I must be paying for some bad karma to the camera gods. Either that or I need to make a sudden windfall in calendar and note card sales. Ah the joys of a photographer. We always lust after new lens and equipment.

And in other “new news” for me. I did a test run on getting some of my images printed out large format for a show I have coming up at th end of October. Printed and framed these images are 26″ x 36″. I really didn’t know how they would do that large. But needless to say I’m very pleased.

Definitely a good beginning in the world of art works.

Like most places around the country the ebony of night brings with it a step into another world. A time when most people truly come alive and begin their ventures outdoors - whether it be celebrating the night life of the city or even perhaps attending a theatre performance. There is an electricity that sparks us when we journey into that witching hour.

Those hours around dusk are one of my favorites as well but of course for different reasons. Because those moments bring with it an increase in wildlife activity. It is no secret that moose are more active around dusk and dawn as are many other Alaska mammals. With the darkness those animals you don’t normally see become active as well. The red fox emerge from their den for hunting or porcupine begin to wander the local woods.

As the hours flowed into dusk last night I found myself back up at the Glenn Alps overlook in an attempt to capture a view of the city lights. Of course I wasn’t able to capture the image i wanted because my wide angle lens chose that night to be tempermental. So after a few hours I decided to call it a day and head home.

No sooner had I pulled into the back parking lot of where I live and took some things over to the garbage can when I began to hear some chirps emitted into the air. Chirps that brought back memories of my time at McNeil River. You see I was all too familiar with the animal they were coming from. So I took a few steps forward and looked into the darkness. I found some amber colored eyes staring back at me.

It appears we have a red fox family living in the woods bordering the Campbell Creek where I live. As I allowed my eyes to become used to the darkness I watched her bound off through the trees as if in search for prey.

To me it was a good omen and a reminder of on of my favorite times this year. I hope she will come visiting again.

After living here over 30 years - low and behold I found out Anchorage actually has a place called Strawberry Hill. Didn’t find any strawberries. Nor did I find any bull moose when I went up to Powerline Pass. But I did find a gorgeous sunset.

Going through a rather rough patch as of late. Hoping things normalize in my life and soon.

Needless to say what “Brown can do for me” right now is they can go suck it.

I’m a wee bit perturbed.

Not only have I begun to seriously work on building a second business of this, I have also had an interest sparked in attempting to get shown here locally.  Vis a vie by participating in the art circuit known as First Friday.  Perhaps the biggest challenge is not having any local gallery contacts and really not knowing where to start.

The interest however is still there.  Where there is a will there is a way - right?

When traveling to Alaska many search for a unique opportunity that will provide memories that last a life time. Whether it’s the dog sled ride up at Godwin Glacier out of Seward or even something as simple as a wildlife cruise and tour — Alaska is full of these types of opportunities. Perhaps one particular that many don’t give thought to is the Denali Road Lottery held every September. The road lottery consists of a 4 day period where 400 vehicles per day are allowed to drive their vehicles on the park road into Denali Natioanl Park. Considered the “end of the season” the road lottery offers some amazing views into Alaska at a time when fall colors can be at their peak and wildlife is in prime shape.

I have been one of the lucky participants of the road lottery for the last 3 years running. For the cost of a $10.00 ticket I toss my name into the hat each July in hopes of finding my name appear on that list of winners once they are announced in August. It’s a opportunity that even as an Alaskan has allowed me some very memorable experiences.

The 2008 Denali Road Lottery was held on Friday September 12th through Monday September 15th. Through a series of luck and chance I was able to attend 3 of the 4 days of this event. My own winning ticket was for that Monday. But with a system that allows each pass to be transferred in the event the original winner was not able to use their pass, I found myself lucking out and receiving an additional two passes this year.

I left Anchorage bright and early on that Friday morning. Of course as has been the case for the majority of this summer the weather was less than desirable. Driving rain made for some miserable driving conditions in some points, especially when I was encountering continuous road spray from the semi trucks I was sharing the road with. However once I passed Broad Pass and began to pull closer to Denali the skies opened up and the sun began to show itself. After driving into the park to check the colors and then moving on to check into my hotel I encountered my first obstacle of that weekend.

Unfortunately the reservation system for the hotel I was staying at had a glitch that had allowed me to obtain reservations well past their season ending. Quite simply I was scheduled to stay through Tuesday of the following week but they closed for the season on Monday. As a result I was left without hotel accommodations for that Monday night. Now normally this wouldn’t be an issue. But during road lottery weekend it is typical for every hotel in the area to be booked well in advance. Saturday night found me on the phone for hours on end and luckily I was finally able to find a room at one of the local Aramark hotels.

Saturday morning arrived and I met my friend C at the Wilderness Access Center to begin our drive into the park. The taiga forest that encompasses the first 20-30 miles of the park were well past peak colors. But once we passed Stony Hill overlook the colors begin to change. Early on our wildlife sightings were few and far between. It was only after Stony Hill that we saw a pack of caribou lingering off in the distance. We pulled over for awhile and hiked down to an area that would offer us some great opportunities to photograph them. Throughout the day we were lucky to encounter caribou, Dahl sheep and a few grizzly bears that were foraging the hillside eating berries. However those “up close and personal” encounters with animals that I have been lucky to have in the past were very few and far between.

Sunday brought the same sort of experiences. We were definitely lucky when it came to weather. Early weather reports predicted rain for the area. But narily a raindrop was seen that weekend. Each day I drove into the park to pretty much encounter the same wildlife. After my wonderful experiences this summer on other trips that allowed such up close and personal experiences with bears, I instead found myself beginning to focus on taking photos of the park’s landscapes. After all, Mt. McKinley was out in her glory for each of the days we were there. Definitely a rare event.

If you are traveling to Alaska and want to experience an event outside of the norm, give lady luck a chance and throw your name into the hat. Who knows, you may just be one of those lucky few to experience Denali at her best!

Trumpeter Swan at Dusk
Potters Marsh, Southcentral Alaska

As fall journeys to Alaska bringing with it cooler temperatures and darkened skies during the evening it also brings with it one of my favorite times of year and great opportunities for photography. 

I have spent my last week attempting to get out more during the evenings and enjoy the season before it ends.  In between that time has also been spent on building a business.

2008 has brought many challenges and changes to it. But it began with a journey into creation for me when I published my first calendar known as “The Alaskan Explorer”. Of course when it comes to attempts such as this one never knows if it will be a bomb or successful in its own right. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was a positive attempt for me as I sold out of my entire stock.

Because of continued requests I have once again forged ahead with plans to create a 2009 version of The Alaskan Explorer and am pleased to announced I am now accepting orders for shipment in the next few weeks. The calendar comes on a nice heavy stock paper and features clearly printed photos of Alaska and its wildlife.

The 2009 Alaskan Explorer calendars are available for purchase. The price is $15.00 each with $4.60 flat rate postage (USPS Priority Mail) though I will ship them free of charge to those that live in Alaska. I will also ship overseas but will need to provide you a shipping quite. I will accept payments via Paypal. If you are interested, please contact me with the quantity you are interested in and your location and I will send you an invoice.

If you are interested in seeing what images will appear, a summary can be viewed here.

Denali Road Lottery 2008
Denali National Park, Alaska

The weekend wasn’t quite what I expected. Hit some snags including having to scramble to find a hotel for my last night there after I found out the hotel I was originally planning on staying at was closing for the season on Monday. They had some kind of glitch with their reservation system that allowed it to accept reservations after their closing date.

Despite some headaches though there was definitely some high spots on the weekend. Including hanging out with a friend that I haven’t seen much this summer.

And as Interior Alaska begins to plan for the winter ahead, so too do I take a page from that book. No major trips planned at this point but I do have a potential road trip on tap this weekend if the weather cooperates.

But this morning I find myself with memories of that fateful day some seven years ago. That of September 11th. At that moment in time I worked at a local telecommunications company in contracting. I remember that day quite clearly and watching in horror as the twin towers fell.

What continues to come to mind is watching the country become the most united I have seen it in the days following. Despite the tragedy. Despite the heartache. Which we all suffered much during those days. But that is perhaps the last time I have seen this country come together as one. Or as near as can be. Tragedy can be a strange bed fellow to us. And no doubt we have seen that in our own lives this year.

I was blogging back even then. Of course under a different online name. In those days following I of course wrote about my feelings as did many others. There is still one particular entry that comes to mind. I still think of this little girl mentioned in this post. She would of course be older today. No doubt off in school somewhere. Perhaps like me she struggles with the hate and riff I still see constantly in this world.

But I remember. Oh yes, I remember.

“Out of compassion I destroy the darkness of their ignorance.
From within them I light the lamp of wisdom and dispel all darkness from their lives.”

September 13, 2001

Darkness had just started to descend over the confines of the realm. I had continued to watch the lights in surrounding offices go dark as people left and began their journey home. Entering my 14th hour of work, I chanced a glance to look up from my computer for the first time in hours and quickly glance out the window. Out of the corner of my eye I saw industrious glow of lights flashing in the distance, as if beckoning to come ever closer. Curious, I stood up and wandered across the floor to the corner office to see what activity was amiss. I noticed the 8 or so hook and ladder trucks sitting in the center of the Barnes and Noble parking lot just down the street. All were parked in a circular nature with their ladders extended, adjoining to form a single circle. Hanging from that circle was the largest American flag I have ever seen.

Feeling a warm and comforting presence wash over me, I thought it was time to leave for the evening and be one of those taking that journey home. Something told me I should drive by the trucks on the way hope. Perhaps offer a word of encouragement and see exactly was happening. As I passed through the stoplight only a few hundred feet from the store, I caught my bank out of the corner of my eye. I whipped into the parking lot and ran up to the ATM. I ended up withdrawing everything that was in my account. After all, I had already met my monthly obligations in terms of bills and was being paid tomorrow. I secretly began to hope they were collecting money, so I could give them the money that had become fisted in my hand.

As I left and drove up to the site, I was astounded by what I saw. At least 150 people were milling around in the local intersections collecting money for the families of the firefighters killed in after this week’s tragic events. Horns were honking everywhere, people were cheering, sirens were flashing. As I pulled ever closer, I saw her. Standing out on the corner waving stood a little girl about 4 years old. Wearing her fathers fireman’s jacket it draped down over her ankles. On her head stood his helmet, which she wore proudly.

It draped down over the confines of her face, shadowing everything but the tip of her nose and her perky mouth. In her hands she grasped a little red plastic fireman’s hat that I remembered from youth. As I pulled up next to her, I rolled down my window and beckoned her forth. I just knew I had found the person I must give it to. I scooped up the money sitting on the passenger seat next to me and put it in her little hat. Her mom looked down, I saw her eyes widen a bit and a rather quick, “Tell her God Bless You” escaped softly from her lips.

As the light changed and cleared for me to drive forth, the last words I heard was the high squeal of “God Bless You” emerge from this girls lips. I knew whatever darkness that had overshadowed my thoughts of the morn had disappeared into that bright light I felt emerging gloriously within my heart now.

Whatever you are doing today — whether it be work, school or simply nothing at all. I hope we as a nation can remember that day. Just as a nation I hope we can somehow unite more in the future.

What shall I be doing? I shall simply step from that curb and look at my neighbors and smile — and remember the spirit of that little girl. Perhaps that unknown smile shall just make someone’s day a little brighter.

Perhaps.