Chasing Autumn Scenes in Southcentral Alaska

These were taken while guiding a couple on a 3-day private custom photography tour. It was their first visit to Alaska, and the first tour I led under the new collaboration between Nat Expo Tours and well known, highly regarded photographer, Jeff Schultz (longtime official photographer of the Iditarod and founder of Alaska Stock Photo Agency). I had a wonderful time showing them some of the best fall scenes in this part of the state, despite the helicopter/glacier flight being grounded due to low visibility. Next time…

Jeff contacted me last summer to see if I would be interested in leading some of his tours. These will be custom tours for small groups and individuals. We are honored to have formed this partnership, and look forward to more opportunities!

As always, thank you for following.

Colin

Virgin Creek Falls, Girdwood

Turnagain Arm

Surfing the incoming tide in Turnagain Arm

Granite Creek

 

Pioneer Peak in fog

Knik River Valley

Fall Rainbow

Autumn is in full swing here in Southcentral Alaska, and I have been chasing colors and fall scenes over the past couple of weeks. I took this yesterday evening while guiding a tour for Alaska Photo Treks as the setting sun illuminated a wall of rain along Turnagain Arm.

Have a great weekend!

Colin

 

Early Season Auroras

Hello everyone,

I hope you've been able to catch some of the recent auroral activity! This season is starting out to be very active and should continue as we are in the Solar Maximum.

These were taken last Friday while guiding for Alaska Photo Treks. The show continued through the night, and all of our 17 guests were thrilled! Click here to visit their site if you're interested in booking a local tour.

In other news, at Nat Expo Tours we are excited to announce a new partnership right here in Alaska that will allow our business to expand to include my home state in addition to our international destinations! These will be custom, private tours for small groups. I led my first multi-day tour last week. More to come on that…

Happy skywatching!

Colin

 

From one year to the next, this brown bear cub seems to be growing up nicely. The first image was taken in 2022 and appears on page 17 of my book, "Seasons of the Nature Center." The second photo was taken earlier this fall.

Speaking of my book, I will be at Title Wave Books in Anchorage tomorrow, Saturday Nov 25, from 1 to 3 pm for a book signing along with 3 other Alaskan authors. Please stop by if you can!

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving holiday and look forward to the season ahead. A big thank you to Title Wave for hosting the event tomorrow and I hope to see you there.

Cheers!

Colin

PS - Signed copies of "Seasons of the Nature Center" are still available on my site, please allow 2-3 weeks for shipping: https://www.colintyler.com/online-store

 

Great Horned Owl in Autumn Foliage

A master of camouflage, the great horned owl is easy to miss without closely analyzing the environment for patterns and shapes that begin to stand out. This recent sighting was the first I've had in a while, but something tells me they've been observing me...

I depart on Sunday to begin the long journey to southern Africa, where we will be leading our second tour of Namibia with Nat Expo Tours: https://natexpotours.com. I will fulfill any incoming book, calendar, and print orders when I return in mid-November. Note: I only have 4 calendars left out of 500!

"Seasons of the Nature Center" books & calendars are available here: https://www.colintyler.com/online-store

Thank you for following along and I look forward to sharing new images and experiences from Namibia!

Colin

 

Eagle Peak in Autumn, Black & White

Eagle Peak emerging from the clouds on an autumn evening.

This is a new perspective on a familiar scene; a mountain I've photographed countless times, yet each time tells a different story...

Reminder that I am teaching a class titled "Storytelling with Photography" this Sunday at the Eagle River Nature Center from 1 - 4 pm. There are spaces available: https://www.ernc.org/public-programs.html

Thank you and feel free to share!

Colin

 

Moose Photo Safaris

Happy Wednesday out there, everyone! I've had a busy and successful week guiding moose photo safaris for Alaska Photo Treks (so much that I skipped the auroras Monday night after leading an evening tour followed by an early start the next morning).

These are some of my favorite images from this week's guiding adventures. Please check out www.alaskaphototreks.com if you are interested in experiencing Alaskan scenery, wildlife, or aurora borealis with local expertise!

Also, if you are in the area, I am teaching a "Storytelling with Photography" class this Sunday afternoon from 1 - 4 pm at the Eagle River Nature Center. What stories can you piece together from the photos here? Everyone will have an individual response just like every person has their own unique story to tell. You can register here: https://www.ernc.org/public-programs.html

As always, thank you for following...

Colin

 

Caribou Magazine Cover

After more than a decade, I am happy to see this image finally get its due...

I took this in Denali National Park in September, 2010. The scene was perfect - a few mature bull caribou grazing & locking antlers on a ridge with North America's tallest peak (Denali) in the background. I composed in anticipation of it being used for a magazine cover, vertical orientation with one caribou isolated & moving into the frame, and it paid off..

A big thanks to American Essence Magazine and writer Skylar Parker for the wonderful article (I posted last week) and cover story!

Colin

2021 Autumnal Equinox Time Lapse

Happy Autumn to those in the Northern Hemisphere! It was a brisk and beautiful morning to welcome the autumnal equinox. Here's a 15 second time lapse video taken over a 30 minute period as sunlight began to work its way down the Chugach Mountains and into the valley.

It's tough to imagine that in just a couple weeks I will experience springtime in Namibia!

As always, thank you for following...

Colin

Alaska Magazine: "Eagle River Nature Center Celebrates Twenty-Five Years"

Hello & Happy Monday out there, friends! Hey, the current issue of Alaska Magazine has a wonderful article about the Eagle River Nature Center’s twenty-fifth anniversary. This is where I have lived for more than 6 years and I cannot say enough about the center and the role it serves in the community as a gateway to Chugach State Park as well as hub for education. As much as I try, I could never give back as much as I have gained here, both personally and professionally. The article was beautifully written by Alaskan author, Kaylene Johnson-Sullivan, and they used my photos to accompany her words.

You can link to the article below. I highly recommend subscribing to Alaska Magazine – it’s a great resource for visitors planning a trip to the Last Frontier and AK residents alike. I have spent most of the past twenty-five years living in Alaska and I still discover something new in every issue.

https://alaskamagazine.com/travel/southcentral-alaska/the-eagle-river-nature-center-celebrates-25-years/

As always, thank you for following along!

Colin

PS - The Eagle River Nature Center will soon have commemorative poster prints with one of my brown bear images. I will share that link when they are available for purchase.

A foggy autumn morning on the Rodak Nature Trail, Eagle River Nature Center

A foggy autumn morning on the Rodak Nature Trail, Eagle River Nature Center

AlaskaWild 2021

Hello Everyone,

I am honored to announce that three of my images have been selected to the annual AlaskaWild exhibition sponsored by the Alaska Society of Outdoor and Nature Photographers. I joined the organization last year and have enjoyed meeting other photographers and utilizing the great resources that ASONP offers. If you are in Anchorage, the show will be at Side Street Espresso beginning this Friday, April 2. From there, the photos will be displayed at various locations throughout the state over the next year. If you have a chance, I encourage you to see all the stunning images that have been chosen for this year's show. If you are interested in joining ASONP, you can find more information here: https://asonp.org/

Have a great weekend and thank you for following along...

Colin

Brown bear in autumn, Eagle River Nature Center

Brown bear in autumn, Eagle River Nature Center

Juvenile great horned owl, Eagle River Nature Center

Juvenile great horned owl, Eagle River Nature Center

December Sunrise, Eagle River Nature Center

December Sunrise, Eagle River Nature Center

2020 Themes

If 2020 had any overriding themes for my photography I'd say it was owls, rainbows, and lynx, in that order. While it's been a challenging year in many ways, I am grateful for the opportunities I found in my backyard and look forward to what 2021 will bring.

I am hopeful that travel will resume before too long and while it's not likely that I will be leading another tour in Cuba this winter, I am looking to return in February of 2022. Michael L Haring and I have two tours scheduled for Iceland this coming August, both of which are already half full. For more information on the tours and to sign up for our e-newsletter, please visit our new website: https://naturalexposurestours.com/. We will also be launching a Facebook page for Natural Exposures Photography Tours, LLC, which I will announce in the near future.

Have a great weekend out there and, as always, thank you for following my adventures!

Colin

Juvenile great horned owl

Juvenile great horned owl

July double rainbow

July double rainbow

Female lynx

Female lynx


Denali - "The Tall One"

Here's another look at North America's tallest peak, Denali. I'm still editing through photos from my recent trip into the park. Even though the wildlife sightings were scarce, the weather was beautiful and we had great views of "The Tall One" from many different locations.

Hope you enjoy, and thank you for following along!

Colin

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Northern Hawk Owl

After my day in Denali National Park last week, I spent a few days in Fairbanks waiting for the skies to clear in hopes of auroras. On Saturday I drove around the Delta Junction area until I found a great place to set up for the lights. It turned out that I was a day early for the auroras, but I did see and photograph my first northern hawk owl!

Enjoy, and thank you for following along.

Colin

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Autumn Equinox in Denali

Hello and Happy Autumn, everyone! This is where I spent the autumnal equinox last week - in the shadow of North America's tallest peak. Wildlife sightings weren't as abundant as I'd hoped for but we had wonderful weather in the park with varying perspectives of Denali throughout the day.

There is still plenty of fall color in South Central Alaska but it's going fast, so I will enjoy it while I can. As always, thank you for following along!

Colin

Denali at sunrise, September 22, 2020

Denali at sunrise, September 22, 2020