Blog dedicated to traveling Alaska, bringing to life the great state through quality photography and videography supported with storytelling.
Alaska's pristine waters offer one of the most magical wildlife experiences on Earth: whale watching. With massive humpbacks breaching in icy bays and pods of orcas slicing through the water in elegant unison, the experience leaves a lasting impression. I love nature and photography (as you can probably tell) and I’ve gathered a few considerations to help you plan an unforgettable whale-watching adventure in Alaska.
For those of you who do not follow me on Instagram, I wanted to share a few brief video clips from a recent trip to Washington. A lot of my photography work was done in the early mornings and the evenings - around sunrise and sunset. There were a few mornings and evening when I thought I would capture the perfect photograph but the clouds moved in or the rain started pouring. I wanted to share these videos with you so you could hear the quietness of nature around me and envision what I was seeing while I was crafting my artwork.
On a side note - from a travel standpoint, one week is not nearly long enough in this beautiful state! There’s so much to see, so many trails to hike and such beautiful land to soak up. I had the chance to witness beautiful tulips blooming, hike to Rattlesnake Ledge, and see Mount Rainier poking out of the clouds.
For this landscape photography adventure, I decided to take 2 camera lenses, 1 camera body, 1 tripod and 1 camera bag. When I first started packing for this trip, I wasn’t sure if I would be taking wildlife photographs or more landscape photographs. I decided on taking just 2 lenses but these two cover a fairly wide spectrum of distances. Here they are below:
Mary Parkhill, Photographer
Over the last couple of years, I called sunny Florida ‘home’. As I became more familiar with the ocean and the Florida way of life (#saltlife), I started exploring as much of the state as I could through my camera lens. With the ever-changing weather, constant sunshine and beautiful landscape, Florida is a treasure chest of eye candy!
As a photographer’s paradise, there is almost always a beautiful sunrise or sunset and the weather is always pushing the norms providing texture in the skies. Getting started, I leveraged Google Earth quite a bit to plan my shooting locations. Below are a few of the wonderful locations that I had the chance to explore and photograph while I was in Florida.
If you’re ever in the area, check out the states tourist website for tips/ideas of what to do / where to go. It’s a great resource to begin planning your trip. If you’re looking for more specific locations, feel free to reach out to me here.
Crocodile - Everglades, Florida
Walkway to beach - Pass-a-Grille, FL
Sail Away - St. Petersburg, FL
Tampa at Night
Lifeguard - Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Key West - Key West, Florida
I have always found that when you visit or move to a new city or town, it becomes a piece of who you are. You tend to look at things differently and certain foods or scents can flood your brain with beautiful memories of the people you meet along the way.
My husband and I lived in St. Petersburg, Florida for about 2.5 incredible years! One of our favorite parts of this area was the natural beauty that seemed to be surrounding us at all times. From the pretty parks to the incredible fishing piers and the wonderful wildlife that called this place home - we loved every piece.
Now whenever we visit, each sunset reminds me of how incredible Florida is. Here are a few photographs of the Florida sunset that I captured on my last trip through Florida.
What Florida photographs have you captured lately? Feel free to share them here in the comment section or send me your @Instagram handle. I’d love to check out your work!
Beautiful Ocean Sunset
Ocean blanket greeting the beach with a fishing pier in the background
Sea turtle heading to the ocean
To capture these photographs, I used my ‘go to’ camera equipment. If you are interested in learning more about what I take along with me in my camera bag, check this section of my website out. However, if you are interested in just the camera and camera lens that I used to capture these images, here is the camera body, lens :
Orca Photograph taken in Southeast Alaska
Over the last few years, I have been fortunate enough to travel through Southeast Alaska and set eyes on beautiful vistas! The air always has a refreshing crisp to it and the scenery is grand and powerful. It’s one place in the world that feels raw and untouched. If you’ve ever cruised through Alaska or have had the opportunity to travel there, you know what I mean. If you haven’t, hopefully my photographs below will help show you what I mean.
One thing that I love about Alaska is that it is ever-changing. The environment changes rapidly under the extended summer sun and the wildlife is constantly moving. It’s exciting to see a whale fluke, an eagle in a tree or a bear scrambling up a stream for a salmon. However, as a photographer, it can also be extremely challenging.
Often times, you get one shot (no pun intended). As fast as you see a whale fluke breech the water line, it disappears below the surface. A seal that was once laying on a chunk of ice is now just a tiny head bobbing above the water. A beautiful mountain range disappears under a thick cloud of fog. For all of these reasons and more, Alaska can be a tough place to photograph but if you are up for the challenge, you will have an adventure of a lifetime.
Interested in recommendations of where to photograph during your Alaskan vacation? Send me a message here and I’ll send you a few tips and locations! Happy photographing!
Whale Fluke, Alaska
Mature Bald Eagle sitting in a tree
Orca breeching in Alaska
Crab Pot Buoy
Alaska Forest & Fog
Snow capped Mountains in Alaska
Glacier
In addition to the normal camera gear I tow along with me on each trip, I decided to take two weatherproofing items to Alaska. It rained almost everyday when I was there so I’m extremely happy that I had these two items. One item was for my camera and the second item was for my backpack (I didn’t want the rest of my gear getting wet while I was hiking around). Below are the two lifesaving pieces I had with me:
There’s so much to photograph in New York City! During my latest trip, I traversed through Central Park photographing the autumn colors and the park’s beauty. Below are a 3 of my favorites from the beautiful oasis amidst the hustle and bustle of the city.
Bethesda Terrace, Central Park
After walking from Manhattan to Central Park, I continued towards The Lake crossing under the Bethesda Terrace. I love how the sun lit up the beautiful tile artwork.
Central Park, New York City
The Park’s Autumn colors were illuminated by the late afternoon sun. This tree begged to be noticed with it’s incredible warm hues of yellows and oranges acting as a gateway to the entrance of the walking path.
Central Park, New York City
The green ivy gives the old architecture a contrasting texture.
I traveled up the coastline of Maine starting in Portland and ending in Acadia National Park in an effort to capture the ‘Essence of Autumn’. I’ve been intrigued by Maine’s lighthouses and the natural beauty of the rugged coastline for awhile. Add in the beautiful colors that Fall brings and I could not have imagined more stunning scenery.
Portland, Maine
I arrived in Portland during a ‘Nor-Easter’ which included high winds, ferocious waves, and a lot of rain. Mother Nature’s intense backdrop provided a unique photography opportunity to capture the lighthouse.
Portland, Maine
The following morning, the sun greeted us for about 3 seconds. Just enough time to capture the light peaking through the clouds. Temperatures were frigid but at least the rain held off.
Rockland, Maine
I continued up the coastline of Maine and stopped in Rockland. Right before sunrise, I scrambled over the ocean rocks to catch the lighthouse’s reflection. The crashing of the nearby waves kept me on my toes the entire time I was shooting.
Acadia National Park, Maine
What this photograph does not capture are the jagged rocks and boulders between the end of the footpath and where I took this photograph. It was quite the adventure getting to this location but I think capturing this angle of the lighthouse was well worth it.
Here are a few more photographs from trekking along the coast of Maine. There’s so much to see and do - it’s a location worth a thousand visits!
Mary Jacquel is passionate about Alaska and helping others navigate, explore and experience the beauty of the last frontier.
