camera Dave Loc: Aurora Canada

I am leaving on Sunday the 12th on Princess. When do you leave. I am taking 2 cameras, 18-55, 70-300 and 400 prime plus mono pod. Can anyone tell me on the school bus in Denali can the windows drop down or are you shooting through glass.

ferg

I went on this Princ... Cruise last year. My D7200 with the 18-140 lens worked well for everything except the land trip to Fairbanks. The ship gies up glacier Bay and gets very close to the glaciers. The ship rotates at least twice . I was able to shoot from balcony and not have to fight the mob. Would not take tripod. Whale excursion from Juneau was fantastic. Take upoer deck and can move side to side. Great Orca shits. When taking the train excursion through White Pass, get in last car. The platform at the end of car is great for shooting pics. Have fun!

appealnow Loc: Dallas, Texas

Took the cruise this July with a land tour to Denali. On a crop sensor Nikon D5300 I only used the 18-300 mm (translate 450 mm full sensor), F.3.5-6.3 lens, which was everything I needed except for wildlife that was very far away up on mountains. You won't have time to switch lenses. Our ship, the Celebrity Solstice got one mile from the edge of the Tracy Arm glacier. I am posting shots so you can see what I got with the lens. There was some zooming in on the wide shot to frame and get a wire out of the pic.

Tracy Arms glacier from 1 mile away, some zooming


glacier calving, zoomed in most of the way


glacier still calving, new icebergs in water

Streets Loc: Euless, TX.

My advice would be to stay home and watch the National Geographic Channel. They have awesome cameras and cameramen. You will be able to photograph your flat panel T.V. while having a pizza and a craft beer in your man cave. Well, that's what this 84 year old man would do.

lightyear

On several Princess Alaska inside passage cruises I brought my 24-85 and 70-300 VR lenses and a monopod. On the ship I used the 70-300 lens+ monopod for glacier and nearby wildlife, and the 24-85 ashore for the usual tourist shots ( totems, etc>). The circular polarizer improved color especially in the glacier images. Using the VR function eliminated the vibration induced by the ship on the monopod. I was never cold in July/August, but be prepared for unpredictable rain.

Quietcanyon Loc: Canyon Lake, CA

I JUST got back last week from a Princess cruise on the Star Princess. Captain Tuvo was amazing at getting up close and spending lots of time. There was a bear on the shore of an island and he stopped the ship so everyone could see it! I left my Nikons and big lenses at home and took my Sony a6000 with Tamron 18-200 lens and it was perfect for me. Light enough to carry everywhere and just forget it was there. Yes, a bit short to get wildlife on the shore and eagles flying so if you want that you'll want a longer lens. If you're going north from Vancouver you'll be visiting College Fjord. OMG it put on an AMAZING show for us, LOTS of BIG calving! I took lots of photos but it just didn't do it justice, it was just a big 200 foot tall hunk of ice sitting there "frozen" in the image, it didn't look like much. I switched to video mode and that's where the amazing shots were because you could really appreciate the motion, the incredible noise.

Skagway White Pass Railway had amazing photo ops. Get an end car so you can stand outside with a clear view at least one of the directions. Dress warm and it's worth it! If you like flowers Glacier Gardens in Juneau had wonderful opportunities.

Enjoy!!! John

redhogbill Loc: antelope, calif

me and my wife went, we get pretty close, but is actually further away that you think. I used my 24-70mm most of the time on my DF! great time, I would love to do it again, here is a photo at 24mm , I took a 150-600mm and never used it

(Download)

Andrew Slater

I took that cruise last summer and used the Tamron 18-400 on my D5500 and also took my B700. Got pretty much whatever I wanted with that combination. It’s an awesome cruise. The ship got very close to the glaciers in glacier bay as well as the Margery glacier. Enjoy your trip

Arubalou

We are taking the same cruise. Its our first alaskan cruise. I have a d7200 and will bring the 18-140 and 55-300. Possibly a 10-24 also.

MTG44 Loc: Corryton, Tennessee

Just got back from Princess cruise to Alaska,May14-21.They get close to the glaciers and turn the ship to both sides,port and starboard, for a half hour each. I used my 18-300 Sigma and it was perfect. For whales and wildlife I put my Tamron 150-600 and that was good . Anyway have fun.All my shots were taken from my balconey because the weather was bad and could not take any from the upper decks.

bpulv Loc: Buena Park, CA

ANOTHER TIP:

Take a good quality rain cover for your camera.

camera Dave Loc: Aurora Canada

are you doing the land in Anchorage first then the cruise back ?

camera Dave Loc: Aurora Canada

thanks John
Did you do Denali? On the school bus do the windows open or are you shooting through the glass?

ferg

Denali school bus windows only open 3 inches if they open at all. I was shooting through glass except for stops.

Freight Train

I'm a beginner, went on Alaskan cruise two years ago. Didn't use a tripod or other support and didn't regret it. Took several lenses to make sure I could get close enough to the subject. Saw a splash in the water a long way off the boat one day, switched to a telephoto and snapped away. It turned out to be a whale breaching and I caught it's flipper in mid air. For beginners, I think it's more important to see and snap than to ponder settings or equipment. But then I'm a 70+ year old beginner and capturing memories is as important than fine photography. i'm still trying to improve my photo skills, but the memories are still important to me.