Upcoming Trips
Sept. 2008 Alaska:
I will again be heading to Alaska. While there I plan to Visit Denali N.P. Photograph Alaskan Brown Bears as they feast on spawning Silver Salmon in Lake Clark N.P. and will end the trip with a couple of day cruise's in Prince William Sound and Kenai Fjords N.P.
Oct. 2008 Michigan's U.P.:
This October I will be making what is becoming an annual pilgrimage to Michigan's Upper Peninsula to photograph the world-class fall colors. I will be doing this trip with a group of local photographers and members of the Riveredge Nature Centers Photo Club "Photographers Anonymous". This year the trip will center around the Porcupine Mountains State Park and the shore of Lake Superior.
Yellowstone and Grand Tetons 2007:
2007 was a great year In which I made two trips to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. One at the end of May and then again in Early October. In May Scott Stewart accompanied me. I let him tag along because he has a bigger (600mm) lens than my 500mm, I thought might come in handy! Actually despite spending a week together in close quarters we got along great and are planning a trip to Alaska in Sept. 2008.
The timing of the trip in May was to photography newborn wildlife. We were successful at photographing baby Bison and Coyote's, we also photographed Moose, Elk, Mule Deer, Big Horn Sheep, Prong Horn, Black Bear and Grizzly Bear including a sow nursing her 3 yearling cubs.
In October photographed antlers, lots of big antlers. I didn't see quite the variety of animals as in May but I did photograph Moose, Black Bear, Pronghorn and some huge Elk.
Click here to see some Teton Scenics.
Polar Bears November 2006:
In November of 2006 I Traveled to Churchill, Manitoba Canada on the shore of Hudson Bay. Churchill isn't an easy place to get to, there are no roads to get you there. The only ways to get there are by boat, train or airplane. I flew in on a chartered plane from Winnipeg.
In Churchill we stayed in a modest but comfortable hotel, which also doubled as the local Sears catalog store. There aren't many stores in Churchill so most clothes and household items are ordered through the sears catalog. Each evening we ate at a different restaurant and had excellent and filling meals.
The Polar Bears congregate on the shore of Hudson Bay in November waiting for the ice to freeze so that they can go out on the bay to hunt for ringed seals. There isn't a lot of food for the bears on shore so they get very little to no nurishment from the time the ice goes out in late spring until it refreezes in Fall. Global warming is extending the time between ice out and refreeze causing the bear to go extra long without food.
I spent four days on the tundra in the relative comfort of a Tundra Buggy. Picture a large square bus like vehicle with ~ 5 foot flotation tires underneath keeping the chassis about 6 feet off the ground. The buggies have natural gas fireplaces for warmth. With the temperatures outside reaching down to -10 degrees f and 30 MPH winds the heat was very welcome.
I spent most of my time outside on the rear deck of the buggy. I found that easier then shooting out of a window. Each day we witnessed bears in all sorts of behaviors from napping in "fox holes" dug into the kelp on the shore, sunning themselves by stretching out on the tundra (-10 isn't cold for a polar bear). Young adults were sparring to test each others strength. All the bears were constantly checking the ice to see if it was ready, and also checking out the tundra buggies hoping for a snack which we did not provide.
To see images of the bears click here.
Michigan Upper Peninsula 2005/2006:
In October 2005 and again in June of 2006 I joined a group of friends from Photographers Anonymous photo club on trips to Michigan?s Upper Peninsula. In October we photographed the amazing fall colors in the Hiawatha National Forest and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. In June we visited the Keweenaw Peninsula where we photographed Scenics and copper mining ruins.
Click here for Copper Minning Ruins
Dances with Caribou 2005:
At the end of August in 2005 I traveled to the Northwest Territories on a trip called "Dances with Caribou" by the outfitter. As you can guess from the name the main purpose of this trip was to photograph migrating Caribou and hopefully a few Musk Ox.
I flew from Milwaukee to Minneapolis to Edmonton and finally to Yellowknife. After overnighting in Yellowknife we flew on a Chartered plane to a small native village.
Lutsel K'e (place of small fish), formerly know as Snowdrift with a population 377 is located on a peninsula extending into Christie Bay on the south shore of the East Arm of the Great Slave Lake, and is 201 air km east of Yellowknife. Lutsel K'e is the most northerly Chipewyan community.
From Lutsel K'e we flew by float plane to our camp. The flight was about an hour over complete wilderness with absolutely no signs of civilization. The first thing our pilot did was showed use were the survival gear was kept. In this country there was nothing more important.
The rest of the trip was amazing, the land was tundra and just beautiful in it?s own way. The wildlife on the other hand was disappointing. For what ever reason the Caribou who travel over this ground during there normal yearly migration never showed up this particular year. We don't know if the herd was behind schedule or if it took a different route.
Our outfitter did take us up in the float plane to look for the heard. We found a few small groups but never found the heard.
Click here to see Scenics from this trip
Click here to see Northern Lights from this trip
Alaska June 2004:
In June of 2004 I fulfilled one of my life's ambitions by making my first trip to Alaska. During the two week period I photographed Costal Brown Bears in Lake Clark National Park, spent time in Denali National Park, and toured the Kenai Peninsula. I will be going back to Alaska in Sept. 2008.
To see scenics from the trip click here.
To See Bears from Lake Clark National Park Click Here
Southwest, May & June 2003
For a few weeks at the end of May and early June 2003 I visited the Southwest. On the way out I followed the route of historic hwy 66 from Illinois to Arizona. Along the way I made a stop at Oklahoma City to see the National Memorial.
In Arizona I photographed the Painted Desert, Petrified Forest, and the Grand Canyon. In Utah I photographed, Zion, Capital Reef, Red Rock Canyon, Bryce Canyon and Arches National Parks. On the way home I drove through Rocky Mountain National Park.
The photo opportunities in this part of the country are endless and this is definitely a trip that is on my short list of places I need to get back to.
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