Chihuly 2

CHIHULY SCULPTURE DETAIL, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, AUGUST 29, 2014

Pentax K-5
Sigma 18-250 at 60mm
1/13 sec. f8
ISO 1600

Another shot from the Chihuly blown glass sculpture exhibition in downtown Seattle. It was taken handheld leaning against a wall; tripods and monopods were forbidden, as they usually are in venues with lots of foot traffic.

First light at Lake of the Clouds

LAKE OF THE CLOUDS, PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS STATE PARK, MICHIGAN, SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

Pentax K-3
Sigma 18-250mm at 18mm
20 secs. f3.5
ISO 400

We got up at oh-dark-thirty to get to the Lake of the Clouds overlook for this one. It was a very dark 20 second time exposure, and to improve the picture quality I slid the Lightroom shadows slider all the way to the right and the highlights slider all the way to the left, then opened up a couple of f-stops. I intensified the blue sky with saturation a little to the right and luminance a little to the left, and finished up with a bit of denoising. If you look closely you can see Jupiter in the top center of the photo.

New Eddystone Rock, revisited

NEW EDDYSTONE ROCK, BEHM CANAL, ALASKA, SEPTEMBER 2, 2014

Pentax K-3
Pentax 55-300 at 55mm
1/800 sec. f10
ISO 400

This was our second visit to the basalt pillar in the middle of Behm Canal, a long inlet along the Alaskan coast, on a sightseeing boat trip to Misty Fjords from Ketchikan. We'd first been there in 2010. The sight is just as glorious.

Misty Fjords

MISTY FJORDS NATIONAL MONUMENT, ALASKA, SEPTEMBER 2, 2014

Pentax K-3
Pentax 55-300 at 55mm
1/800 sec. f10
ISO 400

This was our second visit in three years to the cloud-bedecked Misty Fjords National Monument near Ketchikan, Alaska, one of the state's best photo opportunities, and we made the most of it.

Trawler in the fog

FISHING TRAWLER IN JOHNSTONE STRAIT, BRITISH COLUMBIA, AUGUST 31, 2014

Pentax K-3
Pentax 55-300 at 300mm
1/640 sec. f9
ISO 1600

As the M/V Kennicott sailed up the Alaska Marine Highway, this ghostly trawler loomed in the early morning fog of Johnstone Strait between Vancouver and West Cracroft Islands.

Otter

DE HAVILLAND CANADA DHC-3 TURBO OTTER, KETCHIKAN, ALASKA, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

Pentax K-3
Pentax 55-300 at 300mm
1/2000 sec. f8
ISO 400

Originally called the "King Beaver," the Otter is a considerably larger bush plane, "the one-ton truck to the Beaver's half-ton truck." This one, captured on landing in Ketchikan Harbor, has been up-engined to turboprop status. I wish I had used a much slower shutter speed to blur the propeller.

Beaver

DE HAVILLAND CANADA DHC-2 BEAVER, KETCHIKAN, ALASKA, SEPTEMBER 1, 2014

Pentax K-3
Pentax 55-300 at 300mm
1/2000 sec. f8
ISO 400

This particular Beaver was built in 1959 and is the same age—55 years—as my old Cessna 150. She was delivered to the U.S. Army as a L-20A utility aircraft and has had a long career as a civilian bush plane, having been rebuilt regularly. She and dozens of her sisters weave in and out among cruise liners in Ketchikan harbor, carrying sightseers in the summer and supplies all over Alaska in the winter. The actor Harrison Ford owns one and says it's his favorite in his collection of airplanes.

Spawning salmon

SPAWNING SALMON, KETCHIKAN CREEK, KETCHIKAN, ALASKA, SEPTEMBER 1, 2014

Pentax K-3
Pentax 18-135 at 135mm
1/125 sec. f8
ISO 1600

Along the creek in the eponymous town of Ketchikan many thousands of salmon struggled upstream to spawn and then die. These exhausted specimens rested briefly in a shallow eddy before resuming the quest.

Bighorn

YOUNG BIGHORN SHEEP, BANFF NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014

Pentax K-5
Sigma 18-250 at 88mm
1/60 sec. f8
ISO 1600

While driving along the Bow Valley Parkway, a two-lane road paralleling the Trans-Canada Highway in Banff National Park, we came upon a small herd of bighorns blocking the roadway and made the most of the delay. There was a heavy rain-laden overcast so I used a high ISO.

Ancient raven

RAVEN, JASPER NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA, SEPTEMBER 7, 2014

Pentax K-3
Pentax 55-300 at 155mm
1/320 sec. f9
ISO 400

This aged and disheveled raven, blind in one eye, hopped about a layby on the highway between Jasper and Lake Louise, hoping for handouts.

Moon Jellyfish

MOON JELLYFISH, KETCHIKAN HARBOR, KETCHIKAN, ALASKA, SEPTEMBER 2, 2014

Pentax K-3
Pentax 55-300 at 170mm
1/250 sec. f10
ISO 400

Being a denizen of the shores of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, I'd never before seen a jellyfish in the wild. This species runs 10 to 16 inches in diameter and feeds on plankton, visible as light dots in the harbor waters. Although it does sting, it's harmless to humans. The orange "doughnuts" are the animal's egg-producing gonads.

Eagle 3

BALD EAGLE, ALASKA RAINFOREST SANCTUARY, KETCHIKAN, ALASKA, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

Pentax K-3
Pentax 55-300 at 190mm
1/400 sec. f8
ISO 800

The third portrait posted here of the eagle housed at the Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary, this one reminds me of the famous photograph of Winston Churchill glowering into the camera just after Yusuf Karsh snatched the cigar out of his mouth.

Eagle 2

BALD EAGLE, ALASKA RAINFOREST SANCTUARY, KETCHIKAN, ALASKA, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

Pentax K-3
Pentax 55-300 at 300 mm
1/1000 sec. f8
ISO 800

This is the same eagle as in yesterday's post, but in a much calmer pose, as if she'd had a relaxing visit to the hairdresser and nail salon.

Eagle 1

BALD EAGLE, ALASKA RAINFOREST SANCTUARY, KETCHIKAN, ALASKA, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

Pentax K-3
Pentax 55-300 at 230mm
1/800 sec. f8
ISO 800

Naturally this eagle, recovering from some kind of accident, was restrained by jesses and handled by a sanctuary worker when it posed for its portrait. This is one of the best profile photos of the species I've ever been able to get. The soft lighting was perfect and so was the dark background.

Scarlett Point Light

LIGHTHOUSE COMPLEX AT SCARLETT POINT,  BALAKLAVA ISLAND, BRITISH COLUMBIA, AUGUST 31, 2014

Pentax K-3
Pentax 55-300 at 55mm
1/1600 f8
ISO 400

It was morning on the Alaska Marine Highway when the M/V Kennicott passed this light about 40 kilometers northwest of Port Hardy on Vancouver Island. The heavy fog blanketing the Inside Passage lifted just enough for a shot through the mist.

Chihuly in Seattle

CHIHULY GLASS SCULPTURE, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, AUGUST 29, 2014

Pentax K-5
Sigma 18-250 at 22mm
1/640 sec. f10
ISO 400

This is just one of scores of stunning blown glass sculptures in the Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibit under the Space Needle in Seattle. This perspective no doubt has been captured by hundreds of thousands of fellow tourists, but still . . .