Tips Needed For Alaska Landscape and Glaciers

[Joe Butch]

I'm traveling to Alaska in July with my t1i. Any suggestions on what settings/lens/filters to use to photograph glaciers?

I'm also going to hike up to the Harding Ice Field which is a 3 mile long ice field. Wondering what will be the best combination to get that "perfect shot".

I'm guessing a polarizing lens will be best for the glaciers to bring out the blues?

[OsmosisStudios]

Alaska is big.

Wait, let me try that again.

Alaska is BIG

Chances are also good that you wont be able to get up close and personal with a lot of the things alaska has to offer. So you'll want a telephoto (200 for glaciers, 400+ for animals).

If you're only interested in landscape, you'll want something wide (and know how to use it) as well as a good circular polarizer that fits ALL your lenses. Get a 77mm and step-up rings.

If you can, cart a good tripod around with you: it'll likely come in handy. But if you cant, get good at finding things to lean up against.

[Joe Butch]

I'm going to be going to Anchorage, Valdez, Whittier, Columbia Glacier, Portage Glacier, Matanuska Glacier, Exit Glacier, and completing the Harding Ice Field Trail.

[Comedy Rotten]

Originally Posted by Joe Butch

I'm going to be going to Anchorage, Valdez, Whittier, Columbia Glacier, Portage Glacier, Matanuska Glacier, Exit Glacier, and completing the Harding Ice Field Trail.

Anchorage is the biggest city in Alaska, you have to leave the city limits to really get out and take shots. If you head towards Seward, the view out there is beautiful with the ocean, cliffs, and mud-fields (don't go on the mud flats, and be careful driving). If you head out towards Wasilla/Palmer (where I live), you might have a good time (and good views) hiking up Hatcher's Pass (ask any local, they should be able to tell you how to get there).

Valdez is wet in the summer, some days are dry and sunny, but it's usually very wet. The landscape isn't really in Valdez (unless you're hanging around the docks and shoreline), but just outside of it, in the mountains with the glaciers, in the ravines with the waterfalls. It's almost like a jungle in the summer. There's a lot of fun trails with good views all over around Valdez.

As for Whittier, I've only actually been there a couple times (I've lived in the interior most of my life). The Glaciers are pretty awesome. But they are so vast, I'd almost think a UV filter might come in handy because of just how much atmosphere there is. At least, when I look at them, and at the mountains, and try to take pictures of them, they always have a slight bluish haze to them except in the dead of winter when it's really cold. There's also a LOT of sun up here in the summer (literally). And be careful of the wildlife, there ain't much poisonous to be afraid of, but it might be worth it to carry a gun on trails (don't get pepper-spray, because with a griz, that'll only make them madder). Not to scare you or anything . Hope you have an awesome time in Alaska, this place is still my favorite!

[Grumby]

The only thing I know about Alaska is that it is part of the US and not Canada... but I only learned that when my daughter got a Canadian boyfriend

I assume that even though you are going during the northern hemisphere's summer months, visiting glaciers and ice fields is still going to be pretty chilly? Originating from the UK (as I do), 'cold' is something I do know about... (though perhaps not quite glacier cold). You'll find it affects your battery(ies) by shortening their ability to retain charge. If you are relying on just a single battery for the camera, then take it out of the camera when you aren't using it, and keep it in an inside pocket in your parka (or somewhere else nice and warm... ). If you can afford it, get a second battery for the camera, have them both fully charged before you go out each day, and keep the spare in a warm place, so it is ready to go with maximum power still, if the first one gives out (there's nothing worse than finding that the spare is flat too!). Do the same for your external flash, and any other battery powered kit you have.

If you find that your battery does give up and you only have the one, it may be worth removing it from the camera, and warming it up with your body heat for a few minutes. The battery may recover enough for you to get that one last shot.

Enjoy your trip,
Grumby

[Ranja Niyogi]

Just joined the forum. Spent two weeks each in two summers of 2007 and 2009. No other place can match its magnificence. You are sure to see glaciers calving. please make sure to to have your camera on muliple shooting mode and don't release your finger from the shutter till the entire calving exercise is over including the last ripples in the water. This way you will get a wonderful record of sequential events that you will teasure all your life. Good luck!

[Joe Butch]

Thanks for the advice.

I was thinking of renting a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM for my t1i. Do you think this will be a good lens to use on the trip and to hopefully photograph some wildlife? Or do you guys recommend a different lens?

[rpcrowe]

In fact there are free guided tours up into the Exit Glacier on the Kenai Peninsula. lead by a professional guide.

Hope for some sun. I saw very little sun during the 10-days I spent in Alaska. The locals called the Summer or 2008, "The Summer That was Never There" because of the persistent gloom and drizzle and lack of sunshine. This was taken in Early August 2008.

However during sunny days, a CPL is a great addition. When shooting snow and ice, over expose because the camera will be trying to turn the white of snow and light color of ice into 18% gray.

IMO, the best way is to set your exposure at +1 f/stop and shoot a 3 shot bracket at +1, +0 and -1 f/stops. This will end up giving you one shot right as the camera selects and two shots, each with a stop more exposure.

[aprillove20]

I think the Glaciers are pretty awesome.