I think this was the point I was trying to make. If you have good information in the shadows, you can work with it. I lean to overexposing slightly because it is more effective to reduce the EV. Thanks for stating it more completely than I did ... I tend to be frugal with two-cents at a time.

:) :)

I concede I have not followed the links and read all the articles in depth. I support shooting to the right, yet isn't this giving greater exposure in the shadowed areas? When acquiring in RAW format, I have had excellent results reducing the highlights but if I do not have well exposed shadows, making exposure adjustments on the low end of the histogram results in noise.

I concede I have not followed the links and read all the articles in depth. I support shooting to the right, yet isn't this giving greater exposure in the shadowed areas? When acquiring in RAW format, I have had excellent results reducing the highlights but if I do not have well exposed shadows, making exposure adjustments on the low end of the histogram results in noise.

Expose for shadows, develop for highlights -Ansel Adams

People have asked me why I keep a rubber band around the base of my lens. Handy place for it!

And let me add ... the journey is more important than the end result.

With the advent of the DSLR everyone now has the tool to take a technically perfect picture. The great shots are still elusive. (I am quoting someone and I don't know who, but they said it well.) The camera cannot compose a shot. There is taking a picture, (or) then there is making a photo. Bottom line: the best camera is the one you have.

Hate to say it, but a 60-ish young man with a diaper bag is not necessarily suspicious. There but for the grace of God, and a good surgeon, .....

The elephant seals at San Simeon are shameless posers and very close to a boardwalk that runs down the beach.

I might suggest carrying your gear in something that doesn't make it look like camera gear. Cosmetic cases (tons to be found in thrift stores) make excellent camera cases and are not quick to attract the eye of camera thiefs. Travelling around with a camera on my neck, I like using a shoulder strap and it can be easily arranged so that the camera remains hidden under a coat until you are ready to shoot.

oldtool2 has it exactly right. For my own two-cents, shooting in RAW you gain about 30% more "information" in your file including shooting in a greater color-depth. You gain about two stops of wiggle room (editing head room) toward adjusting exposures. It is amazing what can be done. Yes, shoot in RAW and jpeg for a while, see how responsive RAW files are, and in time you will be shooting all your photos in RAW.

Every season has its draw in Southeast. Starting n April the hooligan run and the feeding frenzy is a symphony at night on the fjords, as the snows pull back, the cabbages melt the winter's ice, and the bears emerge from their dens. The birch bud, the spruce tips royally mantle the great trees, the wildflowers bloom in succession and the hanging glaciers loom over the fjords below. Early summer has the best weather, often. The eagles are always about. The salmon runs in succession from King to Sockeye to Pink in August when the bears really get busy on the river and photographers perk up at the wildlife. Also rain starts to fall in August, often. By late August and early September the foliage dazzles the soul and come October and November when the silver and chum salmon are running in the Chilkat River thousands of eagles congregate for a last feed and act out their dramas shamelessly to the delight of photographers who travel from near and far for the display. Pick any season, they are all great!

Here is an album that moves from May to November last year, to give you an idea: https://picasaweb.google.com/116758701035860297724/Alaska2012

Understand Greg ... the pictures you saw were in the Arctic tundra of the Yukon up the Dempster Highway. It is an epic adventure, to be sure. Glad you enjoyed the smattering.

The Denali Highway is one of the prettiest roads I have ever driven ... and I have driven a lot of them. If you want a sublime adventure and can afford tires and a windshield, try the Dempster Highway up in the Yukon. Here are a few shots I took along the way: https://picasaweb.google.com/116758701035860297724/YukonRoadTrip2012

Greg ... there is a fast ferry that runs back and forth between Skagway and Haines several times a day. We have lots of clients coming over from Skagway for tours of one sort and another. The ferry ride is about 45 minutes each way, and the tour is four hours. With wildlife there are never any guarantees, especially when we are talking about four hours. Generally in early July the best we can hope for is eagles, of which we generally have more than a few. Bears don't tend to be reliably visible before August, when the pink salmon start to run, though last year we had some juveniles who were out and about all summer long. If we have bears they will be brown bears. (The majority of bears at Anan in Wrangell are black bears.) There are lots of shopping opportunities in Haines that will connect your wife with local artists. All our shops are locally owned. I will email you pricing on the tours.