Journeys:
Whales, Bears, Glaciers with Don Paulson
June 18-27, 2010
Don Paulson’s second photo tour of the season departed Ketchikan and headed for Juneau with many stops along the way of this adventure. While early in the season for bears in multitudes, this image was captured by Tom Adams
at the native village of Kasaan.
The adventure continued through the small waterways and side passages in this part of Southeast Alaska with time to relax and enjoy the view.
Baranof Island has lots of scenic amenities, including this appropriately named misty waterfall in Misty Cove.
Frederick Sound with all its whales and Steller sea lions was well represented in photographs from this trip. What can’t be captured is the smell of whale breath or sea lion "eau de cologne" when viewing these marine mammals in their haulout areas.
Harbor seals pup on the ice in Southeast, and they are shy creatures in general. Long lenses should be used so as not to disturb them during this critical time, and with good equipment photos like this are possible.
Long glacially cut fiords are one of the prominent features of Southeast Alaska, and the harbor seals and following pictures were taken in Endicott Arm with the Dawes glacier at its upper end.
Fantastic shades of blue mark the compressed ice of these glaciers, and make for "ice sculptures". The ice is also wonderful for providing slowly melting ice for any drinks at happy hour.
Endicott Arm is about 15 mile long and has lots of scenery along the way. "Misty" describes many aspects of Southeast Alaska as you can see in this photo of fog and cliffs in Ford’s Terror.
Hiking some of the trails in this area gives terrific views of swirling currents and gives a sense of accomplishment when the top is reached!
The ongoing "Nikon vs Canon" wars reached a bubbly boil between loyal Canon user Don Paulson and long time Nikon fan Tom Adams.
Arctic terns flying from icy bergs make a dramatic and beautiful image. 
In another quiet image, Tom Adams takes a HDR (high dynamic range) photograph from inside an old cabin in Lake Bay. One of the nice things about small photo groups is the "exploring of the unexpected".
Orcas in Stephens Passage and a hot springs welcoming sign add more nice moments to this photo adventure.
Photographers: Tom Adams, Kim Kafton, Don Paulson, Kim Snider