Here's looking at you! Black bear COY (Cub of the Year) catching its breath after climbing a cottonwood tree.
Have a great day out there!
Colin
COY - "Cub of the Year"
Hello everyone! I'm happy to have something new to share today - a black bear COY or "Cub of the Year." This tiny little bear and its sibling were showing off their innate climbing skills while their mother was grazing on vegetation right below them. Black bears retain their ability to scale large trees into adulthood, serving as a method of escape from larger and dominant brown (grizzly) bears as well as a means to feed on cottonwood seeds in the spring.
Colin
Fox Family
In addition to the trumpeter swans I recently photographed near my hometown of Outing, Minnesota, I've had a few encounters with a family of red foxes. The kits are skittish but also a bit curious, as this little one paused to check me out for a few minutes.
Colin
More Minnesota Swans
I've been editing through trumpeter swan photos from a few days ago. Here are a few more of my faves. I'm glad I was able to be here in my hometown to witness and capture the swan migration on such a beautiful misty morning. My circadian rhythm seems to have aligned with the light cycle and wakes me every morning before sunrise to check the light...
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.
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
Happy Mother's Day
Hello and Happy Mother's Day from Minnesota! I am grateful to be visiting my mom this year and enjoying the wildlife & scenery in my hometown of Outing. Yesterday I woke to a beautiful foggy morning that is so quintessential to the northern lakes area. Add to that roughly 70 trumpeter swans and it was a serene experience. Here are a few of the images I created.
Have a great day out there and be sure to honor all the moms out there, human and nonhuman, as well as our sacred Mother Earth.
Colin
Earth Day 2021
Earth Day 2021 Adventure, Turnagain Pass. I decided to explore the backcountry on my skis and couldn't have asked for a better day. The snow was soft and the light was amazing. I hope you all had a chance to enjoy the outdoors as well.
Have a great weekend and thank you for following along!
Colin
"Best of Landscape"
Happy Earth Day, 2021!
This is a significant day to me for several reasons and each year I make it a point to explore someplace new on Earth Day. Before I head out the door, I wanted to announce that my December Sunrise image was named "Best of Landscape" in the AlaskaWild 2021 showcase that is sponsored by the Alaska Society of Outdoor and Nature Photographers. My brown bear image received an honorable mention as well. It is an honor to receive this recognition and I encourage you to view all the stunning images from this year's gallery: https://asonp.photoshelter.com/gallery/alaskaWILD2021/G0000M8kvyKdYEjU/
Have a fantastic Earth Day out there and I hope you can find a bit of time to enjoy what the natural world has to offer this day and every day!
Colin
December Sunrise, Eagle River Nature Center
Coastal Waterfall, Prince William Sound
I recently submitted some images to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for use in a project called the "Alaska Coastal Mapping Campaign" which will be viewed by the President, Interior Secretary, and other administration officials. It is a honor to have a number of images selected for the project and in the process of searching through my files I came across a few gems that I almost forgotten about, like this one.
Have a great day out there and thank you for following along!
Colin
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
Juvenile great horned owl, Eagle River Nature Center
December Sunrise, Eagle River Nature Center
Weekend Auroras?
Happy Friday, everyone!
The aurora forecast is calling for possible G-1 class geomagnetic storms this weekend, however the weather forecast is predicting clouds. If the skies are clear enough for a display, I will be out chasing lights on my skis again.
Have a great weekend and thank you for following!
Colin
Aurora gazing on Eagle River
Black & White Bald Eagle
I ski past this pair of nesting bald eagles frequently but getting a good perspective & lighting without a distracting background has been challenging. Yesterday, those components came together when one of the eagles was perched in the dead branches of a cottonwood tree. When I saw the symmetry of the stark branches coupled with the direction of the eagle's gaze against an open sky, I knew this would end up being a monochrome image.
Hope you enjoy,
Colin
Panoramic Auroras
Good morning and Happy Monday out there!
Here are a couple panoramic images I created this weekend. Both are a series of vertical frames stitched together from Friday night/Saturday morning's display. I'd literally been waiting years for the right conditions to be able to ski out onto Eagle River and shoot auroras from this angle. The way this season is going, I might get another chance before the river thaws. We could have more activity this week, weather-permitting.
Cheers!
Colin
"Friday Night Lights"
Here's an image from Friday night/Saturday morning as the activity was really starting to intensify. The aurora had come far across the sky, setting up perfectly for my eastward-facing composition over the Chugach Mountains. I shortened my shutter speed to capture the vertical curtains as they were starting to form.
Have a great Sunday out there and thank you for following along!
Colin
Welcome, Spring!
Well, Spring sure did arrive with a bang! I skied out onto Eagle River again last night and captured some images from new locations. I will have more to share in the coming days so stay tuned...
Happy Vernal Equinox to those in the Northern Hemisphere and to my friends below the equator, Happy Autumn!
Colin
More Aurora from Last Weekend
Aurora borealis over Eagle River Valley, taken around 1 am on Sunday, March 14. I had to search to find a bit of open water and was happy to find this spot looking back toward Ram Valley & Prudhoe Bay Ave. It was a cold night out there but worth the effort to come away with a few images from out on the river. Ski boots aren't the warmest footwear but they do allow me to move around much more quickly than walking. I'm hoping for a few more nights like this before the aurora & ski seasons are over.
Have a great week and thank you for following along!
Colin
Aurora Gazing over Mt. Cumulous
Hello everyone!
This year certainly has brought increased auroral activity in recent weeks– a welcome change after the past few seasons. I’d been waiting for the right opportunity to ski out to Eagle River to photograph and last night everything came together for me. It was cold out there and cross-country ski boots don’t offer much for insulation on a frozen river in subzero temps but in the “heat” of the moment when the lights are dancing, the discomfort tends to dissipate.
Stay warm out there!
Colin
Owls of ERNC on Alaska Public Media, Monday, Feb. 1, 2021
Since taking up residence at the Eagle River Nature Center, owls have become one of my favorite subjects. Biology was my best subject in school and even though I am not a biologist by degree, I have accumulated a lot of knowledge regarding owl habits and behavior through observing them and researching online, all while developing a discerning eye for spotting them.
I've had countless encounters with both great horned and saw-whet owls here and on Monday morning, Feb. 1, at 10 am AKST, I will be a guest on Alaska Public Media’s "Hometown Alaska" where I will have the honor of sharing my experiences photographing owls in the ERNC vicinity. You can tune into 91.1 FM if you are in the Anchorage area or stream the program here: https://www.alaskapublic.org/cat.../programs/hometownalaska/. It will be available for streaming after the live program as well.
I hope you are able to listen, I always look forward to sharing my experiences in the field!
Colin
The Sun Returns, Briefly
After making a brief appearance between Polar Bear and Eagle peaks, the sun quickly drops out of sight while leaving a warm glow in its wake. This was taken just before noon on January 25, after two months without any direct sunlight in this part of the valley. Five months from now at the height of summer it will drop below the mountains directly opposite, approximately 12 hours later in the day. Living with these extremes of light is one of the many aspects that I cherish about residing in Alaska.
Warm wishes for a sunny day in your part of the world!
Colin
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
July double rainbow
Female lynx