Alaska tips, please! (Page 2): Thanks! I'm on an inside passage cruise - what do you think the chances are for Northern Lights (ooohhh--yes, please!!)...

BeachLady Loc: Surfside Beach, SC

jimvanells wrote:

Do take your big zoom, you will be glad you did. My wife and I have been to AK six times and the big lens was absolutely a necessity for those once in a lifetime shots. For landscapes I used a 24-105 and on whale watching I used a 70-200 f 2.8. Now I will use a 100-500 and still use the 24-105 for landscape. If you can see the Northern Lights, use the fastest lens you have and 1-15 second exposures. I use a 16-35 f 2.8 with excellent results.

Thanks! I'm on an inside passage cruise - what do you think the chances are for Northern Lights (ooohhh--yes, please!!)

BeachLady Loc: Surfside Beach, SC

bsprague wrote:

I'm on my way back from a 30 day RV trip in Alaska... (show quote)

Thanks for the great tips! I'll have my GoPro for the waterproof needs. How DARE those animals not pose for you? Didn't they know how far you came just to see them??

BeachLady Loc: Surfside Beach, SC

[quote=ncribble]Beach Lady, you have every reason to be excited. Expect your trip to be awesome. We'd driven up three times over the years and your question was about lens to take, your 24 105, and 10 24 will cover 95% of your opportunities.

Thanks for the confirmation - tripod added to the list! Handholding the 600 gets heavy and backbreaking pretty quickly these days! ESPECIALLY if I have to tote it very far!! LOL!

ncribble Loc: Albuquerque, NM

BeachLady wrote:

Thanks! I'm on an inside passage cruise - what do you think the chances are for Northern Lights (ooohhh--yes, please!!)

None, Go back in September or even better January. January may push a BeachLady however, as it is Cold, even Colder than Cold

Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV

BeachLady wrote:

Thanks! I'm on an inside passage cruise - what do you think the chances are for Northern Lights (ooohhh--yes, please!!)

Northern lights are iffy in the winter, they don't happen in the summer. I lived up there for two years and saw decent (photo worthy) Northern lights twice. In the summer you only get about four hours of twilight, no real night. I used a 200~500 zoom for bears and it was plenty but certainly not too long. I hate to be a wet blanket but, while beautiful, the inside passage cruise is a very small slice of Alaska and you will probably come back with a false sense of what Alaska is. The interior is Alaska!

CamB Loc: Juneau, Alaska

BeachLady wrote:

I'm headed to Alaska in 3 weeks. Deciding what to take in way of gear. I'll be cruising, but day excursions will include float plane & helicopter (yes, high shutter speed!) and some walking and a dog sled. Hoping for shots of a black bear fishing for his supper. Thanks in advance!

I do photography tours in Juneau for people on cruise ships. We take a hike and then go whale watching. If you were traveling to Alaska on your own or with a photography tour group I would carry all the gear they allowed, but for life on one of the big ships with port stops and day trips there is no need for that 600mm lens. Maximum useful size on my tours (land and sea, whales and bears) would be 400 and a fast 70-200 coupled with some shorter lenses would be just fine. You can't use a tripod on a timed tour or a boat or carry one in any useful way on a float plane or helicopter. If you were to do a day trip to a bear viewing area I would want a tripod but if you haven't booked one of these I would leave the tripod home.
...Cam

coolhanduke Loc: Redondo Beach, CA

Whatever you can fit into your list of gear. Tri would obviously be more stable for the long lens. But if you are trying to photograph an eagle in flight, a mono might be more maneuverable. I have a Siri that works both ways.
A telescopic one would be best for the type of tours you might take.
We were on a cruise and I used my 200-500mm quite a lot.

BeachLady Loc: Surfside Beach, SC

Retired CPO wrote:

Northern lights are iffy in the winter, they don't... (show quote)

It will still be a good trip, and a starting point for a future trip! Sorry the Northern lights won't honor me!

BeachLady Loc: Surfside Beach, SC

coolhanduke wrote:

Whatever you can fit into your list of gear. Tri would obviously be more stable for the long lens. But if you are trying to photograph an eagle in flight, a mono might be more maneuverable. I have a Siri that works both ways.
A telescopic one would be best for the type of tours you might take.

Thanks - good advice.

coolhanduke Loc: Redondo Beach, CA

We enjoyed our cruise but if we were to go again we would like to go to Ketchikan for like a week and use it as a base to site see other areas and take photo tours.
Enjoy your trip!

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

Longshadow wrote:

Confused. What does Venous Blood Gas have to do with fishing?

Vbg=very Big grin

joecichjr Loc: Chicago S. Suburbs, Illinois, USA

ncribble wrote:

Beach Lady, you have every reason to be excited. ... (show quote)

Exceptional shooting

And was that another photographer he was gnawing on

hpucker99 Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

BeachLady wrote:

Thanks! I'm on an inside passage cruise - what do you think the chances are for Northern Lights (ooohhh--yes, please!!)

Probably too light for the Northern Lights this time of the year. In Anchorage, the latest I saw them was early May and the earliest was in September. The sun doesn't get far enough below the horizon to get dark enough. But check the aurora forecasting websites at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute or NOAA. There may be a big storm coming when you are there and they forecast a few weeks out.

BeachLady Loc: Surfside Beach, SC

CamB wrote:

I do photography tours in Juneau for people on cru... (show quote)

Thank you! I do have a couple of day (or 1/2 day) trips scheduled, from Juneau I think it is helicopter to dog sledding. I know I can't use a tripod on the plane or chopper, but I was wondering about being able to carry one along (and then have it during the walking portion.) Maybe a monopod would be of more use?

BeachLady Loc: Surfside Beach, SC

hpucker99 wrote:

Probably too light for the Northern Lights this time of the year. In Anchorage, the latest I saw them was early May and the earliest was in September. The sun doesn't get far enough below the horizon to get dark enough. But check the aurora forecasting websites at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute or NOAA. There may be a big storm coming when you are there and they forecast a few weeks out.

thanks! I'll check out that webpage!