winchester : photos : Alaska 2006- powered by SmugMug

Landscapes from my June / July 06 Alaska visit.

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winchester > Intensive gold mining had left this hillside stripped of most vegetation. It was fitting then that we visited it on an icy overcast day. Somehow it’s still beautiful.

winchester > Sometimes we can go slightly beyond reality in a photograph. What this does reflect accurately is the mood that evening.

winchester > McKinley base camp. We chartered a de Havilland Otter ski plane in order to get this series.

winchester > High up in the Alaskan Range near Mount McKinley lies this perpetually frozen bowl of snow and ice. It is an amazing feeling to actually see this in person - something a photograph can't replicate.

winchester > Alaska 2006 photo

winchester > Alaska 2006 photo

winchester > Alaska 2006 photo

winchester > Stretching out in front of this photo is a huge panorama, many square miles. A year ago this was green – covered in wildflowers, low shrubs and scattered trees.

Today this whole area is black, consumed by forest fire. An acrid stench hangs in the cold air – this is too high to enjoy much summer warmth.

Even burned, I think it strangely beautiful.

winchester > During the evening, ponds in Alaska take on an unreal feeling of stillness. Dusk in the far north brings calm, such total tranquility. Lakes assume a full mirror surface. It must be experienced. My photos can do this no justice.

In fact, it is almost humbling trying to capture a scene like this!

winchester > A break in the clouds allowed the sun to punch up Eagle Bluff quite nicely. We were blasting down the Yukon at 30mph so this is the best I could do.

winchester > The De Havilland Otter we chartered was a beautiful machine. Every piece of hardware was freshly painted or polished. It’s hard to believe the aircraft was manufactured in 1954!

winchester > Here is the “road” which we took to access Hatcher’s Pass. To my eye this is one of the most striking locations in all of North America.

winchester > Cruising at 12k feet within spitting distance of these huge mountains is both enlivening and humbling. It forces one to realize that our aircraft and its passengers are a mere fly to this massive mountain range!

winchester > The pass clouded in by the time we were able to hike any distance. It’s a good photographic challenge to deal with clouds so I didn’t mind that much. In the foreground of this shot one can see the staining effects of the various rock deposits. I’m thinking the red is ferric oxide (rust).

winchester > Alaska 2006 photo

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