a private home where the eagles know to come for a good meal if tired
and/or
hurt. i believe many photogs went there for photo opportunities

There's a lady in Homer, Jean Keane, who feeds the eagles during the
winter and
I've heard about 80-90% of all published eagle photos were taken here.
But she
quits in March, I think. http://www.photosafaris.com/AlaskasEagleLady.asp
for
a very good write-up by Joe Van Os.

There's also a sanctuary and rehab center near Girdwood, on the way to
Seward
and Portage Glacier, called "Big Game Alaska" where you can photograph
most of
the state's big game animals close up (thru a fence) ...
http://www.biggamealaska.com/

The best known eagle sanctuary is outside Haines on the Chilkat River,
where
the eagles are thick as fleas in the winter due to a late run of chum
salmon,
but those are long gone by May.

For bears, you need to fly into Katmai for the absolute best shot, there
are
many day trips for this out of Homer and fewer out of Anchorage. Brooks
Camp
won't have bears at the falls until July but the fly-boy outfits will take
you
to coastal areas where you'll be able to see brown bears close up.

what would be my best bet for wildlife photog/sightseeing in general?

For sight-seeing I'd try to get north to Denali National Park, the
mountain
scenery is wonderful there. You might see a grizzly or two if you take
the
shuttle bus, we usually see 3-5 bears on this and have seen as many as 18
in
one day when the blueberry crop failed and the bears were on the gravel
bars
eating soapberries. For bears, fly into Katmai for a day (bring money,
this
isn't cheap). The Seward boat tour should be perfect for icebergs, etc
and
Portage Glacier should also have icebergs in May.

It's a great state, you'll have a wonderful time.

Bill

Great place to go. I only got a 4 day trip in and did see several animals --
mostly in Denali Park. I took all the photo gear I had, a lot of film, and
10x50 binoculars. What a weight to lug around. But I did the right thing --
I used it all and was glad I had it.

One big suggestion! Bring the longest lens that you can even if you rent one
locally or when you get there. There are thousands of creatures but millions
of acres. You will see wildlife, but much of it will be in your binoculars.
Rent a big lens. Also, the scenery is great! You can use just about any
focal length up there. Neat place, I love it. There is lots of land, few
people, scenery, animals, mountains. Be prepared to just hold the shutter
down most of the time.

Terry



--
http://www.pbase.com/tvacha
"Scaramouche" wrote in message
...
possible alaska trip coming up soon, late may early june.

would anchorage be more of a favorable destination for natural history
photography?
hoping to get some shots of the following: iceberg, whales, bears, eagles,
and such.

i think i read somewhere of a bald eagle sanctuary somewhere within
alaska.
a private home where the eagles know to come for a good meal if tired
and/or
hurt. i believe many photogs went there for photo opportunities, will
need
to research the article since i don't really remember it that well.

believe it or not i still shoot film, planning on taking plenty of kodak
400asa.
what would be my best bet for wildlife photog/sightseeing in general?

thank you greatly,
rick

"Scaramouche" wrote in message
...
thank you greatly bill for your prompt reply to my post.
it has been most helpful.

Bills suggestions are as always first rate. A couple of other comments.
The eagles in Homer are a winter phenomenon. In May you will mainly see
them in their natural habitat. It takes a long lens to get a reasonable
shot, but eagles nest in trees along the shoreline just about everywhere in
coastal Alaska. I'll second the recommendation for the SeaLife center in
Homer much more interesting than we expected and good photo opportunities up
close especially of birds you won't find elsewhere. Bring fast film and a
fast lens.

We've been to Denali 4 times. Twice had bears right next to the bus, but
the last time only distant shots on the gravel bars. There are both park
service busses and a wildlife tour operator that operate in Denali. The
park service busses are cheaper and go further into the park. The tour
operator gives you lunch, but otherwise the busses are the same (School
busses). The park service tours can be bought in advance and some get sold
the day before. May isn't peak season, but I'd still plan ahead.

Going to Katmai is the best way to see big brown bears. If the timing is
right you see them at Brooks Falls, where there are elevated platforms and
you can see them fishing for salmon. It's a 2 hour flight from Homer,
probably the closest point, and will probably cost over $500 for a day, but
everything about the trip is spectacular. You won't need your longest lens
at Brooks Falls, the bears are almost too close for it.

Valdez is another place where you can see eagles, icebergs, seals, etc.
Several tour operators take you to Columbia glacier from there. There is a
ferry that runs between Valdez Whittier (near Portage) which lets you make a
circle trip (Drive the Glenn and Richardson Highways over to Valdez, and
take the ferry back or vice versa -- one trip is mainly night and one mainly
day time. The ferry goes in to Columbia glacier as well.

The best glacier and wildlife tour we had was probably the Phillips cruise
from Whittier. This is heavily advertised in Anchorage and elsewhere and a
big boat and we were leary of whether it would really be all that good, but
the boat is very fast, which lets them see a lot of College fjord, an area
that doesn't see as much other traffic. We saw a lot of otters and seals in
this area. Don't bother staying in Whittier -- there's nothing there except
a fishing and railroad port.
--
Warren Montgomery (
http://home.att.net/~wamontgomery )

UGH!!!! Why 400 speed film??????? Can't imagine a worse choice (other
than ISO 800 film). The area of Alaska you're going to isn't a
rainforest area (as is the SE) and light shouldn't be an issue in
June. For wildlife and landscape photography, choose a sloooower film
- something fine-grained and sharp like Velvia 100 or Provia 100F.
Worst case, you can push it to ISO 200 if you need to. Bring a tripod
and use a good quality slower film and your results will be
substantially better - guaranteed!

Bert Sirkin
Gallery: www.photobert.com/page1.asp
Camera CheatSheets: www.photobert.com/cheatsheet.asp



"Scaramouche" wrote in message ...
possible alaska trip coming up soon, late may early june.

would anchorage be more of a favorable destination for natural history
photography?
hoping to get some shots of the following: iceberg, whales, bears, eagles,
and such.

i think i read somewhere of a bald eagle sanctuary somewhere within alaska.
a private home where the eagles know to come for a good meal if tired and/or
hurt. i believe many photogs went there for photo opportunities, will need
to research the article since i don't really remember it that well.

believe it or not i still shoot film, planning on taking plenty of kodak
400asa.
what would be my best bet for wildlife photog/sightseeing in general?

thank you greatly,
rick

From: "warren montgomery"

I'll second the recommendation for the SeaLife center in
Homer much more interesting than we expected and good photo opportunities
up close especially of birds you won't find elsewhere.

Warren, the SeaLife Center I mentioned was in Seward ... are you sure there's
one in Homer too?

http://www.alaskasealife.org/

Bill

Warren, the SeaLife Center I mentioned was in Seward ... are you sure
there's
one in Homer too?

http://www.alaskasealife.org/

No, you are right. I guess I didn't sleep that well last night :-)

--
Warren Montgomery (
http://home.att.net/~wamontgomery )