Swan Symmetry

Good morning from Eagle River Valley.

For the life of me, I can't imagine a better way to begin the day than in the grace of a trumpeter swan. Once again, a moose passed behind the swan but they did not line up for me today. I would have gladly stayed longer but I have obligations - I am photographing a wedding at Sheep Mountain today.

Some days, things just line up...

There are days when everything lines up for me, quite literally. In this case, it was a trumpeter swan and a bull moose in the same frame. First I saw the swan, which was surprising since I have not seen one here in Eagle River Valley since April 10 of this year. As I was photographing the swan I heard something crashing in the distance, which caught both of our attention. Shortly thereafter the moose came into view, walked along the water’s edge and stopped right behind the swan, setting up a rare photo opportunity. In the midst of all this a pair of greater yellowlegs flew onto the scene but I politely told them they would to have to wait their turn to be photographed.

Sockeye Fire

Fire is one of the most ravenous, destructive, horrific and yet beautifully renewing forces in nature. This is from last night as the sun set next to Mount Foraker in the Alaska Range, through the immense cloud of smoke rising from the Sockeye Fire in Willow. Based on the weather forecast, it doesn't look like Mother Nature is going to offer any assistance in controlling this blaze in the coming days.

Bears in the 'hood...

We've had no shortage of bear sightings this spring at the Nature Center, both black and brown/grizzly. We see this young black bear just about every day, fortunately he hasn't been a nuisance and generally runs away if you whistle and make noise. 'Bear' this in mind if you are planning a hike, make lots of noise and take precautions but don't let it stop you from enjoying the great outdoors.

Summer Photography Class at the Nature Center

What a scorching day we had yesterday for a summer photography class!! This is the crew of wonderful folks that I led around, hopefully they learned a thing or two along the way. I will be offering another course on Saturday, September 19 if you or anyone you know might be interested. It's an all-day class, covering basic camera functions and then putting that knowledge to use outside with the autumn colors. The cost is $95 and as soon as it is on the Nature Center's website I will post it here.

Cheers,

Colin

"Butterfly By"

While out on my morning hike today, I stopped to appreciate some of the smaller creatures of the forest and the following lines popped into my head. Here it is, for your amusement:

Butterfly By

"I paused to rest along the trail today and lowered my pack when I noticed a butterfly by.

Suddenly there was another, and another, and then there were three butterflies by.

I reached for my camera but when I looked up they were gone, there were no butterflies by.

There I was, holding my camera, waiting for a butterfly to fly by.

Within minutes a butterfly flew by, followed by another, and another, and another, and another…

Before long there were one, two, three, four, five butterflies by."

~Colin Tyler Bogucki~

(Steps back, clears throat, drops , fist raised in peace sign...)

Ferns in Motion

Cloudy, windy days generally don't produce good photographs but if you turn away from the big picture and take a closer look at the forest, there will always be something interesting to discover. In this case, I noticed the ferns blowing in the wind. A slow shutter followed by fill flash to add definition seems to have captured the image I had in mind.

Dall's Porpoise

Another shot from last weekend - the Dall’s porpoise. If you’ve ever spent time in Prince William Sound it’s likely you saw these little cetaceans swimming alongside the boat. They are playful creatures that resemble a small orca (killer whale) and love to circle around and dive underneath the bow while you are moving, cruising along at speeds over 30 mph, which makes them a challenge to photograph. From time to time, if I’m lucky, I press the shutter at the right moment and freeze the action as one darts past.

Humpback Breach

Had a great weekend in Prince William Sound, topped off with a brief whale show Sunday afternoon. I believe that if everyone in the could experience a breaching humpback, we would have world peace.

10-Stop Neutral Density Filter

Innovation is what separates true creativity from mediocrity, and I am always searching for means to expand my horizons and find new perspectives on familiar scenes, so I picked up a new piece of camera gear recently – a 10-stop neutral density filter - after hearing reviews from a fellow photographer. What it does, basically, is slow the light coming through the lens, requiring a longer shutter speed to make an exposure. This photograph was taken just after sunset two nights ago. Without the filter, it would have required a half second exposure but with the filter, it became an 8-minute exposure, thereby creating the smooth texture in the flowing water and the clouds streaking across the sky. I look forward to discovering more of what this new filter has to offer, stay tuned for more…

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Late Season Auroras

Apparently the aurora-chasing season isn't quite over yet! We had a nice display around 1:00-1:30 this morning and I was set up in a new location across Eagle River Valley. The window of viewing opportunity is narrow right now, with only a few hours of semi-dark skies. In just a matter of days, the nighttime sky will be too bright to view them again until late summer. I was wading in Eagle River here, shooting straight down the valley to the northwest. As you can see, the twilight is still glowing well after sunset.

Online Store →

Dear Friends,

I have launched the online store to my website!! This has been another big project that I am happy to have completed. Ordering prints is now a simple process. I also added a "Shop Now" button to the Facebook page that links directly to the store. Please continue to share my work with your friends and family and know that when you promote what I do, you are helping to fund my next adventure. Thank you for all of your continued love and support!

Cheers,
Colin

My New Hero

Meet Dr. Beth Baker - pulmonary specialist, dog musher, adventurer, musician, world traveler, ornithology expert and all around incredible human being. She volunteers here at the Eagle River Nature Center - Volunteer of the Year in 2010, as a matter of fact, and if you were at our "Evening with the Stars" event back in February, you heard her playing the harp during dinner. On my way home from Anchorage last night I noticed a person cleaning trash on the roadside when I exited the Glenn Highway, as I drove past I realized it was Beth. Immediately I pulled over to talk with her and learned that she collects 20 bags of trash per year along this route, on her own volition. She has not “adopted” this section of highway nor does she seek recognition for her efforts, she simply does her part to make the world a better place.

So, the next time you pass a pile of trash and shake your head in disgust, maybe think about stopping to pick it up, even if it isn’t your responsibility. This planet is our shared home, and individually, we are all responsible to care for it.

Barrow's Goldeneye, May 1, 2015

Apparently the Barrow's goldeneyes have not left the vicinity of the Eagle River Nature Center, as I had previously reported. I went out this morning hoping to photograph a bear and instead happened upon this little guy. He was a bit skittish at first and swam away but I was able to quietly inch my way closer and get down on my belly for an eye-level view, all the while looking back over my shoulder in case the bear should show up while I was sprawled out.

This is a surprisingly accurate representation of me photographing a pair of trumpeter swans:

A couple weeks ago, while I was out photographing the trumpeter swans at the Nature Center, there was a group of 50 kindergartners here for a class field trip. As they were approaching me, the swans were just a few feet away and I thought if anything would scare them off, it would be this group of 4 and 5 year-olds. To my surprise, they were incredibly quiet and did not disturb the swans at all. We recently received thank you cards drawn by the kids, most of them had a swan in the center but this one even included me in the picture - that's me on the lower left, crouched down in front of my tripod. My compliments to the little artist (can't quite decipher the name).