Signed “Seasons of the Nature Center” books and 2025 calendars are available in my online store. Books are $30; calendars are $18 or 2+ for $15 each. Get a book and a calendar for $40, or the Stocking Stuffer Special - 5 calendars for $50. Local pickup available
Take advantage of 10% off metal prints with a book purchase. Use the code SEASONS23 at checkout
Himba village, Nambia, October 2021
Good morning and Happy Monday out there, friends! I did some guiding over the weekend for a nice couple from Texas. They wanted to photograph wildlife and hadn't seen a moose yet, so our mission was to find Alaska's pervasive ungulate and I can say with confidence that my clients were quite thrilled with what we found, as was I…
Have a great week and thank you for following along!
Colin
Well, we have a reprieve from the heat and the air has cleared out a bit in Eagle River Valley but it looks like we are in for more high temps later this week with no rain in the immediate forecast.
These images were taken last week, during the warm spell. I don't recall a time when the heat persisted like it did after the sun dropped behind the mountains. If you look at Eagle Peak in the second photo, you will notice a large patch of snow that broke loose last week as well.
Anyway, I will enjoy the brief respite. Thank you for following along and a reminder that I have a few spots left in my summer photography class here at the Eagle River Nature Center(Alaska) on Sunday, July 21: https://www.ernc.org/courses/digital-photography-workshop
Colin
Sunset, June 27, 2019
Eagle Peak
Sunset, June 30, 2019
Buenas dias! Happy Monday and first day of July! Last week I ventured out in search of a small patch of white lupine, thanks to a tip from a good friend. I was successful in my quest, marking the first time I have encountered this rare wildflower.
Also, I have 4 spaces left in my summer digital photography class at the Eagle River Nature Center (Alaska) on Sunday, July 21. Cost is $75 and limited to 10 people. Follow the link to register: https://www.ernc.org/courses/digital-photography-workshop
Feel free to share and thank you for following along!
Colin
Happy Sunday, friends. What you are looking at here is Eagle Peak shrouded in the haze of wildfires. If you've visited the Eagle River Nature Center (Alaska) or perhaps if you live in the vicinity, you know how this peak looms large and prominently in the valley. It is the centerpiece in our backyard and today it is barely visible. The smoke is so pervasive that the stench is evident indoors and the temperature hit 90˙F yesterday with no relief in sight.
Uneasy times, for certain. Let's keep doing our rain dances and hope for a change soon!
Colin
Sometimes all you need for a change in scenery is a change in perspective. As many times as I've photographed from this spot, I've never quite looked at the valley from this angle before, using the cow parsnip flowers as a strong foreground element.
For the record, I took this from the Beaver Viewing Deck at the Eagle River Nature Center and no flowers were harmed in the making of this photo. I did not go past the sign and below the deck, which clearly states not to enter, and thereby ruin the scene for future visitors.
Have a great weekend and please don't trample the wildflowers!
Colin
Last night I decided to take a drive out of Eagle River Valley and check out the lupine blooming along Turnagain Arm as the sun was setting through the haze of wildfires. While the smoke and dry weather is creating interesting sunsets, the air quality is poor and I hope the fires are under control soon.
Thank you for following, now let's get out and start doing some rain dances!
Colin
Happy Summer Solstice! Today marks the longest day in the Northern Hemisphere with the sun setting at 11:43 pm this evening in this part of the world.
This was taken two years ago through a haze of forest fire smoke, similar to what we are seeing now due to the fire on the Kenai Peninsula. The atmospheric particles diffuse the sun and if you look closely, you can see an active sunspot, which is the source of aurora borealis. The sun is "spot-less" right now and even if there were auroras, it doesn't get dark enough at night to see them this time of year. In any case, I hope the fire is extinguished soon.
Have a great weekend and get out & chase the light!
Colin
Hello everyone! Just a quick shoutout before the weekend to announce that I am offering a beginning digital photography class at the Eagle River Nature Center on Sunday, July 21 from 9 am to 5 pm. Cost is $75 and limited to ten people. If you or anyone you know would like to learn more about nature photography while gaining a better understanding of digital cameras and shooting in manual mode, please follow the link below to register. One person has already signed up and I anticipate that this will fill quickly, so don't hesitate!
Thank you and have a fantastic weekend!
Colin
How can you resist a face like this? Such a feminine pose - chin down, head tilted, ear back, she's a natural model and simultaneously a fierce protector of her cub and their fishing grounds. I observed and photographed this sow and her then first-year cub on many occasions last fall, so it's great to see them back for another season. With other adult brown bears in the area, hopefully territorial disputes won't turn ugly.
Colin
Happy Monday out there, friends! It's that time of year again. Salmon are returning to the valley to spawn and where there are salmon, there are bears. Lots of bear activity on the trails in recent days so be aware, take precautions, and let them go about their bear business.
Cheers!
Colin
It's always nice to be welcomed home by the local wildlife after being gone on an adventure. I'll be posting more volcano photos from my Hawaiian trip soon. Have a great weekend out there!
Colin
I never claimed to be a serious macro photographer but I truly believe that it takes a true artist to celebrate the ordinary. From time to time, I find myself looking for a new perspective on this mountain valley I call home. With wild roses, bluebells, and geraniums in full bloom, now is a perfect time to find beauty in small places. Speaking of which, I still have a few spaces left in this Saturday's class on closeup photography at the Eagle River Nature Center (Alaska). If you are interested, please click the image below for more details and registration. Cost is $75 and limited to 6 people. We will spend some time outside photographing wildflowers and then go over fundamental Photoshop techniques to get the most out of your images. I ask that participants have a basic understanding of shooting in manual mode and also provide their own laptop with Adobe software installed (i.e., CS or Lightroom).
Thank you and feel free to share!
Colin
Happy Humpday out there, friends! The first week of summer has kept me busy - bull moose sporting velvety antlers, black bears grazing on dandelions, and late evening sunshine. I haven't posted in a few days but that's not because I haven't been out chasing light!
Colin
Back at the airport after a quick weekend getaway to Minnesota and my mom's hometown of Decorah, Iowa to surprise my uncle Harold at his 80th birthday party. Many thanks to my cousin Nikki for taking me out to enjoy the scenery last night and setting us up for this lovely Midwest summer sunset. Let's hope I can get back to Alaska in a reasonable time flying standby.
As always, thank you for following along...
Colin
He hails from Australia and she, from California. Fate brought them together and love took them to Alaska. Later this year they will make their way south, eventually traveling the entire Pan-American Highway to Patagonia, the southernmost portion of South America. Yesterday I had the honor of capturing their special day in a very special location – Matanuska Glacier. This was my first opportunity to shoot wedding portraits on a glacier. While the lighting was challenging – a white dress against white ice on a sunny day – it certainly was a unique and very inspiring session. Normally, my largest lens is reserved for wildlife photography but yesterday it proved worthy as a portrait lens. I wanted the compressed look of the telephoto for a dramatic effect. Congratulations, Kristian Burchat and Brittni Marquez, and thank you for including me in this beautiful adventure called life.
On a side note, if anyone is planning a glacier wedding please contact me!
Colin
August is almost upon us. In what seemed like the blink of an eye, wild roses and geraniums have bloomed and faded, leaving the fireweed in all its glory. Salmon will be returning to spawn any day now, followed closely by the brown bears. Summer is short but intense in this part of the world; there is never enough time to capture all of the moments and harvest all of the bounty that is provided, but this is a land of abundance and with each season comes new opportunity to explore and appreciate Alaska for all it has to offer.
Here is a recent sunset from one of my favorite trails here at the Nature Center, the Albert Loop. With the return of the salmon and, consequently, hungry bears, the state park closes this trail annually to minimize human & bear encounters. I’ve been spending a lot of time out here while I still can, listening to the water rush past and absorbing the sounds of solitude.
Colin
"I don't wanna come back down from this cloud." Looking out over Harding Icefield from the end of the trail above Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park on July 4, 2017. The icefield consists of 800 square miles of ice that spawns upwards of 30 glaciers. I couldn't have imagined a better way to spend the holiday. Many thanks to my good friend and hiking partner, Jerome Flynn, for the photo.
We've had some unique sunsets recently with the atmospheric haze, creating the giant fireball when the sun is low on the horizon. This was taken two nights ago and if you look closely, you can see the big sunspot AR2665, which is a storm on the surface of the sun. If you are not familiar, this is what causes aurora borealis. According to Spaceweather (http://www.spaceweather.com/), the sunspot currently poses just a 15% chance of major flares. Even if a flare was earth-directed at this point, our skies are still too bright to even see the aurora. Let's hope it comes back around when we start having darker nights again!
Happy to say one of my recent moose photos was shared on Instagram by Nat Geo Wild and has gathered over 30,000 likes since yesterday. Cheers, Nat Geo!
Happy (belated) 4th of July! I spent the day hiking up around Exit Glacier to the Harding Icefield in Kenai Fjords National Park with a good friend who is visiting from Minnesota. It was a spectacular day, albeit grueling at times (ten miles round trip with a 3,000 foot elevation gain & descent). I carried my biggest telephoto lens and tripod, which drew numerous comments from passersby but seeing a trio of mountain goats in great light against the glacial backdrop made it all worthwhile.
Colin
