Friday, September 5, 2008

Denali Park and Preserve Landscapes

The most amazing thing about shooting at Denali National Park and Preserve is that there are constant opportunities to make photographs. Wildlife is fun and exciting to shoot. But wait. There's more! The terrain is absolutely magical! Two of the below photos were taken at the same time I was photographing two bull moose hanging out together. The mountains, rivers, tundra, and forest all make for a constant stunning experience. The moments come with weather, light and objects in the foreground.
---Be sure to click a photo if you would like to see it bigger.---A view of the Tundra Wilderness Tour bus turn around at Stony Hill. This is one of the best places in the park to view Denali. The bus goes to Toklat when the mountain is hidden by clouds, and 8 miles farther, when it is visible.
A stream runs off the Alaska Mountain Range near the 64 mile mark approacing Eielson Visitor Center.
Rain moves across the Alaska Mountain Range near as seen from the road to the Wonder Lake Campground.
Jay saw this as we were traveling back from Wonder Lake Campground. He said, "looks like we are in Ireland."
The sun sets behind the hills above Wonder Lake.
The variety of terrain is amazing.
Alaskan Fireweed. By the time it finishes blooming, summer is officially over. It was August 15.
A tour bus winds around a pass as seen from the Polychrome Rest Area. I missed a better shot here. There were three visitors in the foreground to the right of the road (below). I was praying for a bus to happen by then but no luck.Wouldn't it be great if the bus was in this photo?
Rain comes and goes so fast. Here, Wonder Lake get replenished.
The clouds constantly bring isolated rays of sunshine in the park.
A late evening view of the Alaska Mountain Range.
This is the same place and time where the two moose were photographed together. They are in the picture but not visible with the use of a 14mm wide angle lens as opposed to the 600 mm lens used to photograph the moose.
An isolated weather system moves across the horizon near the 80 mile mark. This was also taken while I was shooting the two moose.
A tour bus provides scale to the Alaskan Mountain Range near the Teklanika River.