Arctic Road Trip

There is no place quite like the far north, the Arctic. I just returned from a 1,500-mile road trip to Alaska’s Brooks Range and the log cabin community of Wiseman. My goal was to capture arctic auroras and a bit of wildlife. I was joined by a good friend from Minnesota, Joe, and his daughter, Nadia, who was on spring break. While most spring breakers go south, we went well above the Arctic Circle to a beautifully remote landscape and our timing could not have been better - we witnessed a vibrant display last Wednesday night/Thursday morning that certainly was one of my best sessions in more than twenty years of aurora chasing! We also had great weather to drive over Atigun Pass onto the north slope, where we were welcomed by dozens of caribou.

I will be sharing more aurora images in the coming days, so please stay tuned…

Colin 

 

Joe and Nadia watching the aurora dance across the sky


A small herd of barren ground caribou in Atigun Pass


A dirty Four Runner with extra fuel on top is a sign of a great road trip to the far north…

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