Nature's Designs
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Medial Moraines

River Crossings In Denali National Park

Firn Snow

Alaska's Retreating Glaciers

Muldrow Glacier

 

Polychrome Formations

Buckskin Glacier Slide - My friend Ted Lowery had told me about a unique natural feature in the Alaska Range, and the other day I was able to witness it from the air. It's a rock and earth slide that occurred a couple of years ago near the Buckskin Glacier in the Alaska Range. The earth material moved perpendicular to the flow of the glacier to create a heart that has become increasingly distorted with the flow of the glacier. Still a unique and beautiful design created by natural forces!

Buckskin Glacier Slide

Wake Patterns - Sean's Boston Whaler creates abstract patterns in its wake in Berners Bay.

Wake Patterns

Green Algae - Large strands of green algae are exposed during a recent low tide. The green algae is the most diverse group of algae, with more than 7000 species growing in a variety of habitats. Green algae contain two forms of chlorophyll, which they use to capture light energy to fuel the manufacture of sugars, but unlike plants they are primarily aquatic.

Green Algae

The Changing Tides - <br><br>Walking upon the sand of the beaches in your life.<br><br>You leave marks embedded as you go.<br><br>A mark of your passing which may last forever,<br><br>Or quickly washed away with the changing tide. <br><br>If you leave your mark on the beach,<br><br>Make sure it is one that stands against time,<br><br>A mark that can be viewed with pride,<br><br>Not one to be lost in the changing tides.<br><br><br>Randall Beers

The Changing Tides

 
Driftwood Pile - Battered by the elements and piled up within a larger driftwood pile like whitened bones of a long-dead storm, the root of a large Sitka Spruce tree tells its own story of weathering.

Driftwood Pile

Drip, Drip, Drip - Beautiful ice formations are slowly melting away as another wave of warm weather is hitting our area. There is never a dull moment around here though, as rain quickly can turn into snow, and temperatures seem to bounce around quite widely this winter.

Drip, Drip, Drip

Wind And Snow Blasted Trees - Winds gusting up to 60 miles per hour pounded the high spots on Douglas Island yesterday. Wet snow provided for challenging skiing, but the wind and snow blasted trees created very aesthetic shapes.

Wind And Snow Blasted Trees

Blue Glacial Ice - Glacial ice is so blue because the dense ice of the glacier absorbs every other color of the spectrum except blue. Because the red (long wavelengths) part of white light is absorbed by ice and the blue (short wavelengths) light is transmitted and scattered. The longer the path light travels in ice, the more blue it appears.

Blue Glacial Ice

Agent Of Change - This alder leaf, probably carried by the wind, clings tenaciously to the outer edge of Mendehall Glacier. With the retreat of a glacier, the colonization of the glacial debris begins. This leaf stands as a symbol for all the vegetation that will gradually take hold in a barren environment and fix nitrogen into its developing soil.

Agent Of Change

 
Into The Heart Of Mendenhall Glacier - I finally caught a different glimpse of the Mendenhall Glacier. Heading up along its western moraine, I poked around looking for ice caves. Being limited in time and because I traveled by myself, I did not venture too far, but still far enough to experience the beauty of this surreal abstract dreamlike world. The smooth textures of the underbelly the glacier are in stark contrast to its serrated crevasses that are visible from outside. What an amazing landscape - I will be back!

Into The Heart Of Mendenhall Glacier

Shore Ice - When the ceiling is low, I turn my attention to what is in front of my feet, instead of focusing on the vast vistas. Here, I zeroed in on a piece of shore ice along Mendenhall Lake. I just love ice, in all its shapes and forms.

Shore Ice

Ice Art - Despite of the recent rain the structural integrity of the ice on the lakes appears to be intact. Several inches of ice will not so quickly melt into a puddle.

Ice Art

Liquid Ice - Florian and I have been taking pictures together, him with a little digital point-and-shoot, me with my digital SLR. He usually takes his own shots, but when he saw this scene at Sheep Creek, he wanted me to take a picture of it. Pressure in the ice caused cracks, which allowed water to push to the surface and flow over firm ice before freezing again.

Liquid Ice

Aerial Photograph Or Close-Up? - This picture reminds me of ponds in the tundra up north, but in fact it reflects a sunset on Douglas Island in the gentle waves of Gastineau channel.

Aerial Photograph Or Close-Up?

 
Iron-Stained Water - I photographed the beautiful patterns of this small iron rich body of rocks along the beach near Skaters Cabin on Mendenhall Lake.

Iron-Stained Water

Stuck In the Mud! - Grey overcast skies like we have been having here lately are not a photographers delight, but freezing and thawing action in mud along the shores of Mendenhall Lake has created some neat patterns.

Stuck In the Mud!

Shore Ice - Shore ice forms along Mendenhall Lake, creating intricate patterns and consuming everything in its path.

Shore Ice

Old Man's Beard - An Ecological Indicator - Usnea is the generic and scientific name for several species of lichen which are sometimes referred to commonly as Old Man's Beard, Beard Lichen, or Treemoss. Usnea is very sensitive to air pollution, especially sulfur dioxide. Under bad conditions they may grow no larger than a few millimetres, if they survive at all. Where the air is unpolluted, they can grow to 10-20 cm long.

Old Man's Beard - An Ecological Indicator

Ice Art Shaped By The Elements - The irregular shapes of this stranded ice floe on the shores of Mendenhall Lake are the result of erosion by water and wind. It reminded me of some of the ice art created during the World Ice Championships in Fairbanks. Regardless of whether created by human hands or nature, the life expectancy of ice art is short. This ephemeral piece of ice was there yesterday and gone today.

Ice Art Shaped By The Elements

 
Mendenhall Glacier Ice - A stranded block of ice on a pebble beach along Mendenhall Lake caught my attention on my first walk along the lake since our return. There are not too many places where one can walk a beach and touch ice that was formed thousands of years ago.

Mendenhall Glacier Ice

Teklanika River Freeze-Up - There is no other event that shows the dramatic transition from fall into winter more than the freeze-up of rivers. While the dynamic transformation of water from its fluid to frozen state happens in gradual increments, change is the only constant during this time.

Teklanika River Freeze-Up

Fall Patterns - Flying above Denali National Park offers unique sweeping vistas, but what my eyes get drawn to over and over are those beautiful patters of color, light and shadow.

Fall Patterns

Water Lilies - The water lily is a name which relates to a family of aquatic plants that grow around the borders of many lakes and ponds. Water lilies have floating leaves. There are about 40 species of water lily in the world, plus numerous hybrids and varieties. Some water lily species prefer southerly warmth and are found in temperate and semi-tropical zones, some prefer the cold and are found only in northern Canada and Alaska.<br>

Water Lilies

Accidental Motion - This shot of an aspen forest near Fairbanks was slightly blurred because I couldn't hold the slow shutter speed with the long lens I used, but I actually liked the effect it created. I hope you do to.

Accidental Motion

 
Candle Ice - This shot taken along the Nenana River illustrates a form of disintegrating river ice consisting of ice prisms oriented perpendicular to the original ice surface. These ice fingers may be equal in length to the thickness of the original ice before its disintegration.

Candle Ice

Thin Ice - A thin layer of ice still covers Otto Lake near Healy. The evening sun provided a beautiful splash of light for this shot.

Thin Ice

Spring In The Interior Has Begun! - The ice went out on the Tanana River in Nenana last night. Started in 1917, the 93-year-old Ice Classic is a spring tradition in Alaska. Each winter, thousands of Alaskans pay $2.50 a ticket to guess the exact date and time the ice will go out on the Tanana River at Nenana. A wooden tripod is placed on the ice and connected to a clock on shore by a wire. When the tripod moves a certain distance and pulls the wire tight, it stops the clock. <br><br>

Spring In The Interior Has Begun!

Ephemeral Art - Ephemeral art is by its very nature impermanent. This piece of ice will with time disintegrate and return to the earth. The photograph is the only permanent trace of the transitory existence of ice. This image speaks to the temporal quality of our lives and our relationship to the environment.<br>

Ephemeral Art

Candle Ice - The days are getting warmer, the snow pack is melting away rapidly, yet here and there signs of winter continue to linger, such as this candle ice in the Mendenhall Wetlands.

Candle Ice

 
Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring! - The signs of spring are everywhere, especially as the snow has been melting rather rapidly at lower elevations. Creek bottoms, frozen for most of the winter and buried under a heavy load of snow, suddenly become exposed again.

Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring!

Long Exposure - Exposure means the total amount of light that the sensor of a digital camera receives. Exposure can be controlled by the shutter speed, aperture of the lens (f-stop, or the sensitivity of the sensor (ISO. For this shot, I used slow shutter speed to create a long exposure. A long exposure can be used for example to create a bright photo in low light conditions, such as a shot of the aurora borealis, or to create motion blur to the moving elements of the photograph. I decided to include the rock into my photo as a foreground subject and to use long exposure to create motion blurred water. As a result I got silky smooth water which brings little more interest into the photo.

Long Exposure

Frozen In Time - After being trapped inside the ice for a few months, tiny micro-bubbles of air are waiting to be released again from the melting ice on the Mendenhall River.

Frozen In Time

Mendenhall River Ice Jam - Ice floes cluster in an eddy near the Mendenhall Wetlands. The movement in the river is a sure sign that winter's grip on the land is loosening.

Mendenhall River Ice Jam

Tidal Design - Being around Florian's inquisitive mind is very refreshing and challenging at the same time. Toddlers see the world differently than us adults. They can't grasp scientific explanations yet, so I tend to put more emphasis on discovering the beauty of what we see. For instance, most of us know that tides are the result of the gravitational attraction of the sun and moon that cause waters of the ocean to swell and recede at different parts of the earth. The beauty of it is discovering the various high tidal marks, as revealed for example in this interesting pattern of frozen saltwater at the Douglas harbor.

Tidal Design

 
Gastineau Channel - The sun, piercing at an oblique angle through fog along Gastineau Channel recently, creates a beautiful tapestry of light and shadow.

Gastineau Channel

Nature's Puzzle - Sheets of ice formed around a few exposed rocks in the Mendenhall River this past weekend. In the meantime, a foot of fresh snow has obliterated this scene. Inevitably, rain will wash it all away again, but what I learned in my short time here in Juneau is to go with the flow and enjoy the present, as the only constant in the weather here is change.

Nature's Puzzle

Icy World - Willow branches are covered by a glaze of ice along a waterfall near North Douglas. It feels like entering another world when immersing oneself into such a micro environment.

Icy World

Shaped By The Wind - I am constantly amazed by how the elements shape our environment, such as how prevailing winds created these dune-like patterns up at Eaglecrest.

Shaped By The Wind

When It Rains It Pours - After the powerline when down on Monday, the Zamboni broke down at the Treadwell Arena yesterday and the ice rink is closed indefinitely. To make matters worse, Eaglecrest ski area is closed because of flooding. On a personal level, I have a separated shoulder as a result of an injury sustained in a soccer tournament. When will the madness stop?

When It Rains It Pours

 
Ice Grain Structure - The physics of ice is a fascinating world, like this ice grain structure within this grounded iceberg in Mendenhall Lake. But instead of exploring the molecular structure of ice grains, I would like to quote physicist Albert Einstein: 'What I see in Nature is a magnificent structure that we can comprehend only very imperfectly, and that must fill a thinking person with a feeling of humility.'

Ice Grain Structure

Hoarfrost - Among winter's beauties are the intricate crystals called hoarfrost that form on lakes, branches other objects such as this rock at Mendenhall Lake. Hoarfrost develops when there is more moisture in the air than the air can carry. It consists of crystalline structures that grow from water vapor evaporated from liquid droplets suspended in air. Warming up of the crystals or the air around them causes the demise of the hoarfrost.

Hoarfrost

Kelp Beds - The continuing cold creates beautiful rim frost around kelp beds exposed by the low tide. Kelp, commonly referred to as seaweed, and botanically classified as algae, grows along coastlines around the world. It is a rich source of natural vitamins and minerals, including essential trace minerals.

Kelp Beds

Floating Pebbles - A snowstorm bringing 20 inches of fresh snow overnight and today may likely obliterate these seemingly floating pebbles along Mendenhall Lake. This illusion was created by the reflection of the mountains and sky on the wet glacial silt.

Floating Pebbles

Freeze or Thaw? - Cracks in the form of concentric lines reveal themselves as the ice in this puddle expands and contracts due to changing temperatures.

Freeze or Thaw?

 
Emerging Heart - A heart gradually takes shape in a meadow on Eaglecrest recently. This heart is for you, Greta. Happy Birthday!

Emerging Heart

Frozen In Time - Air bubbles are trapped by a layer of ice along the shores of Mendenhall Lake. Recent warm weather quickly turned these intricate patterns into puddles again.

Frozen In Time

Old Growth - The remnants of a root of an old growth Sitka spruce are exposed along a hiking trail on Douglas Island.

Old Growth

Rime Frost - Rime is ice formed when a damp, icy wind blows over flowers, branches and other surfaces. Rime frost looks like icing around the edge of petals and leaves, and only occurs when the temperatures are very low.

Rime Frost

Frosty Leaves -

Frosty Leaves

 
North Slope -

North Slope

Toklat River - Meandering rivers shift their positions across the valley bottom by depositing sediment on the inside of bends while simultaneously eroding the on the outer banks of the meander bends. This aerial view of the East Fork of the Toklat River shows its movements through time.

Toklat River

Glacial Flour - Glacial flour, very fine ground up rock, colors what appear to be small veins in the Muldrow Glacier in Denali National Park. As glaciers flow down valleys the weight of their ice grind up rocks. Some of the rocks are ground up very small, to the size of a grain of flour.

Glacial Flour

Weathering - This close up aerial view of a ridge in the Polychrome aera in Denali National Park reveals how sedimentary layers have been affected by the weathering processes.

Weathering

Glacial Mix - Glacial till fills in depressions and former crevasses in the Muldrow Glacier created by such natural erosional forces like wind and water.

Glacial Mix

 
Moraine Landscape - Lateral and medial moraines converge on the Eldridge Glacier in Denali National Park to create an intricate network of glacial ice and till. Glaciers act much like a conveyor belt carrying debris from the top of the glacier to the bottom where it deposits it in end moraines.

Moraine Landscape

Moose's Tooth - This image shows a small section of the 5,000-foot face one of the world's great granite mono liths, the Moose's Tooth in Denali National Park.<br>

Moose's Tooth

Glacial Till - Dark glacial till deposits on the Muldrow Glacier in Denali National Park create interesting patterns along its glacial margins. This unconsolidated debris is deposited on top of the glacier by frost shattering of the valley walls and from tributary streams flowing into the valley.

Glacial Till

Natural Chaos - This aerial view of a small portion of the Tokositna Glacier in the Alaska Range reveals a choatic maze of crevasses, canyons, and ice boulders.

Natural Chaos

Glacial Ghost -

Glacial Ghost

 
Fall Colors -

Fall Colors

Denali National Park From The Air -

Denali National Park From The Air

Colorful Transition - As summer ends and autumn comes, the days get shorter and shorter. This is how the trees and plants 'know' to begin getting ready for winter. During winter, there is not enough light or water for photosynthesis. The trees and plants will rest, and live off the food they stored during the summer. They begin to shut down their food-making factories. The green chlorophyll disappears from the leaves. As the bright green fades away, we begin to see yellow and orange colors. Small amounts of these colors have been in the leaves all along. We just cannot see them in the summer, because they are covered up by the green chlorophyll.

Colorful Transition

Berry Picking Fever - The blueberry picking season is in full swing - the berries are full and ripe, and the time to harvest them is now. This image provides a sample of what Greta picked in a short time off the Stampede Trail. A few hours later, the berries were already cooked and canned for jam. Yummy!

Berry Picking Fever

Sure Sign Of Autumn - Aspen leaves display vibrant fall colors along the Nenana River in Healy. Another sign of fall was the first frost this morning.

Sure Sign Of Autumn

 
Ice Flakes - A myrad of ice patterns continues to take and change shape along the Savage River. I really enjoy this time of the year, watching the dynamic changes in nature as we gradually move into summer.

Ice Flakes

Deadly Week - As I am watching the ice melt in front of my eyes, I think of the four climbers who died in the past week on Mount McKinley and Mount Barille in Denali National Park. It has been a tough week for those of us connected to this small world of climbers, and every death always hits home in a very tangible way.

Deadly Week

Ice Patterns - A closer look at some of the remaining river ice along the Savage River reveals intricate patterns. I moved in within a few inches of this ice formation.

Ice Patterns

Frozen Mud - A former mud puddle shows evidence of freezing and thawing along the Savage River in Denali National Park.

Frozen Mud

Candle Ice - This candle ice I found along the Nenana River is a form of rotten ice consisting of ice prisms or cylinders oriented perpendicular to the original ice surface. These “ice fingers” may be equal in length to the thickness of the original ice before its disintegration.

Candle Ice

 
Aufeis - Fractured aufeis slowly melts away on the Nenana River near Denali Park. Aufeis is newer ice that continues to form on top of older ice. This ice forming situation occurs wherever there are continuous sources of water and freezing temperatures, as was the case on the Nenena River this winter.

Aufeis

Water And Ice - Ever so slowly, the erosional forces of water cut through the river ice, gradually eroding the icy skin that was such a big part of our lives throughout the winter.

Water And Ice

Breakup Reflections - Early sun rays reflect of the Nenana River upstream from the Parks Highway bridge near Denali National Park.

Breakup Reflections

Water Puddles On Ice - Little pools of water form on the otherwise frozen Tanana River near Fairbanks.

Water Puddles On Ice

Overflow - Sediment-ladden spring run-off flows over still frozen Hornet Creek near Denali National Park.

Overflow

 
Nenana River Ice Jam - The annual drama of river ice breaking up never fails to fascinate me. Since the Nenana River is close to our house, it has become a favorite destination of mine to witness this impressive event that lasts for days. Very rarely does the river ice just clear, break-up is a much more tumultuous process. This ice jam did not hold for very long, but sometimes ice jams can cause rivers to flood over its banks.

Nenana River Ice Jam

River Journey - Open water and snow drifts filling old and recent river channels cutting across sandbars highlight the changing nature of the Tanana River in this aerial view.

River Journey

Ice Art -

Ice Art

Ice Art -

Ice Art

Ice Art -

Ice Art

 
Ice Art -

Ice Art

Fluid Design -

Fluid Design

Stonehenge Ice Sculpture -

Stonehenge Ice Sculpture

Wood River Oxbows -

Wood River Oxbows

Sentinels Of The North -

Sentinels Of The North

 
Signs Of Spring -

Signs Of Spring

Riverside Beauty -

Riverside Beauty

Growing Icycles - With increased solar radiation, snow melting off of our roof transforms into beautiful icycles. Spring must be just around the corner.

Growing Icycles

V For Valentine - Happy St. Valentine's Day to everybody!

V For Valentine

Global Warming Report - The long-awaited report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said global warming is 'unequivocal,' 'very likely' man-made and will 'continue for centuries' – findings bleaker than its last report in 2001. The reports casts little doubts on the responsibilities of humanity and the conclusion is clear: if we are the cause, then we must be part of the solution. At least that is what I hope. It was telling that on the day of the release of the report, Anchorage experienced a record high temperature with 48 degrees above Fahrenheit, and even in Fairbanks big icycles were forming as the snow on the rooftops was melting.

Global Warming Report

 
Perspective - It is amazing what a small shift in perspective can do. I posted an image of the same birch tree trunk yesterday, the only difference being that in this shot I went in up close to the tree and tilted my camera down. I am much more satisfied with this view, as it provides an unusal angle of the base of the birch tree.

Perspective

Hardy Birch - The trunk of a birch tree embodies, in my mind, the hardiness of this species, eking a living out of frigid winter temperatures, frozen soils, minimal moisture, and frequent fires. I photographed this birch tree trunk in a large stand of birch near where we live in Fairbanks.

Hardy Birch

Open Water - A portion of the Chena River downstream from the power plant in Fairbanks never freezes as a result of warm water being discharged into the river.

Open Water

Mysterious Universe - Cloudy skies prevailed over much of the past week, preventing views of the night sky and possible aurora displays. What appears to be a mysterious glimpse into the universe is actually a fireworks display going off earlier in the week during a brief period of cloudless sky.

Mysterious Universe

Hoarfrost Build-Up - Among the beauties of winter are the intricate crystals called hoarfrost that form on branches, wires, poles and rocks like this granite boulder along the outdoor pool at Chena Hot Springs Resort. Hoarfrost is a sort of wintertime cousin to dew in summer and develops by similar processes. Dew and hoarfrost accumulate on objects when there is more moisture in the air than the air can carry.

Hoarfrost Build-Up

 
Year In Review - This year seems like it went by in a blur, similiar to the one created by the circular motion of my lens barrel as I zeroed in on a stand of aspen trees in the Tanana State Forest. It is sometimes difficult to stay focused, but whatever your goals for 2007 are, I wish you can focus on them no matter what obstacles stand in your way.

Year In Review

The Writing Is On... The Sea Ice - Hoarfrost accumulates along fracture lines on an otherwise smooth layer of ice covering Norton Sound near Nome.

The Writing Is On... The Sea Ice

Pan Ice - Large pans of ice are locking together near the mouth of the Nome River. Freeze-up of Norton Sound is late this year, but this late is becoming the new 'normal'.

Pan Ice

Cold - Arriving back in Fairbanks is like entering into a freezer. It was forty below at night a couple days ago, then thirtyfive below as a high temperature during the day. Many will ask 'why would anyone want to live in such a place?' I don't know, but as we prepare to spend the next three months here, maybe some of my images will provide an answer to this question. Here, expanding ice cracks on the shores of the Chena River.

Cold

Seward Peninsula - I took this aerial view of the Seward Peninsula from about 10,000 feet on the Alaska Airlines flight from Kotzebue to Nome. A vast web of creek and drainages span the vast landscape, revealing how interconnected all life is.

Seward Peninsula

 
River Ice Changes - Sea ice and river ice throughout Alaska is freezing up later than it used to. For instance, normal freeze-up off Shishmaref in western Alaska occurs the third week of October. Freeze-up has increased to more than three weeks later over the last 10 years. In 2002 freeze-up didn’t occur until Christmas. The same is true for freeze-up dats of Interior rivers, like the Tanana River pictured here.

River Ice Changes

Beluga Point - When I saw this chunk of ice forming on the Nenana River, I thought of a Beluga whale. Earlier this year in June, the carcass of a young beluga whale was found in the Tanana River near Fairbanks in central Alaska, nearly 1,000 miles from its nearest natural ocean habitat. As Beluga sometimes follow migrating fish, biologists speculated that it had followed migrating salmon up the river at some point in the prior fall.

Beluga Point

Climate Change - A Swiss professor working on climate change likened the receeding glaciers with a car engine oil light being on orange. No one would ignore such a warning sign in a car, but why do we ignore them in our environment? A warmer climate may sound like a welcome proposition right now in Interior Alaska, with average temperature being well below normal, accelerating the freeze up of lakes and rivers, such as the Nenana River picture here. What appear to be rocks along the banks of the Nenana River are actually chunks of ice frozen in time.

Climate Change

River Ice Patterns - Floating ice chunks on the Nenana River drift past shorefast ice near Healy.

River Ice Patterns

Freeze Up - Freeze up gradually progresses on the Nenana River in Healy as chunks of river ice attach to the shorefast ice. Ever so slowly, the river is freezing over and soon, all the these chunks will be frozen in place.

Freeze Up

 
Open Water - I was surprised to find this patch of open water in an unnamed creek near Healy long after all the other creek had been frozen. With the current cold spell, I am sure it will not be long until this scene will be frozen in ice.

Open Water

Monochromatic Contrast - I loved the stark beauty in the monochromatic contrasts in this scene of frost-covered birch trees near Denali National Park.

Monochromatic Contrast

Frozen Puddle - This is quite an ordinary scene - a frozen puddle of water in Healy. What drew me to it were the near-concentric circles that provide texture and depth to create a multi-dimensional surface. They also tell the story of freeze-up of this puddle, much like the rings on a tree would.

Frozen Puddle

Transparence - A thickening layer of ice as well as trapped air bubbles make it increasingly difficult to see to the bottom of this creek as freeze-up progresses.

Transparence

Winter Is Finally Here! - At long last, winter finally arrived yesterday with several inches of new snow transforming the landscape into a magical winter wonderland. I photographed this tranquil scene on the shores of Otto Lake in Healy.

Winter Is Finally Here!

 
With Or Without Camera? - Is there a difference between walking with or without a camera? Do the technical aspects of taking a photograph interfere with experiencing a place? My own shutter often opens when I have my camera at hand. I slow down and notice things that may go by unnoticed if I were walking without a camera. Here, a frozen skin on a creek off the Stampede Trail gradually stretches from bank to bank.

With Or Without Camera?

Looking And Seeing - There's a world of difference between looking at and seeing. How do we choose what to see? I cropped this patch of meaning along a creek near our cabin. It is an arbitrary selection of the visible, perceived through my 'viewfinder'.

Looking And Seeing

Communication Breakdown - What would life be without the internet and without telephone service? We experienced just that yesterday, after a fiberoptic cable got cut near Talkeetna. All phone and internet services north of Talkeetna in places like Cantwell, Healy, Denali, Fairbanks and the North Slope were cut off. A backup fiberoptic line that parallels the trans-Alaska pipeline also was out of service, damaged by flooding last week. This gave me more time to take a closer look at the gradual freeze-up in nature, like here at Otto Lake in Healy.

Communication Breakdown

Twisted Paths - The glacier-fed Toklat River in Denali National Park is typical of a braided river. A braided river contains a network of smaller channels separated by small islands called braid bars. The number and location of the channels and braid bars may change quickly in a braided system. Erodible banks, abundant supply of sediment and rapid and frequent variations in stream discharge all promote the formation of braided channels.

Twisted Paths

Seafood Delight - Crab, mussels, shrimp, halibut and salmon are all seafoods that are commonly gathered in Kachemak Bay. Interestingly enough, our son Florian, who is a picky eater, enjoyed clams more than any other food.

Seafood Delight

 
Pollen or Pollution? - It is hard to tell what this layer on the waters of Kachemak Bay may be, my guess is that it is pollen from nearby coniferous trees.

Pollen or Pollution?

Leaf Miner Invasion - Aspen leaf miners, tiny insects that turn quaking aspen leaves into silvery medallions, have been thorough in their coverage of interior Alaska the past few years. The current infestation extends from Whitehorse, north to Alaska's Porcupine River, continuing west, almost to Galena and about as far south as the Kuskokwim River near McGrath. The larvae of the aspen leaf miner eat tunnels through leaf cells on the top and bottom surfaces, creating mazes that fade the leaves from their normal dark green. The bugs attacking Alaska’s aspens are tiny whitish moths as thin as pencil lead, so small that four of them could ride on the back of a mosquito. Those moths overwinter on the forest floor, emerge after the snow melts, and lay eggs on aspen buds when they pop from stems. When the aspen leaves develop, so do the little yellow caterpillars that scar them. The caterpillars feed on leaves until they emerge as an adult moth in about three weeks. Unlike many other tiny insects that die within a few weeks, the moth lives a full year. Researchers are currently looking at what the aspen are doing to defend themselves against the leaf miner.

Leaf Miner Invasion

Rainy Days - Heavy rains have dampened the Denali aera lately. I have tried to find a scene that would best illustrate the rainy mood that currently prevails around here. What I found is this foxtail grass bending over under the weight of the raindrops. The sometimes-torrential rains have definitely greatly reduced the fire danger.

Rainy Days

Yukon River Breakup - Some portions of the Yukon River are already free of ice, while other portions of the river still are frozen. There has been little flooding so far. The only exception was an ice dam on the Koyukuk River, a tributary of the Yukon, which caused flooding in the village of Hughes. When I paddled down the Yukon River in 1989, almost every village along its banks in Alaska had been flooded during spring breakup. In this aerial view of the Yukon River, oxbow lakes formed when wide meanders in the river were cut off to form a lake. They are called oxbow lakes due to the distinctive curved shape that results from this process.<br>

Yukon River Breakup

Nulato Hills - One of the most dramatic vistas on the flight from Nome to Fairbanks is the Nulato Hills, a mountain chain separating the Great Interior from the Northwestern Coast of Alaska. These hills generally consist of northeast-trending, even-crested ridges having rounded summits and gentle slopes, with elevation ranges from sea level to 4,040 ft.

Nulato Hills

 
Forest Mosaic - Flying above any natural landscape in Alaska always reminds me of the interconnectedness of all things. Like in this view of the boreal forest near Elim, where the river drainages and boreal forest communities are connected to form a whole.

Forest Mosaic

Sections of a Landscape - Over and over again, I find myself drawn to fragments of a landscape, because the landscape itself is often too vast to comprehend. Like recently, when I was wandering around on the frozen Chukchi Sea near the village of Shishmaref. Everything was so immense, the sky, the horizon, the jumbled sea ice, the silence, all on a scale too big to fully understand on a human level. That is when I decided to remove and simplify elements for this composition. Less is often more, and I found this again to be true, especially when human forms revealed themselves in the many layers and textures of snow.

Sections of a Landscape

Fox Tracks - It has been snowing on and off over the past few days, and when the clouds lifted last night, a brisk north wind set in. The wind is such a powerful force out here, shaping the landscape in so many ways and creating the most wonderful snow and ice sculptures, like this frozen track of a fox. I do start wondering though if we will ever see spring this year...

Fox Tracks

Never judge a book by its cover! - I was one of the many skeptics concerning Karl Bushby’s attempt to cross the Bering Strait on foot. He had drifted off twice on ice floes along the Bering Strait Coast and had to call to be rescued. Now Bushby has made what many thought was impossible for him – to cross the Bering Strait from Alaska to Russia on foot. Bushby and his travel partner, Dimitri Kiefer, proved that the real heart of adventure is a mixture of experience, luck, knowledge, and Mother Nature willing to give a helping hand. The successful crossing was an important hurdle for Bushby to cross in his record-breaking attempt to travel around the world on foot. Since he set off on 1st November 1998, he has completed over 17,000 miles. With over 19,000 more miles to walk, maintaining his current speed, he should return home to the United Kingdom in 2009. By the way, do not worry searching for them on this aerial of fractured sea ice in the Bering Strait. The width of the image covers about 10 miles.

Never judge a book by its cover!

Trees! - Are we witnessing an invasion of trees in Nome? No, although with climate change it is not unlikely that the treeline will at some point reach Nome. But I can guarantee you that for some of us living in a treeless area, seeing trees again is something that we do not take for grated. I photographed these spruce trees on the approach to the village of Koyuk, about 90 air miles northeast of Nome. Living in Nome does not make me miss trees, but it is always a welcome sight and special encounter to see them again, almost like meeting a long lost friend.

Trees!

 
Signs of Spring - Slowly, but inevitably, the solid skin of snow and ice that held such a tight grip on the land for months, is breaking up. On south-facing slopes in particular, the patches of barren tundra are growing larger in size every day, like on these ridges above the Council Road. We also spotted the first Snow Buntings, which is a good sign for warmer things to come.

Signs of Spring

Translucent River Ice - I found this chunk of river ice near the mouth of the Nome River. The backlighting creates a sense of mystery and enhances its translucent nature: Light penetrates through the clear ice but is sufficiently diffused to prevent perception of a distinct image. It will still be a few weeks until this river ice will return to its liquid state.

Translucent River Ice

Frosty Designs - With temperatures plummeting down to 20 below at night, we are always assured to have some beautiful new frost patterns gracing our arctic entry windows. This cold spell is not going to last though, in a few days the daytime temperatures may be up to 35 above!

Frosty Designs

Another Blizzard Rolling In - Here is the latest weather forecast from the National Weather Service for Nome and the Southern Seward Peninsula: 'Blizzard Warning in effect from 6 am Wednesday to 6 am AST Thursday...<br>Tuesday Night: Snow and areas of blowing snow. Snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches. Temperatures rising to zero to 5 above. East winds 10 to 25 mph with local gusts to 35 mph by morning. <br>Today: Snow showers. Areas of fog in the morning. Blowing snow through the day. Near zero visibilities in blizzard conditions. Snow accumulation of 4 to 6 inches. Highs 10 to 15. Southeast winds 20 to 35 mph. Gusts to 45 mph.<br>Tonight: Snow showers. Blowing snow. Near zero visibilities in blizzard conditions. Snow accumulation around 6 inches. Lows 10 to 15. Southeast winds 25 to 35 mph. Gusts to 45 mph.'<br>No wonder then why so many Alaskans are found in Hawaii or Mexico during the winter! Here, drifting snow along Safety Sound is backlight by the evening sun.<br>

Another Blizzard Rolling In

Jigsaw Puzzle - The recent warm weather and strong winds have created havoc on the sea ice, breaking up huge sheets of ice into hundreds of smaller fragments resembling one big jigsaw puzzle, like in this aerial view of Norton Sound south of Nome. Around Nome, there are huge open leads just off the beach, creating very hazardous travel conditions on the sea ice.

Jigsaw Puzzle

 
Inspiring Light - Of all the natural forces that shape life in this extreme landscape of Northwestern Alaska, light and how it interplays with darkness and ice to create unusual textures and patterns continues to stir my imagination. Often, the scale of an image seems difficult to interpret, like in this view of a wind-scoured snowdrift, taken a few inches above the ground.<br>

Inspiring Light

Polar Ice Caps Melting Away - From South America to Alaska and from Europe to Asia, glaciers are melting and sea is forming later and leaving earlier, like in this aerial view of Kotzebue Sound. All across the north, permafrost stops being permanent. Globally, there's a persistent trickling as enormities of ice unfreeze. Average temperatures in the Arctic are rising twice as fast as they are elsewhere in the world. Arctic sea ice is getting thinner, melting and rupturing. The melting of once-permanent ice is already affecting native people, wildlife and plants. Polar bears, whales, walrus and seals are changing their feeding and migration patterns, making it harder for native people to hunt them. And along Arctic coastlines, entire villages will be uprooted because they're in danger of being swamped. It is no surprise then that the native people of the Arctic view global warming as a threat to their cultural identity and their very survival.

Polar Ice Caps Melting Away

Cold Spell - A bone-chilling breath of air from Siberia and the Arctic blew across Western and Interior Alaska this past weekend, grounding planes, closing schools and delaying the start of the Kuskokwim 300 sled dog race in Bethel. The state’s cold spot was Chandalar Lake in the Brooks Range with 60 below. Prospect Creek on the southern slopes of the Brooks Range has the distinction of recording Americas coldest temperature on record: 80 below on January 23, 1971. The cold mixed with stiff winds in Western Alaska, where windchills reached 60 below on the Seward Peninsula yesterday. Here, an aerial view of the Seward Peninsula reveals an intricate network of creek and river drainages. The peninsula projects about 200 miles into the Bering Sea between Norton Sound, the Bering Strait, the Chukchi Sea and Kotzebue Sound, just below the Arctic Circle. The entire peninsula is about 210 miles long and 90-140 miles wide.

Cold Spell

Turnagain Arm Mud Flats - Levels of water in Turnagain Arm can fluctuate by 30 feet. At low tide, the water is reduced to small channels, exposing treacherous mud and silt flats. Visitors not familiar with the area would be best to stay off the flats; locals tell stories of people and animals becoming stuck in the muck and drowning when the rising tide and approaching wall of water washes over them.

Turnagain Arm Mud Flats

Low Tide Treasures - Tide pools form where depressions on the shore retain water after the tide goes out. These intertidal zones can become a haven for a number of interesting plants and creatures. There are thousands of species that might be encountered and you never know what treasures will be found on a tide pool trip. Each treasure has its own story and mystery, making it truly a treasure beneath the sea. Tide pools also reveal interesting rock formations that have been shaped by the erosional forces of the saltwater, like here near Mariners Park in Homer.

Low Tide Treasures

 
Giving Permanence to Impermanent Subjects - Landscape macro photography for me is a way of feeling and interacting with my subject on a very personal level. What I have recorded with my eye is captured forever. I remember little things which gives the subject a sense of permanence in a dynamic world that is in constant transition. Here, runoff from a little creek had frozen over beach pebbles along Kachemak Bay a couple days ago. When I returned to this place yesterday, the icy coating was gone, and scene I captured the day before had melted into a distant memory.

Giving Permanence to Impermanent Subjects

Homer Harbor - My search for good images has been obscured in recent days by rainy and grey skies. When the weather finally cleared briefly yesterday I thought that I would most certainly find some great vista to photograph or maybe see some bald eagles interacting with each other in perfect light. Yet as it often happens, I found an interesting subject in an unlikely place. As I was walking around the Homer Harbor, I saw these concrete pillars that have weathered many storms seemingly melting into the ocean. To me, it was a testament to the impermanence of all things, or at least the illusion.

Homer Harbor

Homer-grown Seaweed - It was another day at the Two Sister’s Bakery in Homer when I was approached by a long-haired local who seemed to be stalling while making light conversation. The chatter didn’t appear to be going in any particular direction when he leaned down to where I was sitting and said in almost a whisper: “With all these artists around here, there’s got to be some good weed, eh?” As he stood up, a sparkle ignited in his eyes and he added, “Homer is not just full of good fisherman, it’s full of good farmers, if you know what I mean.” He waited there, staring down at me with a big grin. I’m not sure exactly what it was that he was waiting for but whatever it was, I’m pretty sure it didn’t happen. After a few minutes, he left in disappointment. This conversation transpired before the search for today’s photo began. I went to see for myself, and the best I could come up with is this Homer still-life. And YES, I agree, the seaweed in Homer is amazing!<br>

Homer-grown Seaweed

Eyes of Nature - This tree trunk stares out at me, decaying slowly into the ground that once sustained it. As it crumbles away, it provides a foundation for new life to take hold. This tenuous balance of living and dying reminds me of how everything in nature is cyclical and interconnected. Sometimes we forget about this web of life... we forget how nature sustains us each and every day of our lives. For this we should be thankful!

Eyes of Nature

Imaginary Lava Flows - I am trying to picture what it would be like if Augustine volcano, Homer’s sleeping volcano 75 miles to the west, would blow its top again, and lava would flow down its sides. The volcano has been growing restless recently, seismic activity in the area is mounting, and it may only be a matter weeks until the volcano will erupt again. However, according to the Alaska Volcano Observatory, no eruption is eminent, and the current seismic activity is well below that seen just before the last eruption in 1986. What actually appear as lava flows in this photo are tiny channels in the sand backlit during low tide.

Imaginary Lava Flows

 
Crystalline Patterns - What may appear like an aerial photograph of the boreal forest is actually a pattern of ice crystals on the windshield of my car. I often marvel at these remarkably complex and beautiful structures which are created, quite literally, out of thin air.

Crystalline Patterns

Subject and Light - I found this chunk of clear ice resting on a piece of ice that was full of dark sediments. I liked how the low angled sun illuminated the ice 'crystal' and created an intense contrast. So often, light can glorify everything, even some of the most mundane subjects. To me though, this piece of translucent ice was a precious find.

Subject and Light

Kotzebue Sound - Sea ice is observed in terms of three basic parameters: concentration, stage of development, and form. Concentration refers to the fraction of the sea surface covered by ice, reported in tenths by international convention. Stage of development refers to age and structural characteristics of the ice that may be inferred from specific visible features and knowledge of regional conditions prior to the observation. Here, young (10-30cm thick) medium floes (spanning around 100-500m across) with a concentration of 9 tenths are forming in Kotzebue Sound.

Kotzebue Sound

Window into the past - What at first glance may appear as a celestial constellation actually are air bubbles trapped and compressed under a new overlaying layer of ice in the Snake River in Nome. These air bubbles can tell us a lot about climate change. Recently, cores have been removed from the ice at Vostok Station in Antarctica. The longest cores were about 2000 meters, sampling layers of ice deposited as early as 160,000 years ago. The ice trapped bubbles of air when it froze. The ratio of oxygen isotopes in this air indicates the average air temperature at the time the bubble was trapped in ice. The bubbles also trap atmospheric greenhouse gases that can be measured.

Window into the past

Frost Heaving - Frost heaving is greatest in wet, fine-grained soils such as clays and silt, since they undergo the greatest expansion of their volume as they freeze. The expansion is not caused only by the freezing of the water contained in the soil but also by the freezing of new water that migrates upward from below the frost line during and after the freezing of the soil. The colder the ground surface, the greater is the transport of water upward. Frost heaving may continue right on through the winter if there is an adequate supply of water from below. Freezing soil can create such great upward forces on telephone poles, bridge pilings and similar objects that they are literally lifted out of the ground.

Frost Heaving

 
Freeze-Up Everywhere - Freeze up is progressing on St. Lawrence at a very quick pace at this time of the year much like on the mainland. Here, the outer parameters of a lagoon near Gambell show differential freezing patterns. The tracks visible on the edge of the lagoon were made by ATV's.

Freeze-Up Everywhere

Ice Fractures - Tension during low tide causes fractures in the sea ice in the port of Nome. The tides in Norton Sound are fairly insignificant, with highs and lows varying only a couple of feet.

Ice Fractures

Winter is Here! - The port of Nome is quickly freezing over, and boat owners were in a hurry yesterday to get their fishing vessels out of the water. It snowed on and off all day, and considering how little heat the sun radiates at this time of the year, it is safe to assume that this snow and ice will likely last for the next six to seven months.

Winter is Here!

Freeze Up - Slowly but steadily, ice forms along rivers and lakes here in northwestern Alaska, and in a few weeks ice and snow will hold a tight grip on the land and water. Here, candle ice is forming on the shores of a lake near Nome. This candle ice forms after several cycles of alternating warm and cold temperatures, when the ice becomes honeycombed with long, thin, vertical, candle-like slivers. <br>

Freeze Up

A Moment in Time - I am not sure what the origin of the sea foam is that accumulates along Western Alaska and other beaches in huge amounts after storms, but it sure offers a whole new abstract world to explore and discover. These sea foam bubbles present themselves into an infinite variety of ways: They are always changing, never the same as ever before, and their lifespan is very short. I barely had time to click the shutter before this scene disappeared in front of my eyes.

A Moment in Time

 
Morning Frost - The most vibrant red color I have ever experienced in the tundra in Alaska is the red of the bearberry leaves in fall. This plant is a favorite macro subject in the tundra. There is no red that is more intense in my opinion in the tapestry of fall colors in the tundra. Here, the deep red color of the leaves is a bit muted by early morning frost. But the thin layer of ice adds texture in this shot taken in the tundra in Denali National Park.

Morning Frost

Bird's View - I took this aerial photo of the Kuzitrin and Pilgrim Rivers as they wind towards the Imuruk Basin at about 10:30 pm last night. I had been photographing the Serpentine Hot Springs area at sunset, and then flew back to Nome, to land just before we couldn’t see the runway anymore. Flying around the Seward Peninsula once again gave me a sense of the vastness and beauty of this incredible place.<br>

Bird's View

Nome's Golden Beaches - Nome's beaches abound with incredible patterns and formations. It's hard to believe that 100 years ago thousands of miners crowded these beaches. Today, a few miners still work the beaches in their search for the yellow metal.

Nome's Golden Beaches

Flow of Life - I have been finding a different kind of gold on the golden beaches around Nome. Here, were miners still pan ounce after ounce of gold grains from surf-pounded sands, I discover the beauty in small channels of mineral colored water flowing erraticly, much like lava would, over the sand. These channels are like little metaphors for my own journey, twisting and turning in sometimes mysterious ways, but always merging again into the main current of life.

Flow of Life

The Day After - The aftermath of the Hess Creek fire reveals what may seem to be the total destruction of a black spruce forest that was in the main path of the fire along the Dalton Highway. But fires play an integral part in the life cycle of the boreal forest. Nutrients released from the burning trees will provide fertile ground for new life to take hold again.

The Day After

 
Interior Wildfires - I got a close-up view of a couple of the almost 100 forest fires that are currently burning all over the state and that have charred over three million acres so far this summer. I was driving up the Dalton Highway to pick up a couple friends at the Yukon River when I encountered these pockets of fire. A thick smoke screen has blanketed most of the state for several days and has created hazardous air quality levels in Fairbanks and other communities. <br>

Interior Wildfires

Geologic Forces - From steep glaciated fjords to smoldering volcanoes on the western horizon, Katchemak Bay exhibits the effects of many different dynamic geologic processes. On the southern side of Kachemak Bay near Seldovia, the bedrock geology is characterized by twisted volcanic, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks that subduction processes have mixed into a complex assorment of rock materials from diverse origins and geologic ages<br>

Geologic Forces

Connection - Curtains of fog and mist partially obscur the foothills of the Alaska Range in the Polychrome Pass area in Denali National Park. When I travel in nature, I can often sense sense the presence and connect with a life force that is so much greater than myself. It’s as if a set of eyes are watching over me.<br>

Connection

Patterned Ground - Permafrost — permanently frozen ground as much as 2,000 feet deep in places — is the main architect of the vast tundra on Alaska’s North Slope. In summer, the top foot or two of soil thaws. This layer is saturated with water from melting snow or precipitation that cannot penetrate the permafrost below, creating wetlands. The annual freeze-thaw cycle results in “patterned ground”, such as these ice-wedge polygons near Point Lay. To give a sense of scale, the pond in the upper left corner is about 200 yards wide.

Patterned Ground

Periglacial phenomena - Ponds, lakes, extensive wetlands and polygonal patterned ground dominate the mostly flat Arctic Coastal Plain, which extends from the Chukchi Sea to the west to the Canadian Border to the east, and to the northern slopes of the Brooks Range to the south. Low temperature reduces evaporation and prolonged or intense frost action prevents vertical drainage of water. As a result, and inspite of very little precipitation, extensive areas of the coastal plain are covered by water and other features typical of permafrost regions. The patterns created by these features are often difficult to perceive from the ground but are striking from the air. In this aerial view, ponds dot the landscape near Point Lay.

Periglacial phenomena

 
Weed War - While a peaceful gentle breeze caresses this field of foxtail barley, a weed war is being waged against weeds such as dandelion, bird vetch or foxtail barely that are overtaking native species. Even though foxtail barely actually is a native Alaska weed, it is acting like an exotic, proliferating and taking over other native species. Further, its spiky tips called 'awns' can work their way into animal flesh and cause serious infections.<br>

Weed War

Nature's reflection - Are these willow branches submerging or emerging? Maybe it’s a bit like how we look at life – is the glass half full or half empty? My relationship with wood has changed since I moved north of the tree line. Suddenly, a willow branch, that before may have gone unnoticed, gives pause for thought and reflection.<br>

Nature's reflection

Tracking wildlife - I have not seen any reindeer recently, but I came across some footprints of them yesterday. While finding animal tracks is much easier in the winter, during the summer the animals around me constantly leave signs of their passing, such as qiviut (muskox wool) getting caught in a willow branch or plant roots being exposed by grizzly bear in the tundra. Each offers a little glimpse in these animals lives. It is like reading a chapter in the story of their existence.

Tracking wildlife

Tanana River - The Tanana River, fed by water from melting glaciers and other sources, has swelled to near flood stage in this aerial view of the river near Fairbanks. About 85% of the discharge of the Tanana River is derived from north-flowing, glacier-fed rivers originating in the Alaska Range. The glacial sediment load gives the Tanana its milky brown color.<br>

Tanana River

Glacial maze - The crevasse-riddled maze of this tributary of the Kahiltna Glacier, cradled deep inside the Alaska Range, is a world very few people will ever experience firsthand. It’s a dynamic and ever-changing world of ice and snow on a scale barely conceivable to the human mind.

Glacial maze

 
Wonder of creation - I paused yesterday morning to observe this bumblebee forage on fireweed pollen. In my experience, most people tend to be drawn to large mammals. Why should anyone stop for a little bumblebee? I marveled at this moment though, as it revealed a beauty that can so easily be overlooked. When we are setting our sights on large animal species only, we forget that even the tiniest insects can teach us something profound about our existence.<br>

Wonder of creation

Ribbons of water - McKinley River's everchanging silty arteries and veins search their way through a vast gravel bar in Denali National Park. The power of water as a life force continues to amaze me, and I appreciate seeing these milky ribbons of water weave and wander back and forth, without any restraints, as they carry huge sediments loads eroded by glaciers.

Ribbons of water

Forest fires - Smoke from forest fires obsures this view of Cathedral Mountain in Denali National Park. Currently there are wild fires burning from as far north as the Brooks Range to as far south as the Kenai Peninsula. In 2004, over 6 Million acres burned in Alaska, and Alaska residents are a bit worried to see a repeat of last year's intense fire season.

Forest fires

Changing climate - Climate change in the Arctic is affecting northern ecosystems, like these ponds and channels in the Yukon River delta, in ways that are not well understood yet. Just the other day a research paper discussed how melting permafrost may be shrinking arctic lakes. Changes could include impact on subsistence hunting activities, loss of migratory bird habitat, and changes in local and regional atmospheric conditions, causing more localized wind and more frequent and more severe wildfires.

Changing climate

Beaches of gold - Nome's beaches are still mined for gold, but I found gold of a different kind on these beaches... The world where the land meets the sea is incredibly dynamic and offers an ongoing source of inspiration.

Beaches of gold

 
Sastrugi - Unlike sand dunes, sastrugi’s ridges are often aligned parallel to the wind. They are a very common feature out here along the Bering Sea Coast, where wind, snow and cold form a formidable alliance.

Sastrugi

Morning Frost - Beautiful ice crystals line the windows of our arctic entry. This type of hoarfrost forms when air become to frigid to hold its water vapor. When water vapor condenses out of the air to settle on a cold surface, it changes directly from vapor to ice crystal.

Morning Frost