Dolphin Charters

The boat and guests departed Juneau at 9A under blue skies with some clouds. A beautiful trip to the first night’s anchorage in Icy Straits. Some rain the next day, but with a good breakfast, humpback whales, and Steller sea lions around, it was a good photo morning.

On the way into Glacier Bay proper and the visitor’s center sea otters were begging to be photographed and folks accommodated.

There is a nice rain forest trail around Bartlett Cove and all took the opportunity to photograph beach details, flowers, and scenes in an old growth forest. You can see why this is called a chocolate lily! The group also had its first bear encounter on the trail across the lily pond. Too hard to photograph in the trees but a great first encounter.

Once back on the boat the Marble Islands were the first "photo stop". Lots of Steller sea lions haul out here and their noise and curiosity can be amazing.

The cliffs of these islands contain lots of nesting kittiwakes and puffins, and here is a wonderful sequence of "puffin running".

The group motored to the McBride Glacier the next day and went ashore to look at and photograph beached and floating icebergs. The ice is so variable in its color and clarity that it’s hard not to keep photographing it. Abstracts of ice and the face of the glacier itself make wonderful images.

The following day the boat headed for Tidal Inlet and then on to Gloomy Knob. That is a great name and a great rock outcropping with a beach. Calypso orchids, flowering wintergreen and other beach plants were our focus until a brown bear appeared but was scared off by a boat loudspeaker. However more was to come as there was a dead humpback whale beached nearby and basically the "Brown Bear Diner" was open.

After the time spent at the "diner", the group finally tore themselves away to anchor near the face of the Reid Glacier. The next morning on the 4th of July the group awoke to nice weather and amazing views of the Reid Glacier.

After that much ice the group took a lunch break and on the way to Lamplugh Glacier encountered an orca family. A great showing with adults and calves present.

Harbor seals pup on the ice in this area, and with a long lens you can get some great shots. They’re shy and there are restrictions on how close you can approach, so the right gear helps a lot!

The lowering sky made for some nice images of the Lamplugh Glacier. Most nights photos were reviewed and there were always some great pictures taken during the day.

Dundas Bay provided a moody atmosphere to a somewhat lazy day for photographing in the muskeg and generally not working too hard and eating well.

The magical place of Elfin Cove was the next stop and after a good humpback encounter the group went ashore to photograph boat reflections in the quiet water. Anchored overnight at George Island. Back into Icy Straits for the final morning before departing in Gustavus, and the group had close encounters of the humpback kind as a whale suddenly breached right in front of the boat. Only a few folks got the image, it was that sudden and close. What a way to finish off the trip!

Photographers: Brenda Tharp, Jed Manwaring, Wendy Belkin, Nicole Denommee, Stuart Koretz

Check Schedule for our next Glacier Bay I trip!

Find out more about Brenda Tharp
Find out more about Jed Manwaring
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