Quick intro and a question
Jan 2, 2017 14:24:46 #
I'm so glad I found this forum, great info and friendly.
I'm a 55 year old retired detective, & have always loved the outdoors,
taken up wildlife photography in the last couple years.
I use a Canon 70D, 400mm prime and just got a Tamron 150-600mm G2
My wife and I are planning an Alaska trip this summer, we've never been there
before and couldn't be more excited or confused.
We plan to fly into Anchorage, rent a car and head south. I'm looking for advice on
places to stay, see, and avoid. We plan on being there for about 10 days and for me
it's going to be a wildlife photography vacation.
Thank you and Happy New Year
Bob
I'm a 55 year old retired detective, & have always loved the outdoors,
taken up wildlife photography in the last couple years.
I use a Canon 70D, 400mm prime and just got a Tamron 150-600mm G2
My wife and I are planning an Alaska trip this summer, we've never been there
before and couldn't be more excited or confused.
We plan to fly into Anchorage, rent a car and head south. I'm looking for advice on
places to stay, see, and avoid. We plan on being there for about 10 days and for me
it's going to be a wildlife photography vacation.
Thank you and Happy New Year
Bob
Jan 2, 2017 14:38:24 #
Welcome Bob.
So you are going to rent a car in Anchorage and drive south? No cruiseship? I can't give advice on this kind of journey other than to bring a wide range of lenses. Your G2 zoom will cover a lot so some standard zooms ranging from 10mm on up to 200mm will just about cover your bases. You should get a lot of snaps of various scenery, towns, bays, mountains, etc. Bring something to keep your equipment dry. It rains a lot in southern Alaska. I stayed in Ketchikan AK for almost a year. Rained or snowed every day. Don't expect to get any National Geographic heart stopping pictures, just try to be prepared to get the shot. Don't get lazy, take your camera with you every time you get out of the car. You never know when you might get that image that might make your trip exciting.
So you are going to rent a car in Anchorage and drive south? No cruiseship? I can't give advice on this kind of journey other than to bring a wide range of lenses. Your G2 zoom will cover a lot so some standard zooms ranging from 10mm on up to 200mm will just about cover your bases. You should get a lot of snaps of various scenery, towns, bays, mountains, etc. Bring something to keep your equipment dry. It rains a lot in southern Alaska. I stayed in Ketchikan AK for almost a year. Rained or snowed every day. Don't expect to get any National Geographic heart stopping pictures, just try to be prepared to get the shot. Don't get lazy, take your camera with you every time you get out of the car. You never know when you might get that image that might make your trip exciting.
Jan 2, 2017 14:57:54 #
BobinSDakota wrote:
I'm so glad I found this forum, great info and fri... (show quote)
Leave the prime at home. You will NEED a wider lens, maybe you got the 70D kit with the 18-135mm Canon lens? That would make for a great pair of lenses to cover the need. Since you are driving South that can only mean the Kebab peninsula and Homer, Seward areas . Lots of opportunities and try and take at least ONE boat excursion, well worth it.
Jan 2, 2017 15:50:25 #
Bram boy
Loc: Vancouver Island B.C. Canada
Bring the prime , you have a car it's not like packing every thing on your back , it's more like a 600 mm on a dx camera . the 70d is a dx camera is it not , any way your eagle shots at the water front will be better if it's a canon prime , but bring them all
Jan 2, 2017 16:06:22 #
You'd be doing well if you can get some images like this. Here's something to look at and maybe strive for. It's not Nat Geo stuff, but nice to look at.
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-432882-1.html
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-432882-1.html
Jan 2, 2017 16:07:07 #
Jan 2, 2017 16:26:56 #
Jan 3, 2017 06:14:07 #
billnikon
Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont
BobinSDakota wrote:
I'm so glad I found this forum, great info and fri... (show quote)
Google "Alaska department of tourism" and you will find more information than you can handle. And phone numbers for folks you can chat with that will give you detailed and up to date information on everything Alaska.
Jan 3, 2017 06:55:26 #
Get a Canon 10-18mm wide angle for the incredible scenery! We did this trip a few years back and it was magnificent! Rented a car and went to Denali National Park, then down to Seward, and then over to Homer for a few days. I did this because my father had done the cruise and told us he really would have liked to have "seen more of Alaska". There is spectacular scenery at every turn - thus the recommendation for a wide-angle lens! At Denali you cannot drive into the park, but the full-day bus trip was well worth the time - never boring, lots of stops for photography, and we saw wolves, a grizzly, caribou, and moose.
Alaska in the summer is pretty saturated with visitors - still never too crowded unless you are with a cruise ship group I think - but make sure you have reservations - it may be getting late. Things are expensive. If you are not familiar with VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner) check that out! We rented a 3-bedroom cedar home just outside of Homer for what we would have paid for a decent hotel room! (We were a couple with two teenaged kids so this was nice). Having a place with a kitchen is really nice because eating out is very expensive - even a hearty breakfast for four was almost $100 with tip! (but then, teenagers need a lot of fuel, you know!)
The road from Anchorage to Seward is fantastic with lots of places to stop and see/photograph along the way - plan a whole day. In Seward you can hike up to the Exit Glacier (and keep hiking up to the ice field if you are good for it!). The bay tour/whale-watching trip is good, and a visit to the Sea Life Museum right in town is worth it. In Homer you can spend a day sea kayaking, and it is famous for halibut fishing trips. If you have the bucks and plan ahead you can spend a day traveling on a float plane to Kenai National Park to photograph the grizzly bears (about $550 back then, and reservations a must).
We did not find mosquitoes to be a big problem, but took along the little DEET wipes just in case - they are easy to use and not greasy.
It is a long trip. Alaska is expensive. But I would go back in a heartbeat if there just weren't so many places on "the list"!
Alaska in the summer is pretty saturated with visitors - still never too crowded unless you are with a cruise ship group I think - but make sure you have reservations - it may be getting late. Things are expensive. If you are not familiar with VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner) check that out! We rented a 3-bedroom cedar home just outside of Homer for what we would have paid for a decent hotel room! (We were a couple with two teenaged kids so this was nice). Having a place with a kitchen is really nice because eating out is very expensive - even a hearty breakfast for four was almost $100 with tip! (but then, teenagers need a lot of fuel, you know!)
The road from Anchorage to Seward is fantastic with lots of places to stop and see/photograph along the way - plan a whole day. In Seward you can hike up to the Exit Glacier (and keep hiking up to the ice field if you are good for it!). The bay tour/whale-watching trip is good, and a visit to the Sea Life Museum right in town is worth it. In Homer you can spend a day sea kayaking, and it is famous for halibut fishing trips. If you have the bucks and plan ahead you can spend a day traveling on a float plane to Kenai National Park to photograph the grizzly bears (about $550 back then, and reservations a must).
We did not find mosquitoes to be a big problem, but took along the little DEET wipes just in case - they are easy to use and not greasy.
It is a long trip. Alaska is expensive. But I would go back in a heartbeat if there just weren't so many places on "the list"!
Jan 3, 2017 06:59:16 #
Jan 3, 2017 07:03:48 #
Jan 3, 2017 07:25:17 #
Hello bob, welcome to UHH. Have a great trip, look forward to seeing some of your photos.
Jan 3, 2017 07:32:03 #
Bob, from one old cop to another, gety a wider lens. I have a Tamron 28-70 on a T3i that I used for last summers foray into Rocky Mountain National Park. It got the most use, and at 28mm. The Tamron 70-300 mostly stayed in the bag as the field of view is just too narrow. The 28-35mm range give a great field of view, just what you want for scenery shots. I have sense added a Sigma 10-20 and it too does a wonderful job. And it seems sharper than the Tamron's.
I packed all my lenses but never got the oppurtunity to use the Macro's. Still they were there just in case.
I left all the filters home by mistake and that turned out ok also.
Enjoy your retirement.
Ken
I packed all my lenses but never got the oppurtunity to use the Macro's. Still they were there just in case.
I left all the filters home by mistake and that turned out ok also.
Enjoy your retirement.
Ken
Jan 3, 2017 07:52:08 #
Szalajj
Loc: Salem, NH
Before you leave Anchorage to head South, you need to visit what used to be called Denali National Park. I was only able to go as far as the entrance gates because we were there too early in the spring it was only mid-April, and the road was still closed and snow covered. There is a tremendous amount of wildlife along the roads leading from Anchorage to the park.
We did drive south to Seward while we were there for a day trip, but it rained the whole way down and back. There was a wildlife center on the road down that could be worth the stop in season!
My recollection was that Seward was a sleepy fishing village without much going on, but it was likely because of the time of year that we visited that I was left with that impression! I've also developed my skills and eye for composition since that trip 20+ years ago, and I would see the area with a more educated eye now.
You definitely want to pack rain gear for your camera equipment, even if it's several sets of the disposable plastic kind! There is nothing worse than having your equipment quit on you mid trip, due to excessive moisture!
My trip was back in the days of my film photography in the mid 90's, and lots of changes have occurred in Alaska since then!
You definitely want to read up about the entire area before you fly up there, so that you hit the ground running with a plan of what you want to shoot, and locations that you should get you if time allows! Make sure that you have st least one good Alaska guide book with you, and a detailed road map of the areas you plan to drive through! A GPS unit might land you in the water by accident! It has happened down here in the lower 48!
Also check into available cell phone service! When I was up there in the 90's, cell phones from home didn't work in Akaska! I'm sure that the major carriers have made major strides to get coverage up there by now, but check before you travel to avoid any unwanted or expensive surprises!
Make sure that you have your camera ready to use on the plane, because you will be flying over some spectacular mountains on your way up there! Depending on the time of day you'll be arriving, you'll want to select which side of the plane to sit.
Morning arrival, choose the left side. The sun will light the eastern sides of the mountains.
For an afternoon arrival, choose the right side. The sun will have circled around to light the southern or western slopes of the mountains.
For your return trip, reverse the side of the plane for your seat choice if you're leaving during daylight hours. We left late at night, so there weren't many photo ops until closer to sunrise, so you want the right side of the plane to view the sunrise on objects and formations, or the left side to actually shoot the sunrise and cloud formations.
So choose your seats wisely depending on what time of day your flights are scheduled for!
We did drive south to Seward while we were there for a day trip, but it rained the whole way down and back. There was a wildlife center on the road down that could be worth the stop in season!
My recollection was that Seward was a sleepy fishing village without much going on, but it was likely because of the time of year that we visited that I was left with that impression! I've also developed my skills and eye for composition since that trip 20+ years ago, and I would see the area with a more educated eye now.
You definitely want to pack rain gear for your camera equipment, even if it's several sets of the disposable plastic kind! There is nothing worse than having your equipment quit on you mid trip, due to excessive moisture!
My trip was back in the days of my film photography in the mid 90's, and lots of changes have occurred in Alaska since then!
You definitely want to read up about the entire area before you fly up there, so that you hit the ground running with a plan of what you want to shoot, and locations that you should get you if time allows! Make sure that you have st least one good Alaska guide book with you, and a detailed road map of the areas you plan to drive through! A GPS unit might land you in the water by accident! It has happened down here in the lower 48!
Also check into available cell phone service! When I was up there in the 90's, cell phones from home didn't work in Akaska! I'm sure that the major carriers have made major strides to get coverage up there by now, but check before you travel to avoid any unwanted or expensive surprises!
Make sure that you have your camera ready to use on the plane, because you will be flying over some spectacular mountains on your way up there! Depending on the time of day you'll be arriving, you'll want to select which side of the plane to sit.
Morning arrival, choose the left side. The sun will light the eastern sides of the mountains.
For an afternoon arrival, choose the right side. The sun will have circled around to light the southern or western slopes of the mountains.
For your return trip, reverse the side of the plane for your seat choice if you're leaving during daylight hours. We left late at night, so there weren't many photo ops until closer to sunrise, so you want the right side of the plane to view the sunrise on objects and formations, or the left side to actually shoot the sunrise and cloud formations.
So choose your seats wisely depending on what time of day your flights are scheduled for!
Jan 3, 2017 08:07:30 #
Even with only driving south from Anchorage there will be a lot to do and cover. First stop at Potter's Marsh. Should be all sorts of birds. Take the drive to Whittier, it is a beautiful little town and now accessible by car. Stop by Portage glacier, although the glacier can only be seen by taking a boat out. Head to Seward and take a boat out, either just into the bay or out to the Kenai Fjords. You will definitely see some birds and possibly whales. Stopping by the harbor in Kenai you have the possibility of seeing Beluga whales. Head to the end of the road at Homer. Lots of excursions and hiking available throughout the whole area. Pick up a guide and you can reference the different trails and places along your route.
Most of all, take time to enjoy your trip! Alaska is a beautiful state!
Most of all, take time to enjoy your trip! Alaska is a beautiful state!
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