A black bear cub pauses to take a break from ravenously feeding on dandelions along Juneau’s road system. Each spring dandelions line the roadside of, what Juneauites call “Out the Road.” The yellow banquet of flowers, although invasive, provides a much-needed food source for the bears. I love that the dandelions are taller than this first-year cub. […]
Flowers
Black Bear Cub, Juneau, Alaska #3396
A black bear cub pauses to take a breather from its ravenous feeding of dandelions along Juneau’s road system. Each spring dandelions line the roadside, what Juneauites call “Out the Road,” starting around mile15. The yellow banquet, although invasive, provides a much-needed food source for the bears. Thank you for visiting and enjoy – Camera: #Nikon #D850, Lens: # Nikkor 80-400mm, […]
Field of Flowers, Pt Bridget Sate Park, Juneau, AK #3352
Right now, the field of wildflowers at Point Bridget State Park is stunning. I took this photo last Thursday and the shooting stars and buttercups were everywhere and beginning to peak. The lupine was just starting up with some bunches here and there in full bloom. Chocolate lilies are coming up next in the blooming […]
Wild Iris, Point Bridget State Park, Juneau, AK #3105
Point Bridget State Park in Juneau, Alaska, has erupted into fields of wildflowers as far as the eye can see. The wild irises, buttercups, and geraniums are peaking, and the lupines and shooting stars are just past their prime. The riot of color and flowers creates total chaos for a photographer, so I isolated everything […]
Lupine, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska #3092
This photo is of lupine growing along the walking ramp that leads from the parking lot to the Mendenhall Glacier visitor center in Juneau, Alaska. January and February are typically very busy with deadlines as we get our publishing projects out to press. While looking for images for the reprint of the Mendenhall Glacier book, […]
Indian Paintbrush, Glacier Bay NP, Alaska #3066
An Indian paintbrush flower stands out against a blurred field of blue lupine. I love using my long telephoto lenses to isolate flowers by intentionally putting the background out of focus to give the image a painterly feel. Glacier Bay is often thought of as a frigid land of snow and ice and cold blue […]
Parakeet Auklet, St Paul – Pribilof Islands, Alaska #3013
A Parakeet Auklet hangs out on the seaside cliffs of St. Paul in the Pribilof Islands. The Pribilofs are a small group of islands hidden in the Bering Sea encompassing some 77 square miles. The three hour flight in a small double prop plane from Anchorage covers 770 miles. The Pribilofs are famous for their large populations […]
Mendenhall Rafters, Juneau, Alaska…Image 2884
I never tire of photographing Juneau’s Mendenhall Glacier. The glacier has been in the news quite a bit this last year, and in my mind it deserves all the attention. From the now famous Mendenhall ice caves to two jökulhlaup events in one summer, the Mendenhall demands attention. This image brings together action and beauty […]
Arctic Lupine, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2412
It’s full fledge flower season in Southeast Alaska in May. The Arctic lupine is a very common plant found throughout the area this time of the year and is one of the first flowers of the spring/summer season. Camera: Nikon F4, Lens: 300mm f/4 Nikkor, Film:35mm Velvia (35mm color slide film).-Mark Kelley
Auke Lake and Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2228
I shot this as a cover for the local wilderness guiding group called Alaska Discovery. After I shot this photo, the Chapel by the Lake expanded its parking lot and most of the fireweed in the foreground got paved over. Slowly, the fireweed is returning to this area. This photo illustrates the cover of the […]
Auke Lake, Fireweed and Cow Parsnip, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2677
I shot this same scene about 12 years ago, but there was only one stock of fireweed. The images were acceptable, but never reached calendar/portfolio level. Twelve years later and the one stock grew into a field of fireweed. It rains a lot in Juneau. Most people really don’t realize just how much it does […]
Auke Lake, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2458
Chapel-by-the Lake has of the best known views in Juneau. The view of Auke Lake back-dropped by the Mendenhall Glacier during the peak of the fireweed bloom is a must see in mid-summer. Auke Lake is the home of the University of Alaska-Southeasts Juneau campus. This photo illustrates a card in my collection of blank […]
Bear Bread and Dwarf Dogwood, Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska – Image 2504
Bear bread is a fungus that grows on spruce trees. I like this image because the white dwarf dogwood looks like an earring on the ear-shaped bear bread. This image illustrates page 86 in my book on Glacier Bay National Park. Camera: Nikon F/5, Lens: 28-70mm f/2.8 Nikkor lens, Film 35mm Velvia slide film-Mark Kelley
Chocolate Lilies, Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska – Image 2721
Chocolate lilies are beautiful flowers but smell like a sewer. Usually flowers smell wonderful but for some reason these flowers do not follow the pattern of smelling good. This image appears in my photo book on the park: “Glacier Bay National Park: Alaska.” Enjoy the photo and thanks for visiting. Once again as a reminder, […]
Columbine Flower, Admiralty Island, Alaska – Image 2309
A small dragonfly lands on a columbine flower on Admiralty Island in Southeast Alaska. The flower grows in moist woods, on rocky banks, and alpine meadows. Photo can be found on page 59 in my 2004 Engagement Calendar featuring one of my photos per week for 2004. Camera: Nikon F4,Lens: 100mm marco f/2.8 Nikkor, Film: […]
Dwarf Fireweed, Granite Creek Basin, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2532
I stumbled on this field of dwarf fireweed or river beauties on a hike up into Granite Creek Basin. I had no idea these fields of flowers were up there and was just on a cloudy day hike with no real goal. I was happy to have had my camera and tripod along to make […]
Field of Fireweed, Coast Mountains, Juneau – Image 2688
I have been watching this field of fireweed for years. The field is right by the pond next to Temsco at the airport. Twenty years ago this area barely had any fireweed. I can see this view from Egan Highway. The only problem is that as soon as I get out of the car and […]
Fields of fireweed grow at Brotherhood Park, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2023
Mendenhall Glacier is the backdrop for the Brotherhood Park meadow. Fields of fireweed fill the meadow from July through early August. All summer the meadow blooms with wild flowers first starting with wild irises and chocolate liies, and then comes arctic cotton and Indian rhubarb and finally ending with fireweed. I shot this on Fuji […]
Fireweed, Brotherhood Bridge, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2732
I shot this image of the same spot as the previous website photo but from a different vantage point. The photo was taken from the more standard position–the raised parking lot in front of this view that is just off the main road connecting Juneau from downtown to the end of the road. The rider […]
Fireweed, Mendenhall Glacier, Brotherhood Bridge Park, Alaska – Image 2530
What I like about this image is the color change in the fireweed from the flowers in the foreground shade to the distant sunlit flowers. I shot this photo just before the light fell completely off the field. What I have learned about shooting glacier scenes is to let the glacier fall into shadow if […]
Fireweed, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2731
Fireweed season in Southeast Alaska is July through mid-August. This field of wild flowers at Brotherhood Bridge is just off the highway going out the road about 8 miles from downtown Juneau. It is probably one of the most photographed scenes in Alaska as it should be—a glacier, mountains, and a field of wild flowers. […]
Fireweed, Peterson Lake Salt Chuck, Amalga Harbor, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2318
The fireweed season in Juneau is mid-July to early August. The calm water, still flowers and great light are usually only found early in the morning at first light. On the great days, I try to be up at sunrise shooting the great light. This photo illustrates the month of August in the 2004 Juneau […]
Mendenhall Glacier from Brotherhood Park, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2117
The Brotherhood Park, named for the Alaska Native Brotherhood, frames the Mendenhall Glacier. The meadow is a favorite wildflower walk for Juneauites. In early August, it is covered with fireweed blooms; earlier stages of summer display wild irises, Alaska cotton and chocolate lilies. The photo was taken with a Nikon F/5 camera body and a […]
Paintbrush and beach pea thrive along the beaches of Alsek River in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska – Image 2027
I spent a week in Dry Bay in 1999 while shooting photos for my book on Glacier Bay National Park. While there, I came across these two lone paintbrushes growing up through a sea of beach pea. To emphasize this relation, I shot this photo with a 300mm lens with a large aperture (f/4) to […]
Paintbrush and Beach Pea, Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska – Image 2720
I like the contrast of the two yellow flowers of paintbrush blooming through a large field of green and purple beach pea. Photographically, images are usually successful when you can set up a visual pattern which gets broken by one or two contrasting elements. This image appears in my photo book on the park: “Glacier […]
Paintbrush, Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska – Image 2719
This incredible field of paintbrush was shot along the Alsek River by Alsek Bay. The large glaciers of the bay are just off to the right. Unfortunately there was no way to include them in this frame. I used a short telephoto to stack up the flowers and a shallow depth of field (wide open […]
Totem in flowers, Juneau City Museum, Alaska – Image 2620
It is finally flower season in Juneau. We had a long winter which just hung on and on and on. The totem pole next to the Juneau City Museum carved by master carver, Amos Wallace, is surrounded by three types of flowers at this time a year including Lilac, Mountain Ash, and Hawthorne. I used […]