A Summer Landscape

Alaska is beautiful. This first image really gives a sense of the vastness of it all. Congratulations on capturing such a great shot while moving! I am very impressed.

The Alaskan countryside is not just impressive in size. I love this shot of lichen growing in the rocky soil. It's really moving to see life in an environment which can be so harsh.

The landscape is occasionally marked with structures. This particular one is an abandoned gold dredge (This looks a lot like the one that is just outside of Nome, though I can't be certain). It looks as if all of the dredge buckets have been taken. Aside from that this is an incredibly well-preserved structure. It's crazy how you can be out on the ATVs going along a stream and find these dredges rotting and rusted out. It really gives you a sense of history.

I'm particularly fond of this shot because you can see the clouds reflected in the river here. There are rivers and small pools everywhere in Alaska - I think it has the most inland lakes of any state in the US.

The most impressive thing about the water up north is that it is so free of pollutants (even natural ones). You can see here that the water is so clear you can easily see the bottom of the river bed. I remember stopping at this place on our way to camp before. While it's a challenge to actually guess the depth of water (all that annoying bending of light) I would guess this is at least 8 feet deep at the point between the two rocks. There is a little riffle just upstream (next to Hollie's knee) and despite the churning, the water downstream is still completely free of silt. Gorgeous.

This next photograph also demonstrates how clean it is in Alaska. I can think of few areas within the lower 48 where you could see this far into the distance. The only reason you can't see further is that it is obstructed in clouds.

So, what image made it onto my computer's desktop? This is definately my favorite photograph in the lot (all 3 CDs worth!) I love the composition and use of color. The building is so perfectly weathered in contrast to fresh blooming fireweed. Truly a magnificent photograph.

Thanks for sending all your pics guys.

I decided to one more day of photographs because this post would have run on very long if I'd included wildlife photos. Those will come later this week