Alaskan Snapchat

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First and foremost, let me make it very clear, I have encountered insects in, around, on and throughout the tundra as I photographed.  I know, I’ve already written about them.  But, this has been no ordinary insect experience.  In my observations, they swarm around me and my head more than they do most people in Alaska.  One day there was a beautiful rainbow that arced completely across the tundra.  I didn’t even try to take a photograph of it.  The insects were just too awful that evening. A little earlier, I tried to photograph some food outdoors.  I wasn’t sure if I had the photo that I wanted, but I fled back inside to a bug-free safety zone hopeful that I had one.  A simply beautiful rainbow was not enough to lure me back outside with my camera.  It wasn’t worth it.

The weather has changed quickly during my brief stay in Alaska.  It was short-sleeved T-shirt weather when I first arrived in King Salmon.  I came prepared with mostly long-sleeved T-shirts for my trip.  They worked just as well.  But, summer has passed and winter is just around the corner.  There should be snow and serious freezing in early October. 

My sister said that on some crisp mornings, she enjoyed seeing frost-covered spider webs on her way to work. Now, she usually leaves to prepare breakfast at six o’clock in the morning.  At that time, I have no desire to even think about breakfast and I especially have no desire to prepare it.  (Not that they would want me in the kitchen.) But, one morning, well after my sister left for the dining hall, I rolled out of bed to seek out spider webs.  It was well before the morning sun warmed things up.  Alas, I saw no spider webs!  But, I found a beautiful discovery on the tundra anyway.  Behind my sister’s home is a relatively easily accessed area of the tundra.  It’s beautiful.  So many different kinds of vegetation grow in this small area.  Every square yard is a new discovery.  On this particular morning, everything was covered with frost!

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Fishermen who come to Alaska are wise enough to come prepared for the visit.  They have warm protective hats.  I can describe my Fedora as stylish, but “warm” never comes to mind as the proper adjective.  These sportsmen come with raincoats, thermal layers of clothing and waders to protect themselves from water.  I don’t fish.  I don’t fake it.  I don’t pretend to be interested in the activity.  I have none of the expected equipment. 

But, what I lack in proper winter fishing gear, I more than make up for in motivation.  I needed – not wanted, needed – to take a photograph of chocolate moose.  (By the way, I know that any other place you spell it “mousse”, but not while in Alaska.)  And, the only way to get the right photo of this dessert was to roll around on the frost-covered tundra.  I didn’t squat, sit or kneel.  That wouldn’t work.  I had to lie down on the frost-covered vegetation to get just the right angle.  And, I did.

If you look at a map of the Pacific rim, Alaska isn’t all that far from Russia and Japan.  But, I can’t say that I ever thought about it very much.  However, during my stay in Alaska, the U.S. Gulf Coast had a hurricane or two, and on the other side of the planet, Japan had a typhoon.  And, news flash, weather in Japan influences things in Alaska – especially when there are typhoons.

I have experienced typhoons up close and personal when I lived in the Philippines.  I’ve seen the winds blowing rain left to right and tree tops as well.  Instead of snow days, school was canceled for typhoons in Manila.  The after-effects of a Japanese typhoon in Alaska were nothing compared to what I saw in the Philippines.  But, the winds and rain blew terribly for two days and I simply couldn’t imagine getting on a fishing boat in that weather.  Of course, honestly, I can’t imagine wanting to spend time on a fishing boat under blue skies and tropical sunshine either.  Anyway, it was stormy but nothing stops a fisherman.

Nothing stops a photographer either.

When there was a break in the weather, I headed out to the tundra with a blueberry cheesecake bar in hand.  I knew where I wanted to take the picture.  There was one patch of very red vegetation that I knew would look great with that dessert.  And, I was right.  But, I have to say that it was one of my more challenging photographing experiences in Alaska.  The wind blew my hat off multiple times.  The rain-drenched vegetation did exactly what you would expect it to do to my jacket and jeans.  But, I dipped a dollop of whipped cream and drizzled homemade sauce over the dessert. Then, I wallowed around in the wet tundra to get just the right photograph.  The second one I snapped was the winner.  Still, I fought the wind and weather to take about forty more photos in multiple locations.  However, my instincts were correct.  The photo I wanted to take all along was the one that worked best.

However, my most memorable trial with my camera had nothing to do with insects, frost or typhoons.  It had to do with faulty memory.  When I lived in Morocco, I learned that these moments were called “brain farts”.  I’ve always thought that was a pretty good description.

Sad to say, I farted.

Not that you would ask for specific details whenever anyone does this, but you’re going to get them anyway.  My sister called me one morning to tell me that there was a particularly beautiful sunrise over the lake.  Of course, that got me out of bed quicker than any breakfast preparations ever could.  Usually, I take photos with my camera set on automatic.  I wish I knew more about using the manual features.  I certainly should by this point in my life.  But, I rely on an artist’s eye and PhotoShop for my photographs.  However, to get a sunrise, I knew that I needed to use manual options and adjust the shutter speed.

Later in the morning, when the lighting was better and I should be awake, I ventured outside to photograph Caribou Chili on the tundra.  As I’ve described before, it really isn’t easy for me to walk on the tundra.  The surface is kind of soft and mushy.  It strains my calf muscles very quickly.  But, I’m willing to endure some pain to get the photos I need.  

an Alaskan sunrise worth waking up to see