Denali National Park thumbnails only

You are looking at one of the first pictures ever taken of "Denali", the highest mountain peak in North America. While that statement is fun to say (and true in a sense), a tremendous number of photographs have been taken of this mountain long prior to my arrival. However, the mountain's name was "Mt McKinley" from June 1896 until about just before I arrived. On August 28, 2015, Sally Jewell, US Secretary of the Interior, announced that the mountain would be renamed "Denali" (Wikipedia). Two weeks later, my opportunity to photograph this mountain came.
 
With an elevation of 20,310' (6,190.5 m), the peak of Denali can be seen be seen from at least 125 miles away – on a clear day. The last part of that sentence is a key one. Getting close to this mountain (for most) requires a shuttle/tour bus ride deep into Denali National Park's 92 mile mostly-stone road. Even those making the effort to get deep into the park stand only a 30% chance of seeing this mountain's peaks due to the clouds that frequently engulf it.
 
I spent a large amount of time planning and traveling to get to the location for this image and was blessed with a beautiful day for my long-in-advance-scheduled tour (after a morning snowstorm, the sky even cleared enough on my backup day to make the peaks visible once again). With the weather cooperating, taking the actual photograph was easy part.
 
I selected a manual exposure that would make the sunlit snow at the top of the mountains nearly pure white (barely blinking in the camera LCD) while using an f/8 aperture (for ideal sharpness and depth of field) and ISO 100 (for noise-free images). The resulting shutter speed of 1/160 was adequate for resting the awesome combination of the Canon EOS 5Ds R and the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens on my backpack. With the ideal exposure locked in, I was free to quickly capture a variety of compositions of this incredible view during the 15 minute shuttle bus stop, with all being ideally exposed.
 
In the end, I merged two images to add a couple of hundred pixels to the right and left sides of the base images, giving the side-to-side balance that looked right to me.
 
I usually have a circular polarizer filter mounted when I'm photographing landscapes and usually note this use in the notes below relevant image posts. But, I want to make special mention of CPL use here because of the significant difference it made in the deep saturation and contrast of the foreground of this image. Like no other, this filter can add WOW! to your images.

The minimum goal was seemingly simple. Capture one great (to my eyes) photo of a dall sheep ram in Alaska, and I allocated eight days to accomplish that goal.

Dall sheep are usually found high in mountains, where accessibility becomes a challenge. This challenge was furthered by the weather, and primarily rain and snow prevented climbing into sheep altitudes for five of those eight days.

Fortunately, the success enjoyed on those three good days ranged from good on the first ascent to outstanding on the last. Ironically, weather, snow specifically, was part of the reason for the incredible photo opportunities on that last ascent. In this case, a snowstorm creates a clean background, while brighter clouds behind the camera created a strong, yet soft, light.

This huge dall sheep ram surveyed its environment as it walked over the alpine ridge, with continuous shooting providing a full range of head positions, including this direct glance.

The Canon EOS R5 and RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM Lens got the call for this outing. The R5 was chosen for its high resolution, AF performance, and ease of use, and the RF 100-500 was selected for the optimal focal length range, including 100mm for environmental portraits and 500mm for tighter framing or distant subjects, and outstanding sharpness over the range, backed up by an optimal image stabilization system. The relatively compact size of this combination proved ideal for the climb.

I expected the sheep eyes on white hair to be an easy eye detection target for the R5, but the camera sometimes preferred the round black nostrils over the eyes when the sheep was facing the camera. Still, the eyes are sharp in an extremely high percentage of the sheep images, impressive performance.

With a very early alarm in the past and the road lottery ticket on the windshield, a friend and I drove the lead vehicle deep into Denali National Park this morning. We were focused on photographing the Denali peak at first light, but with color in the sky and fog in the foreground, I couldn't resist pausing for a few moments to capture this image.

This scene is one of the many reasons the Canon RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM Lens is part of my standard landscape kit. With the mentioned goal remaining a high priority, this was a jump out of the car, sit, shoot, and jump back in the car scenario. With no time for tripod setup, the Canon EOS R5 and RF 100-500 combination IS was counted on to make the shot sharp, and it did.

When driving by a scene that calls for a photo, I often regret not heeding that call. The captured image is usually worth far more than the very little time and effort the stop typically requires. This was one of the latter cases. Within three minutes of stopping, we were back on the road.

A great subject in great light aligned with a great background and captured by a high-performing camera and lens combination is a sure recipe for an image I like. In this case, and often the case, the hard work was getting to the right location at the right time. The photo was easy to capture.

As I said in the last Dall Sheep Ram photo I shared, the Canon EOS R5 and RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM Lens were the first choice for this adventure. The R5 was selected for its high resolution, AF performance, and ease of use, and the RF 100-500 was selected for the optimal focal length range, including 100mm for environmental portraits and 500mm for tighter framing or distant subjects, and outstanding sharpness over the range, backed up by a high-performing image stabilization system. The relatively compact size of this combination proved ideal for the climb.

My go-to wildlife camera settings were in place for this image. The eye must be sharp, and the subject (and I) were moving, so servo (continuous) AF with eye detection was selected. The aperture was set to the widest available at all focal lengths (initially f/4.5 at 100mm), and the shutter speed was frequently and rapidly adjusted to the comfortably lowest needed (or lower after initial safety/insurance shots were captured). Auto ISO ensured that the exposure instantly changed for the shutter speed selected (and light changes), with exposure compensation applied as needed.

While the ram was moving, it wasn't moving fast. Thus, I opted for the 1st-curtain electronic shutter to retain the full 14-bit image quality with still fast "H" continuous shooting mode providing good viewfinder coverage (low blackout).

This Denali National Park landscape image combines three seasons. Denali summers are short, and despite the late summer date, fall foliage and wintery snow were available.

The morning featured thick fog and uncooperative animals. However, the landscape was especially appealing. While I was stopped to photograph the lightly snow-dusted black spruce trees in the fog, the fog began to dissipate, revealing snow-capped mountains in the background and allowing sunlight to illuminate the fall foliage in the foreground.

Wildlife photography was the primary photo objective, but this image is one of my favorites from the trip. The compact Canon RF 24-105mm F4 L IS USM Lens, featuring professional-grade build and optical quality, is made for moments like this. When photographing wildlife, I usually have this lens in the pack, often on a second body for fast access.

There is no shortage of mountains in Denali National Park. However, a layer of snow adds greatly to how they look. Snow especially contrasts against the darkest-colored mountains.
 
Bright white snow and very dark rock can potentially be an exposure challenge. When photographing landscape under full sunlight with snow in the frame, setting the ideal exposure usually involves bringing the image brightness level up to the point where the brightest snow has a tiny area of blinkies showing on the LCD (be sure that these are enabled). This insures that detail remains in the snow while shadow/dark areas have as much color information as possible.
 
You may have noticed that this image is not showing as full-dimensioned for the Canon EOS 5Ds R used to capture it. This image was not cropped (the 100-400mm lens was not set to its longest available focal length), but as is often the problem with long distance photography, heat waves caused enough degradation that I opted to reduce the image size by 66%, using downsampling to improve image sharpness.
 
Note that I did not use a tripod for this capture. This lens' image stabilization system combined with a solid three-point sitting position (elbows on knees and forehead pressed into eye cup) were very adequate for sharpness in this regard, and a B+W HTC circular polarizer filter blocking less light than a standard filter also contributed to this run-and-gun shot.

While most of the world bases the fall season on the calendar, a photographer's fall season starts when the foliage changes color and ends soon after the leaves "fall" from the trees. "Photographer's fall" is generally a subset of everyone else's fall, but ... not always. For example, in Alaska, photographer's fall starts and, in some locations, ends in what everyone else considers summer.
 
As you may have noticed in my September 11th-captured Denali National Park image, the landscape has some good color in it, but a significant percentage of the leaves are beyond peak and many have fallen already. And, as illustrated in this picture, very few leaves were left on the brush and snow was on the ground this September 12th morning. From a photographer's perspective, this was winter, but per the calendar, "fall" was still over a week away.
 
Planning the timing of "fall" foliage photography has never been easier. Here are some suggestions to get you started:
 
First, consult fall foliage maps. These maps will show you when to expect peak leaf color in the location you want to photograph in.
 
Note that I was intentional with the plural of "maps". If you have one watch, you think you know what time it is. If you have more than one watch, you might not be so sure. But, if you average the times of all of the watches, you are more likely to have the correct time. Not all maps are identical in their forecast timing and granularity. Averaging the forecasts together helps provide a better understanding of what normally happens.
 
There is good reason that these maps are not identical and that is because the fall foliage colors do not come at exactly the same time each year. Leaf color change can be influenced by a variety of factors including temperatures and ground moisture levels. If you know what the various forecasts say, you can plan your photography for the heart of what is typically fall foliage season for that region.
 
Want a chance for snow and colorful leaves in the same frame? Go late in the typical peak foliage timeframe.
 
Another good way to determine the right timing for your fall photography is to look for fall photo tours occurring in your target location. Quality tours will be held during the window of highest likelihood for peak color. Even if not joining such a tour, note the date range for planning purposes.
 
As I write this tip, photographer's fall is coming to an end across the northern hemisphere. But, there have been a lot of fall landscape photos posted to the web in the last two months and those pictures are a gold mine for trip planning. Find out when the best pictures were taken in your target location and take notes. Also, take notes from your own photos.
 
At minimum, I photograph the fall foliage around home and usually at Ricketts Glen State Park, an amazing location less than 2 hours from my home. Each year, I record the leaf condition for the dates I photograph in those locations along with others I visit. As the next fall comes around, I have a very good idea of when I should be photographing in those locations.
 
Start now. Wherever it is that you keep notes, record your fall experience along with the information gleaned from research. Make plans for next fall's photos to be your best ever!

Direct sun on snow delivers an extremely bright subject. Evergreen trees in the shade are an extremely dark subject. This scene provided both.

While an overhead sun is a bit brighter than a setting sun, this a very intense sunset scene. Bracketing exposures for potential HDR use is the safe way to photograph such a scene, but I was shooting handheld with the Canon RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM Lens and relied on the Canon EOS R5's capabilities to capture all of the brightness levels in this scene in a single exposure.

When photographing landscape at sunrise and sunset, the red channel is usually the one to watch. The light is strongly warm-toned, and the directly lit portion of the scene will push the red channel high on the histogram.

In Canon Digital Photo Professional (DPP), this image's exposure was reduced by 1 stop, bringing the red channel in the brightest pixels to at or just below 255, with detail remaining in this channel. The foreground was then processed at a brighter setting and combined in Photoshop.

The setting sun hitting the tops of the Alaska Range and the clouds whisping over it in Denali National Park was breathtaking. Or, maybe I was just holding my breath too much while shooting furiously.

The background is a significant percentage of most wildlife (and people) images, and the sky often provides a good background option, even when it is white. Clouds make the sky white, and clouds make the light soft, wrapping around the subject and taming the shadows.

White clouds also cause the camera's auto exposure to calculate for a dark result. I prefer to use a manual exposure with auto ISO when photographing wildlife. These settings permit rapid shutter speed changes to accommodate the animal, with the camera taking care of the proper image brightness with its ISO selection. The sheep was also white, and positive exposure compensation was managing this issue when mountains were in the background.

The white sky background opportunity developed suddenly enough that I chose to get the shot vs. risking missing it while changing a second camera setting. Fortunately, the Canon EOS R5 RAW image did not have a problem with the +1.6 stops of post-processing adjustment.

When the background is white (or black, or any other solid color), the background can easily be extended on the sides of the image void of subject details. In this case, a canvas size increase to the left and top in the matching color would provide space for creativity, including adding words.

This ram is the king of the mountain.

When composing an animal, I like to leave extra space in the direction the animal's body is pointed toward and extra space in the direction the animal's head is facing. In other words, the animal's body should be coming into the frame vs. exiting, and the animal's head should be looking into the frame vs. out of the frame. Usually, this strategy provides a visual balance.

Sometimes, the body and head point in opposite directions, and in that case, a centered animal may be the optimal choice. Another scenario calling for a centered animal is when it is directly facing and approaching the camera (or the opposite), providing symmetry that balances well in the center of the frame.

The ram's raised right-front leg adds a sense of movement, giving this frame an advantage over the many others captured during this encounter.

The first name that came to my mind for this image was "Getting High with the Boys." Fortunately, I quickly realized the alternative meaning.

One of the best aspects of photographing dall sheep is being at the high elevation where they live. While the climb is laborious, the views become constantly tremendous.

Multiple animals in the frame exponentially increase the compositional challenge, and in this scenario, the Canon RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM Lens allowed the frontmost ram to be isolated. When the compositional challenge can be met by juxtaposing multiple animals in a complementary way, the image value can rise. Again, the RF 100-500 was there for this role, zooming out to 100mm to take in the big scene, with 4 additional rams showing in the background.

Strategically incorporating these rams was aided greatly by three of them having a temporarily fixed position (bedded). The strategy of positioning the camera for those three and waiting for the others to cooperate worked nicely this time.

A good reason to pursue many wildlife species is that you get to go where they live. That is the case with dall sheep, and few animals have a more stunning daily view.

On this day, fall was officially a couple of weeks away, but the Denali National Park tundra was aflame in color, and the mountains were loaded with snow.

While climbing to the sheep, I couldn't help pausing to capture this scene. The strong-textured dark foreground ridgeline, red huckleberries in mottled sunlight in the valley, high contrast snowy mountains in the distance, and a straight dark cloud putting a cap on the scene seemed a composition worthy of a photo.

The ability to capture this composition is an example of the advantage of a 100-something mm telephoto zoom lens vs. a 200-600mm, 200-800mm, or similar option.

Do you photograph in the rain?

While rain may not be as comfortable or enjoyable to shoot in as a dry day, the quality of captured-in-the-rain images sometimes surpasses that of those captured on a pleasant weather day. That is fortunate as it rained nearly every day for over two weeks in Alaska.

While a too-heavy rain (and the fog that often accompanies it) reduces visibility, making wildlife difficult (or impossible) to see, wetness darkens and saturates colors, such as this ram's horns. In addition, clouds create a soft, shadowless light at any time of the day and often add a moodiness that can differentiate an image, such as the background in this one.

High-quality waterproof exterior layers, including a hood and boots, are the key to staying dry. A waterproof uninsulated shell jacket and pants enable the use of layers for temperature adjustment, including to avoid sweating, which makes you wet from the inside. Use a rain cover on your backpack to keep your gear and extra clothes dry.

While the Canon EOS R5 Mark II and RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS Lens are weather sealed (and they were wet at times), I opt for a camera rain cover when the rain becomes steady.

When packing the day before the trip, the rain cover for this lens was nowhere to be found. Fortunately, B&H impressively shipped a new one to AK faster than I could get there.

Notice the 1/60 shutter speed used for this image. This speed is usually too long for wildlife photography, and even an eyeball movement can create motion blur. However, insurance shots were on the card, and getting even lower noise results became the objective. The R5 II and RF 100-500 image stabilization had no problem delivering sharp 500mm 1/60 results in adverse conditions while the ram was motionless.

Dall sheep are awesome, and it was a privilege to spend hours with these creatures, including this huge ram, in Denali National Park.

The viewer's eye is drawn to contrast, which is lacking in a strongly blurred portion of the image. Thus, blurring the non-subject area aids in drawing the viewer's eye to the sharp-focused subject.

For this image, the telephoto compression and long distance beyond the subject create the background blur, and getting down into some close rocks takes the foreground out of focus, eliminating those distractions.

While I love the use of blur in photography, I rarely like foreground blur covering the subject's face.

This is one of my favorite images from a recent photo trip to Denali National Park. The picture does not convey the significant time and effort involved in its capture, but images such as this one make it all worthwhile.

Dall sheep are awesome animals, and I counted on the also-awesome Canon EOS R5 II and RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS Lens to bring home the images.

The incredible performance of the latest mirrorless cameras has moved some of the challenges from capture to selection. Which of the great images should I delete, and which few should I share?

I recently shared a Blurred Frame Dall Sheep Ram. The subject and its colorful surroundings made it one of my favorite images from a photo trip. However, the Canon EOS R5 Mark II was set to 20 fps, and it nailed focus on essentially every shot, resulting in numerous situation-similar images to choose from.

Dealing with the new dilemma involves raising the keeper bar, deleting some images we like, and buying more storage. Still, final decisions are challenging, and in this case, the ram's slight head position changes tripped up final selection.

A single image is needed for a project, so I thought I'd crowd-source the final answer.

Which image do you like best? The slightly edgy angled head with a big eye shown here? Or the pleasant, inquisitive, straight-on symmetrical look? Head over to Flickr, Facebook, or Instagram to let me know your choice, helping with my final selection!

As I said in the previous image mentioned:

The viewer's eye is drawn to contrast, which is lacking in a strongly blurred portion of the image. Thus, blurring the non-subject area aids in drawing the viewer's eye to the sharp-focused subject.

For this image, the telephoto compression and long distance beyond the subject create the background blur, and getting down into some close rocks takes the foreground out of focus, eliminating those distractions.

Note that, while I love the use of blur in photography, I rarely like foreground blur covering the subject's face.