Love the skies!

I love the deep snow that can be found around Cantwell! It was a slow start this year on accumulating what I would call good snow but, at last it is here. Better late than never and up here in Alaska we still have plenty of time to enjoy the white fluffy stuff.

AH! It's Back!

Yesterday I grabbed my camera, rifle, and pack with a bit of gear in it and went for a ride with no real destination in mind, just wanted to enjoy the snow and the scenery. This time of year in Alaska it is a really good time to shoot photos. Not because there is loads of color out there but, the sun is staying out a little bit longer and it is still at a very low angle producing wonderful warm light with good shadows. I got a little caught up looking at some caribou and a really large moose that was still sporting his horns and wanted to get a bit closer to get some photos. I was quickly reminded that deep snow in tall willows can create an amazing workout that Jillian Michaels from the Biggest Loser would be proud of! So, after getting unstuck a couple of times in the willows and once on the ice since I couldn't get any traction I decided that I was ignoring the beautiful sunlight on the landscape and needed to shoot some photos. I figure I will head back to the same area later in the week with snowshoes and some X-country skis to get within range of the critters.

Dream Land

I hope to get a winter camp set up somewhere this week with Jaydyn and maybe this weekend get the family out to do a little winter camping. I really would like to try some light painting techniques that I have been studying on a winter camp to see what I can come up with. I will be sure to share them if they work out.
I have been adding some new photos to my website so, be sure to go and check it out! I have been getting really good feedback from folks that have purchased prints from the website. Everyone seems to like the metallic paper print wraps and the canvas wrapped prints. Jeni and I have done some large prints also that have turned out amazing!

Denali

Until next time 

Justin

3 J's and 2 dogs hopped in the truck for an afternoon of solving all the world problems, listening to great music, planning more of our future, and shooting photos of the frozen Alaskan landscape.  I decided to try my hand at some black and whites again.  It seems to really lend itself well to this landscape during this time of year. The only color out there today was a little bit of blue sky in between the snow squalls and a slight bit of golden kisses on the mountaintops when the sun was able to break through the clouds. It was kind of crazy to shoot one minute in broken clouds and sun, to the next minute of monster snowflakes and visibility reduced to less than a hundred yards.

We saw a good amount of wildlife today, none that were close enough or stuck around long enough to capture a photo, but still fun to see. We watched a coyote as he galloped down the road avoiding the deep snow on the sides. When I slowed down to try and grab a quick gotcha shot, he bolted off into the incredibly deep snow.  Not long after that, Jeni spotted a cow moose that had twin calves following close behind her. They wanted nothing to do with us either as we slowed down, which was good since they were a little too close to the highway for my comfort. Broad Pass had plenty of caribou meandering around on the tundra that has been exposed in some areas from winds the past few days. 

I'm sure tomorrow there will be more world problems to solve, more great music, more family planning,  and surely the shot that eluded me today will be waiting somewhere out there for me. We still have many more months of a frozen landscape up here to deal with so, I will try not to daydream too much about the photos that I would like to take this spring. 

I hope all of you are enjoying your winter so far. If the cabin fever is starting to get to you, do what the 3 J's do, hop in the truck and go solve all the world problems!

Home is over there somewhere?

Ahhh! The Sun!

Honolulu Creek. I'm sure there is water in there somewhere ;)

The snow is heavy and plenty of it!

Still Snowing!

And Snowing!

Cantwell finally got some snow! Jaydyn and I have been out enjoying it everyday, either cross country skiing or snowmachining near the house here. We have seen quite a few caribou, a few moose, and plenty of ptarmigan. Jeni went with us the other day on the snowmachine and while riding, she looked over and spotted the tip of a nice caribou antler sticking out of the snow. I have been looking for sheds all winter long and the first time out she spots the tip of one, beginners luck! 

The sun is slowly starting to stay out a little longer. I think it is still a little early to be getting spring fever since I need to get out on the snow machine a little bit more. However, with the days starting to get longer I am getting very excited to get out and start shooting some more. The mountain popped out a few weeks ago while riding south of town near Petersville and as always was gorgeous! The sky has been beautiful with the recent weather patterns making for some good photo ops which has been nice. 

I am starting to get my back yard wildlife studio set up after watching a bit of online training from the world famous Moose Peterson. The man is able to get some amazing wild bird photos with the help of some strategically placed bird feeders. The problem is that the birds cost more to feed than the Golden Retrievers that live in my house. It is crazy, I have three bird feeders set up and each one of them will hold a #10 coffee can full of feed, and it barely lasts 2 days. It has been a lot of fun for me to watch the birds and figure out their habits. After you watch them for a few days you quickly learn what branches they like to perch on, what scares them, and how often they come throughout the day. If you can afford it, put out a feeder it is great fun!

    

Jaydyn holding the antler that Jeni found. Lucky!

Jaydyn and a few of her Healy pals at the b-ball tournament.

Jaydyn and Wendy are all smiles after winning some yummy cupcakes during the cake walk.

South side of Denali.

Sun Shinning on the Nenana Canyon just South of Healy.

Red Pole in the backyard wildlife studio.

Showing off the backside.

Until next time,

Justin

Well, winter is surely starting to get long here in Cantwell. The temps have been very mild and that has been very nice but, we really do not have much snow and we all know that snow is the fun part of winter, ex. snow angels, snowmobiling, skiing, snow ball fights, etc... So hopefully one of these days soon we will start getting some more snow.

The moderate temps have made it easy to get outside and enjoy the short days so, yesterday we drove up to the entrance of the park to check things out. The skies were beautiful during the short drive and pulled me out to capture a few photos of the surrounding mountains and the beautiful sky that we were blessed with. 

I hope that all of you are having a great start to the new year. Get outside and play!

Enjoy!

Until next time.

Justin