The view from Thunder Mountain overlooking the Mendenhall Glacier is one of my all-time favorite views in Juneau, Alaska. This image illustrates the month of July in the 2024 Alaska Calendar. Purchase your favorite Mark Kelley calendar in Juneau stores or online at markkelley.com. Thank you for visiting and for the gift of your time. Enjoy […]
Mendenhall Glacier
Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska #3354
I took this photo in May just after the winter ice disappeared from Mendenhall Lake. Right after break-up, the water level in the lake is usually very low. The glacier’s ice is coming out of a deep winter freeze and just beginning to thaw starting the process of refilling the lake. The low water level […]
Black Wolf, Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska #3442
An image of the wolf who captured our hearts, Romeo. A special moment to remind us of how lucky we are to live with a glacier and wildlife in our very own backyard. This image illustrates the month of February in the 2023 Alaska Calendar. Purchase your favorite calendar in local Juneau stores or at markkelley.com. I will […]
Fall in Juneau, Alaska #3442
I shot this image at Moose Lake in the Dredge lake area of the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area. Juneau can be extremely wet during the fall and is not famous for its fall colors (unlike Interior Alaska which can rage with fall colors). With some luck and a few dry spells every once in a […]
Mendenhall Glacier and Lake, Juneau, Alaska #3438
After 43 years of photographing Mendenhall Glacier, this photo rates as one of my most favorite images of the glacier. On this fall day, I waited for the sunrise to light up the Coast Range mountains behind the glacier but before the light actually lit the glacier face. Once the sun hits the glacier, the […]
Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska #3422
I visited the Mendenhall Glacier with good friends and we found this amazing surface lake on the ice. Glacier streams and sometimes small rivers can be found on the glacier surface in temperate climates. In places those streams can create lakes. These lakes often disappear just as quickly as they were created. Eventually, the water […]
Mendenhall Glacier & Lake, Juneau, AK #3412
Last Saturday the Juneau area experienced wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour and an atmospheric river that dumped so much water on us, I felt like we were getting washed down the drain. Then Monday showed up calm, clear and breathless. The contrast between nature’s wrecking ball and nature’s peaceful serenity was stark […]
Northern Lights, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska #3392
I had a wonderful shoot on Friday night (see previous posting), and the northern lights’ predictions were strong as well for Saturday night. To tell the truth, I have not had much luck shooting the aurora for the past year. Understandably, I was overjoyed but a little skeptical with the possibility of shooting the lights […]
Mendenhall Glacier and Lake, Juneau, Alaska #3388
About two weeks ago a few intrepid glacier explorers found a network of ice caves along the north side of the Mendenhall Glacier. Ever since then there has been a constant daily line of hundreds of Juneauites marching out to check out the caves. Two Sundays ago, I walked out to the caves starting around […]
Aurora Borealis, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska
This aurora borealis photo is my new Facebook banner image that I took some time ago. This fall/winter I have spent a number of very long, frustrating nights out thinking I was going to get strong showings of the northern lights, only to have no luck. I used to plan on three to four good […]
Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska #3382
The weather service forecasted overcast skies for yesterday. This was just fine with me because we have been so busy at the office. At around 11AM I looked out my window and saw clearing skies, so I immediately left and headed to the Mendenhall Glacier to get some good reflection shots. While I was shooting […]
Moosehead Lake, Juneau, Alaska #3360
Yesterday I posted a wide image of Moosehead Lake that we are using as our new Facebook banner. Today’s image is a variation on the same theme. During that same shoot, I used a different lens setting and got a whole new image. It is not very often I can get what I call a […]
Moosehead Lake, Juneau, Alaska #3359
It has been one the rainiest summer I can remember in my forty-plus years of living in Juneau. The joke going around town goes as follows: It has only rained two times in Juneau this summer, one time for 40 days and a second time for 30 days. This may be slightly overstated, but it […]
Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska #3358
A heads up… this weekend fall colors should be peaking at the glacier! I took this photo on September 12 several years ago. This Saturday is September 12 and currently the weather forecast for this Friday through Monday includes some sunshine! Get out and enjoy the Mendenhall Glacier, autumn colors, and the break from the […]
Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska #3357
Bob Engelbrecht treks along an icy ledge next to a deep blue glacial lake on the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska. Last week Bob Engelbrecht and Reed Stoops invited Jan McPhetres and me along on a photo trek on the Mendenhall Glacier. Bob moved to Juneau in 1981, arriving in a Hughes 500 helicopter. Originally, […]
Jokulhlaup, Mendenhall River, Juneau, Alaska #3356
Since 2011 the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area has been experiencing glacier lake outburst floods called jokulhlaups. A jokulhlaup is an Icelandic word describing a glacier event where a large body of water created by rainfall and glacier melt collects in a big lake behind a glacier ice dam. Eventually the water pressure gets too great […]
Moon-Lit Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska #3126
I have always dreamed of lighting up the Mendenhall Glacier for a night shot. Of course, the only way I could figure out how to do this was to wait for a clear Juneau night sky along with a full moon. At the end of November, two years ago, I was out on a frozen […]
Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska #3127
During clear and full-moon nights, when I was younger, I would ski or snowshoe up Spaulding Meadows, past the John Muir cabin, and then up to Auk Mountain to wait for the moon to rise here in Juneau, Alaska. This night in January it was especially cold, maybe zero degrees Fahrenheit, and the wind was […]
Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska #3102
I have loved every cover of every Juneau Calendar since publishing the first calendar 31 years ago. Yet, this cover is quickly becoming one of my all-time favorites. I remember the night well: I was standing along the edge of Mendenhall Lake in late November and it was around 10 degrees Fahrenheit. My car was […]
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, […]
Mendenhall Glacier and Lake, Juneau, Alaska #3091
In Juneau the last week of January was unusually warm and wet; rains washed most of the snow away at sea level, and covered the ice on the Mendenhall Lake with a thin pool of water. On Friday the skies cleared and the temperature nosedived into the low teens. The water that had pooled up […]
Ice Cave, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska #3087
I first visited the Mendenhall ice caves in the summer of 2009, when my son Gabe took me under the ice for my first time. I was so visually amazed by what I was seeing! One of my images from that day’s shoot ended up in a Patagonia catalog. Between 2009 and 2017 the caves […]
Black Bear, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, AK #3080
One of the most beloved and recognizable bears along Steep Creek in the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area is bear #25, also affectionately known by locals as “Nicky”. In this image I shot on Saturday, she catches a very large coho salmon in Steep Creek and brings it back to her two cubs. Two weeks ago […]
Chocolate Lily, Juneau, Alaska #3063
Right now the Point Bridget State Park meadows in Juneau, Alaska, are erupting in endless fields of wildflowers, including chocolate lilies, shooting stars, irises, and buttercups. After years of shooting flowers with macro lenses, I have started to use my extreme telephoto lenses almost exclusively. I have been shooting most of my flowers shots for […]
Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska #3056
A constant problem for photographers is access and opportunity to photograph hard-to-reach places and events. This problem is especially difficult in Alaska because of its remote nature. I really appreciate everyone that has helped me get to locations that make photos like this one possible for the last forty years. I shot this photo of […]
Northern Lights, Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska #3048
In early November I spent two cold nights on a northern lights watch in front of the Mendenhall Glacier. I logged four-hours each night and got two ten-minute opportunities of actual shooting time, and what a great twenty minutes! I posted the first image from this shoot during the holidays in late December and named the image “Rainbow […]
Ice Caves, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska #3046
I have some70,000 digital images on my computer and I have been editing like a madman to cut that number in half. During this massive edit I am discovering images that I have overlooked in the past, and some will be included in my upcoming Fireside Chat presentation at the Mendenhall Glacier on Friday, March […]
Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska #3045
According to the Juneau Empire January 2018 was the coldest January in Juneau for the last six years. Daily temperature averaged 28.5 degrees Fahrenheit. These crisp, cold days brought out many Juneauites to take advantage of the frozen Mendenhall Lake. Having a very accessible glacier in your backyard makes for a very special place to […]
Alaska Magazine Cover, Juneau, Alaska #3042
Happy New Year! I was scanning the magazine covers in the checkout line at our local grocery store, and did a double take when I spied Alaska Magazine. The front cover image looked like one of my photos, and sure enough the credits showed that my photo agent had sold one of my photos to the […]
Northern Lights-Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, AK #3041
Rainbow Aurora over Glacier Lit by Full Moon During a northern lights’ shoot in Alaska, I usually spend the night in my car at a good overlook, and step outside to shoot if and when the lights appear. For this particular photo shoot in early November I spent two nights outside of my car and […]
Ice Cave, Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska #3004
Come to the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center on Wednesday, May 10, from 6-8pm, and celebrate the release of my new book “Alaska’s Mendenhall Glacier.” I will give a twenty minute presentation at 6:15PM to talk about some of my more favorite images in the book including this image I call “Iced Over” Everyone is invited! […]
IT IS A CELEBRATION
Come to the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center on Wednesday, May 10, from 6-8pm, and celebrate with Mark Kelley and friends his new book release: “Alaska’s Mendenhall Glacier.” Juneau’s own Nick Jans wrote the text for this 80 page book which features 78 photos along with a 10-page section showcasing historic photos of the glacier. At […]
Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska Image 2988
The clear ice of a frozen Mendenhall Lake gives us a mirror reflection of the face of Mendenhall Glacier. The people in this image are a bonus, serving as a reference point of just how big the glacier really is. I have only seen the ice this crystal clear a couple times in my forty […]
Aurora Borealis, Juneau, Alaska-Image #2952
Last night (2-17-2016) I shot this photo of the Aurora Borealis over the mountains surrounding the valley and the Mendenhall Glacier from the North Douglas boat ramp. Although I spent most of the night and early morning hours looking for northern lights, I only witnessed one powerful display sometime between 11:30pm-12:30am. The northern lights created […]
Mendenhall Glacier Ice Cave, Juneau, Alaska-Image #2942
A frozen Mendenhall Lake made for easy access two winters ago to the now world famous Mendenhall ice caves. All of Juneau turned out for a visit. This particular ice cave has since collapsed. In this image my friend Stephanie is catching the sunlight shining into the cave through a moulin. A moulin is a […]
Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska – Image #2941
Mt McGinnis, Mt Stroller White, and the Mendenhall Glacier reflect in an open-water pond created by the flowing water of Steep Creek in winter. Juneau and Southeast Alaska experience warmer temperatures during the winter months compared to interior Alaska, and we often have open water in the middle of winter. Lucky me, as I am […]
Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska-Image #2938
I love snow, and the Juneau area has been getting hit with large dumps of snow for the past few days. The world of winter white looks great. Virgin snow and sunshine makes any place look oh-so perfect, yet last year our town did not get much snow, and I missed it. This shot is from the […]
Nugget Falls, Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska-Image 2930
The Juneau 2015 summer tourist season comes to an end this Thursday, September 24th, with the final arrival of the Holland America ship the Oosterdam. The Mendenhall Glacier is Juneau’s number one tourist attraction, and one of the most visited spots at the glacier is Nugget Falls. I love it photographically when I can get […]
Thunder Mountain, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska-Image 2929
One of my most favorite views of the Mendenhall Glacier is from Thunder Mountain. The Mendenhall is about 13 miles long and from the visitor center one can see about 4 to 5 miles up the glacier before it makes a turn to the left and goes out of site. This view gives you the rest […]
Kayakers, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska-Image #2924
Paddlers in a double kayak cruise by the monolithic ice face of the Mendenhall Glacier. I shot this photo from a high rock wall across from the front of the glacier. When I climbed to my perch for the photo, I was pleasantly surprised by the reflections of the ice walls. I had not expected the reflections, and they […]
Mendenhall River Rafters, Juneau, Alaska – Image #2915
Houstonia, a Houston, Texas city magazine, chose this Mark Kelley image for their June 2015 cover. The magazine is doing a story on great escapes and Alaska is part of their focus. The design director, Chris Skiles, discovered markkelley.com in his web search and found this cover image. How cool is that! Thank you for visiting. […]
Mountain Goats, Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area, Juneau, Alaska…Image # 2902
As the winter progresses in the Juneau area, the snow keeps getting deeper and deeper in the high mountains and mountain goats start moving down to lower elevations. I photographed this nanny goat and kid on the, what the locals refer to as, the Rock Peninsula jutting out into Mendenhall Lake. The Mendenhall Glacier parking lot […]
Ice Cave, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska…Image # 2892
I have been visiting the ice caves of the Mendenhall Glacier since 2009 when my son, Gabe, who guides for Above and Beyond Alaska, first took me under the ice. This particular ice cave is changing all the time and is slowly disappearing as the glacier retreats and thins. As a matter of fact, this summer (2014) […]
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 […]
“Once Upon Alaska” 19th Spread…Image 2878
It was a beautiful January day and I was dying to go outside to photograph but I was waiting for a business call from San Francisco at 1PM. Once I got the call I asked my friend to make it quick. This worked for him as he had another business meeting scheduled. After the meeting […]
Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2852
This is my friend, Dave Haas, horsing around in front of the face of the Mendenhall Glacier. I was on an assigned shoot for Bradley-Reid, the State of Alaska’s advertising agency, to promote winter tourism. I wanted to show the scale of the glacier and just how accessible it is. In the winter it is […]
Alaska Airlines Jet, Mendenhall Towers, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2942
I have been after this shot for years and years and years. The necessary ingredients are lots of snow on the Towers to reflect the morning light; and a plane leaving the Juneau Airport timed to hit the gap between the towers at sunrise during the months of December and January. During these months the […]
Alaska Airlines on Approach, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2803
I love this view of planes landing with the Mendenhall Glacier as the backdrop taken from the wetlands. Here, an Alaska Airlines jet looks like it landing on the glacier when in reality the glacier is a good five to six miles from the airport. I shot this image with a moderate telephoto lens trying […]
Alaska Airlines, Take-off, Juneau Airport, Alaska – Image 2727
With the Mendenhall Glacier and surrounding mountains as a backdrop, an Alaska Airlines jet takes off from the Juneau Airport. I love this perspective. Jets on the tarmac look so large. But when you throw them against an Alaska-sized background they look so small and insignificant. Enjoy the photo and thanks for visiting. Camera body: […]
Alaskan Brewing Company Ad “Our Crew, Our Brew” – Image 2299
Living in a small town of 30,000 plus people does not give me many opportunities to shoot commercialadvertising. The local brewery has used me off and on over the years. Their beer is wonderful, and theirgrowth has been astronomical. This shoot of one of their workers running by me with the Mendenhall Glacierin the background […]
Black Bears of Mendenhall Glacier – Image 2573
OUT OF PRINT – Mark’s book featuring the eleven or so black bears that roam around Steep Creek at the Mendenhall Glacier. Once the salmon start running sometime in mid-July, thousands upon thousands of visiting tourists and locals alike will be face to face with these bears as they feed in the steam. Last years […]
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, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2347
A pair of cross-country skiiers heads out across the frozen Auke Lake. This view is taken from the Chapel by the Lake parking lot. Auke Lake is the campus of the University of Alaska-Southeast in Juneau and the students get to check out this view every day. In the background is the edge of the […]
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 […]
Black Bear Cubs, Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2684
The Mendenhall Glacier area has a large population of black bears. Salmon start running up Steep Creek next to the visitors center in late July or early August. Once the salmon arrive in the stream, about 10 to 14 black bears come down from the hills to start feasting on the sockeye salmon. These two […]
Bicycler, Iceberg, Mendenhall Lake, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2562
This is an old photo I am reviving for my next book on Juneau that I am beginning to gather material for. I love this photo because riding bicycles around icebergs defines wild fun adventure for me. To realize that I can do this, just minutes from home, is one of the reasons I live […]
Bear Belly, Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska – Image 2632
The bear viewing along the 100 or so yards of raised boardwalks at the Mendehall Glacier boggles the mind and the view finder. I shot a book on the black bears at the Mendenhall Glacier in a months time essentially never leaving the boardwalks. I shot this photo with well over 100 other people on […]
Bear Belly, Black Bear, Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska – Image 2575
Last weeks image featured this bear catching a red sockeye salmon. In this image this very large bear reclines on some willow bushes after finishing a sockeye salmon supper. While scratching her chest with one paw, she licks clean the other paw. Bears usually never display their bellies. It is a very vulnerable position and […]
Black Bear, Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska – Image 2574
A very large black bear snatches a sockeye salmon out of Steep Creek at the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area. Just 13 miles from downtown Juneau, Steep Creek offers one of the best wildlife viewing opportunities in Alaska. Over 10 bears eat and live along the banks of this small creek when the salmon runs arrive […]
Black Bear, Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska – Image 2578
Out on a limb: This first year bear scooted out on a spruce tree limb when its mother became alarmed by another approaching black bear and shooed it up the tree. I shot this photo with the lens totally racked out (equivalent of about a 600mm) and hand-held. Shot from a viewing platform, the vibrations […]
Black Wolf “Romeo” Mendenhall Lake, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2649
Surrounded by the Mendenhall Glacier and Towers, a black wolf the local Juneauites nicknamed, “Romeo,” crosses the frozen Mendenhall Lake to get between his hunting grounds. Wolves mate for life and as the story goes, his pregnant mate was killed in the spring of 2002 on the road to the glacier visitor’s center. Romeo showed […]
Black Wolf (Romeo), Mendenhall Lake, Juneau – Image 2696
The black wolf known as Romeo had spent over seven years in and around the Mendenhall Glacier and was one of Juneau’s most beloved treasures. I took this photo of him in late March of 2009, and in September of 2009 two thoughtless low-lifes illegally killed him. There will be a memorial service for Romeo […]
Black Wolf, “Romeo”, Alaska – Image 2550
I have always shot film and started experimenting with digital in January 2007. This was my first shoot with my new digital Nikon D200. I wanted to see how well the digital would do balancing the white snow and black wolf. This wolf is a consistent visitor to the Mendenhall Glacier area in the winter […]
Black Wolf, “Romeo”, Alaska – Image 2551
This image was taken during the same shoot as the previous photo. This was my first and only time photographing “Romeo”. I have seen the wolf several times but never attempted to photograph the animal before experimenting with my new digital camera. There is a lot of controversy around photographing “Romeo” and the different methods […]
Moose Lake, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2483
This picture was taken near the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau at Moose Lake,which is part of the Dredge Lakes trail system. This area is very popularwith dog walkers, mountain bikers, and hikers. It’s also a great place tocatch some fall color this time of year. This picture can be also be seen inmy Juneau 2007 […]
Black Bears, Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska – Image 2577
A lone black bear crosses Steep Creek. I shot this photo early in September which in Juneau means early autumn. What I love about this photo is the great light of the evening sun illuminating the grasses along the creek showing the first signs of autumn yellowing. But what sends this photo over the top […]
Black Bears, Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska – Image 2576
A mother black bear with her twin cubs stroll the banks of Steep Creek at the Mendenhall Glacier. Many people think black bears are black. But, in fact black bears come in all colors from white to grey to black to brown. This photo illustrates some of the color phases. The mother is two-toned with […]
Black Bears, Steep Creek, Alaska – Image 2735
A black bear mother leads her cubs along Steep Creek. By mid-August, sockeye salmon have swarmed up Steep Creek right next to the parking lots for the Mendenhall Glacier visitors center. With the arrival of the sockeye as many as 18 black bears move down to the stream to feast on the fish. With up […]
Black bears, Steep Creek, Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area, Alaska – Image 2791
These three black bears roam the bear trail along Steep Creek at the Mendenhall Glacier. The sockeye salmon usually show up in the creek between the third week of July and first week of August. This shot is of the bear that the locals refer to as “Nicky” with her two cubs. Over the years […]
Black Wolf “Romeo”, Mendenhall Lake, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2561
My What Big Teeth You Have quote Little Red Riding Hood I have been trying to get within shooting range of the wolf for years. Although this wolf is used to people, like most animals he maintains a certain distance before moving or being displaced by approaching people. I have learned that my tall 65 […]
Black Wolf Romeo, Mendenhall Lake, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2560
The black wolf hanging out at the Mendenhall Glacier has amazing eyes. In certain light the yellow/orange just glows. I have been working on getting a portrait of the wolf emphasizing his eyes. This is my best effort to date. I shot this image with my 500mm F/4 lens on my digital body which gives […]
Brotherhood Bridge, Mendenhall Glacier, Fireweed, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2431
Photographing this incredible landscape is easy and has Juneaus most popular and accessible photo points. This photo is taken from a parking lot just off the Egan Highway about 10 miles from downtown Juneau. This photo illustrates the month of July in my 2006 Juneau Alaska calendar. Camera: Nikon F/5, Lens: 35-70mm f/2.8, Film 35mm […]
Brotherhood Park, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2615
Brotherhood Park, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska #2615 I am dreaming of summer. This image of bicyclers pedalling through the fireweed on the path at Brotherhood Park with the Mendenhall Glacier in the background is an August image. But for the past couple of weeks, Juneau has been bathed in sunshine and warm spring temperatures, and […]
Dog Sledding, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2468
Tourists dog mush across the Mendenhall Glacier in the Juneau Ice field. This TEMSCO helicopter tour offers you a helicopter ride over the Juneau Ice Field and then a dog sled ride where the passengers actually get to steer the dog team. It is an amazing trip. This photo illustrates the month of July in […]
Dwarf Fireweed, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Southeast Alaska – Image 2372
We have had an extremely dry, sunny and hot summer. The fireweed which isusually peeking this week has already gone to seed two weeks ago. I shotthis photo of the dwarf fireweed at the swimming pond by the MendenhallGlacier. This pond is closed off from the larger Mendenhall Lake and warmsto a very comfortable swimming […]
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, Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska – Image 2626
It is the height of the fireweed season in Juneau. It has been incredible summer filled with more sunshine than rain and record setting temperatures. So far every day in the the month of July has been sunny (as of 7-14). This fireweed was shot along the airport dike trail several years ago. This year, […]
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 2378
One of the most photographed scenes in Juneau is the field of fireweed atBrotherhood Park next to the Mendenhall River with the Mendenhall Glacier inthe background. Most photos only show the scene. There is a great hikingtrail right through the middle of this scene, and I love to put people in myphotos. This photo illustrates […]
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. […]
Fishing Bear, Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska – Image 2631
My favorite time of the year for bear viewing is the month of August in Juneau at the Mendenhall Glacier. The salmon have arrived in Steep Creek and historically up to a dozen or so black bears are there to welcome the returning salmon. Black bears live all over the world, but the only place […]
Frozen Ice Berg, Mendenhall Lake, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2341
I was out photographing the ice bergs frozen in the Mendenhall Lake when two ice climbers showed up on their bicycles. I knew this was going to make for some good photos. We spend most of day messing around on the frozen lake. This photo illustrates page 19: theweek of 2-15 to 2-21-04 in my […]
Geese, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau – Image 2231
Canadian geese fly in formation past the Mendenhall Glacier and surrounding mountains. The geese spend much of the winter eating on the Mendenhall Golfcourse. I was lucky to get them to flush in front of the glacier and luckier still to get them all to seperate. This photo illustrates the month of November in the […]
Heintzleman Ridge and Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2098
Bethany “three pins” her way down Heintzleman Ridge with the Mendenhall Glacier as the backdrop. I shot the photo with a Nikon F-4 with an 35-70mm Nikor F/2.8 lens on Fuji Velvia film with a polarizing filter.-Mark Kelley
Heintzleman Ridge, Mendenhall Glacier Juneau, Alaska – Image 2656
Heintzleman ridge is my favorite overlook of the Mendenhall Glacier. The hike up the trail takes two plus hours and climbs over 2,500 feet. I shot this photo in October and what looks like a lake in the bottom of the photo is really a large pond. I cropped the image in camera to make […]
Ice Caves, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2693
The approaching winter starts freezing up the local environment, and the ice caves under the Mendenhall Glacier become relatively safer to explore. Exploring the ice caves along the edge of a moving glacier is dangerous and probably not a recommended recreation. But with that said, a lot of Juneauites go to the glacier to visit […]
Ice Climbing, Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska-Image – Image 2565
A climber claws his way up the face of the Mendenhall Glacier with Mount Stroller White in the background. Since the glacier can calve from its front edge or face, climbing a glacier face is not a recommended practice. I just happened to be at the glacier when the climber was ascending. I would have […]
Ice Climbing, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2233
The blue ice of the Mendenhall Glacier surrounds the ice climber. Stroller White Mountain stands as the backdrop. Beautiful clear days bring all sorts of winter enthusiasts out to the Mendehall Glacier and Lake for skating, ice climbing, skiing, bicycling and strolling. This photo illustrates the month of January in the 2002 Juneau Alaska Calendar. […]
Ice Climbing, Mendenhall Glaicer, Alaska – Image 2647
Ice climbing the front of a glacier is very dangerous. I was out walking around on the frozen lake when I saw a group of climbers top roping the glacier and started climbing. I backed way off using my 80-200mm. I was captivated by the small ant-like climber against the incredible blue ice wall with […]
Ice Climbing, Nugget Falls, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2751
It was a beautiful sunny day, and I headed out to the Mendenhall Glacier and Lake to see what I could see. Since it was mid-week, the place was empty. On a sunny weekend there would have been hundreds of folks enjoying the ice, snow and views. I saw two people ice climbing the Nugget […]
Ice Skating, Mendenhall Lake, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2752
This is my brother , Michael, skating across the Mendenhall Lake in front of the Mendenhall Glacier. He was visiting us at Christmas so the image was taken during the height of the winter darkness. This time of year the sun comes up around 9:30am and is getting dark by 3:30pm. During the day, the […]
Ice skating, Mendenhall Lake, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2246
It is still very wintery in the Juneau area. Skating on all of local lakes and ponds has been fanastic. I shot this photo of my brother skating on the Mendenhall Lake looking from the glacier back up the Mendenhall Valley to the west. Disney used this photo for a European poster advertising a movie […]
Ice Skating, Mendenhall Lake, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2344
Until last year when Juneau built its first indoor rink, the only place to skate was on frozen lakes. The skater is my brother who was visiting from down south. He was a college hockey player and had really only skated in rinks. He found the freedom of racing across miles of unbroken ice without […]
Ice Skating, Mendenhall Lake, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2701
Until this day, I had never seen the ice on the Mendenhall Lake so smooth that it would reflect the glacier so clearly. What happened is that a very heavy January rain of about 10 inches fell in two days and washed all of the snow away. After the snow was melted the water just […]
Iceberg Fall, Mendenhall Lake, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2635
I have been waiting 30 years to nail this photo. I previsualized a wonderful shot of an iceberg in great light surrounded by a blast of autumn foliage. It took me a long time to realized I needed to do the shoot from a kayak and not from the shore using telephoto lenses. I waited […]
Iceberg, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2546
Every year the Mendenhall Lake freezes providing a great surface for cross-country skiing and skating. If the Mendenhall Glacier calves late in the fall season, the icebergs get trapped in the ice making a wonderful landscape for recreationalists and for photographers. This image illustrates the month of December in my 2008 Southeast Alaska Calendar. Camera: […]
Iceberg, Mendenhall Lake, Juneau, Southeast Alaska – Image 2393
An ice climber repels down the face of an iceberg frozen into MendenhallLake. A bicycle works great as a means of traveling on frozen lakes.Camera: Nikon F5, Lens: 35-75mm f/2.8 Nikkor, Polarized, Film: 35mm Velvia(35mm color slide film).-Mark Kelley
Iceberg, Mendenhall Lake, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2648
Several years ago the Mendenhall Glacier calved the largest icebergs that I had ever seen in the Mendenhall Lake during my 30 plus years of photographing the glacier. Having calved late in the season, the icebergs did not melt and ended up frozen in the lake. The ice-locked icebergs provided an unbelievable landscape and an […]
Icebergs, Mendenhall Lake, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2433
The summer of 2004 was one of the hottest summers on record for Juneau. The Mendenhall Glacier retreated over 600 feet leaving huge icebergs in its retreat. Only about 10% of the iceberg is visible above the water which means that these are huge icebergs. This photo illustrates the month of September in my 2006 […]
Kayak on Moose Lake with Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2240
I have had the cover image for the Juneau Convention and Visitors Bureau’s vacation planner for four years in a row. In the past the bureau has always wanted a hint of the Mendenhall Glacier in the photo. Camera: Nikon F/5, Lens: 80-200mm f/2.8 zoom Nikkor, film: 35mm fuji Velvia.-Mark Kelley
Kayak, Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska – Image 2679
Both my sons, Gabe and Owen, have grown into adventurous young men. Gabe who is 24 sent himself through university working the summers as a guide. Presently he is working with Above and Beyond in Juneau, Alaska as a kayak and glacier guide. Above and Beyond specializes in guided hikes on the Mendenhall Glacier and […]
Kayaking, Moose Lake, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2260
A kayaker enjoys the morning reflection of Mendenhall Glacier in Moose Lake in the Mendenhall Recreation Area in Juneau, Alaska. I shot this photo as a cover of the Juenau Convention and Visitors Bureau brochure. This photo illustrates the month of May in my new Juneau, Alaska Calendar for 2003. Camera: F5, Lens: Nikkor 35 […]
Kayaking/ Mendenhall Glacier, Mendenhall Lake, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2736
Kayaks paddle the lake in front of the Mendenhall Glacier. The glacier is an incredible recreational opportunity for the locals and tourists alike. I shot this photo of my son, Owen, and our friend, Cris, in the kayak from the rock face to looker’s left of the glacier. The rock face allowed for a steady […]
Mendenhall Glacier and Lake, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2492
The frozen Mendenhall Lake is a winter play land for Juneauites. With motorized vehicles prohibited, the frozen surface provides unbelievable opportunities for skating, cross-country skiing, strolling and glacier gawking. On this day, my wife and I counted over 200 cars in the parking lot and down the access road. It seemed if everyone we knew […]
Mendenhall Glacier and Lake, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2493
Like everyone else in Juneau, I was fascinated by this mushroom shaped iceberg frozen into the lake. I kept photographing and photographing until I got this image. This image works for me because it shows just how big the iceberg is, and the man walking his dog in a walk-by videoing seems so nonchalant. This […]
Mendenhall Glacier and Lake, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2597
Clear weather, smooth ice and huge icebergs are magnets for the Sunday strolling crowd. I shot this photo from the front doors of Mendenhall Glacier visitor center. It was such a fabulous day that my wife and I counted over 150 cars parked in the two parking lots and the road leading to the visitor […]
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 […]
Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau Ice Field, Alaska – Image 2611
You probably think this is a continuation of the winter photos made so easy by Juneaus snowy winter. Actually I shot this dog mushing photo on the Mendenhall Glacier in the summer. There is a great shore excursion available in Juneau where the cruise ship passengers or for that matter independent travelers get a helicopter […]
Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2348
Cross-country skiers collect at the face of the Mendenhall Glacier. The frozen snow-covered Mendenhall Lake makes for a great ski. This photo illustrates the month of March in my 2004 Juneau Alaska wall calendar. Camera: Nikon F5, Lens: 20-35 f/2.8 Nikkor zoom polarized, Film: 35mm Fuji Velvia slide film -Mark Kelley
Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2436
Fresh snows had just fallen the night before in the mountains of Juneau on this early November day. When I got to Mendenhall Lake, fog was covering most of it, obscuring my view of the glacier. I waited and waited hoping that the fog would lift and leave the glaciers mirror reflection in the lake. […]
Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2520
Mendenhall Glacier is one of Alaskas most popular tourist attractions with over 350,000 visitors per year. Located just 13 miles from downtown Juneau, the Mendenhall is a favorite among Juneauites and is commonly referred to as our backyard glacier. The lone man walks the sidewalk to the visitors center. This image illustrates page 70 in […]
Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2678
The Mendenhall Glacier is over 13 miles long and in some places is over a mile wide. Lakes and streams exist on top of this huge ice mass. Because the water on top of the ice is always eroding the ice it creates holes and cracks causing the streams to always change course, and lakes drain and form new lakes […]
Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2792
The autumn (mid-September through October) in Juneau is usually very wet with tons of rain. Once in a while the area will experience a clear day or even a semi-dry fall. When this happens, the fall foliage in and around the Mendenhall Glacier can be spectacular. To do this shoot, I spent the day out […]
Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2794
In the past 34 years, I have literally shot tens of thousands of images of the Mendenhall Glacier, and this one is my favorite image. It was shot on the westside of the lake across from the visitors center. I have only seen the water right in front of the glacier go mirror calm once. […]
Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2841
The Mendenhall Glacier is a retreating glacier. The glacier has been in retreat since the mid-1700s and in the last 250 plus years has retreated about two and a half miles from its terminal moraine. As seen in these two mirror images, the glacier has retreated over 5,380 feet (more than a mile) and has […]
Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2852
This is my friend, Dave Haas, horsing around in front of the face of the Mendenhall Glacier. I was on an assigned shoot for Bradley-Reid, the State of Alaskas advertising agency, to promote winter tourism. I wanted to show the scale of the glacier and just how accessible it is. In the winter it is […]
Mendenhall Glacier, Kayak, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2426
On a beautiful August day in 2004, a kayaker paddles the Mendenhall Lake in Juneau, Alaska. This photo illustrates the month of September in my 2006 Southeast Alaska calendar. Camera: Nikon F/5, Lens: 80-200mm f/2.8 polarized, Film 35mm Velvia slide film-Mark Kelley
Mendenhall Glacier, Mendenhall Lake, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2848
Just this past week the Mendenhall Lake finally froze over with a thin layer of skim ice. In my 34 years of photographing the Mendenhall Glacier, I have never seen the water right in front of the glacier go mirror calm. I have many images of the mirror calm lake from the west side but […]
Cover of the Juneau Vacation Planner, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2758
I have been lucky lately with a lot of really fun publications including publications in Patagonia and the cover of the State of Alaska Vacation Planner. The Juneau Convention and Visitors Bureau puts out an annual vacation planner and over the years I have had a number of covers for the bureau, but none recently. […]
Cross-Coutry Skiing, Thunder Mountain, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2043
Jeff and Bethany ski the bowl between Thunder Mountain and Heintzleman Ridge with the Mendenhall Glacier as the backdrop. I shot this photo with a Nikon F/3 camera body with an 80-200 F/2.8 Nikor zoom lens and Fuji 50 film. This photo illustrates the month of December in my 2001 Spoutheast Alaska Calendar.-Mark Kelley
Mendenhall Glacier, Mendenhall Lake, Alaska – Image 2583
The air in Juneau is really blue on clear fall days after long periods of rain. On just such a day, I headed out to the glacier on an early morning photo quest to catch the blue-bird sky above the glacier. I had no idea I would find a mirror reflection. I shot this scene […]
Mendenhall Glacier, Mendenhall Lake, Juneau, Southeast Alaska – Image 2394
A mom plays ice hockey with her son and his friend on the frozen MendenhallLake with the Mendenhall Glacier in the background. This photo illustratesthe month of December in my Juneau 2005 Calendar. Camera: Nikon F5, Lens:35-70mm f/2.8 Nikkor, Polarized, Film: 35mm Velvia (35mm color slide film).-Mark Kelley
Mendenhall Glacier, Mendenhall River, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2330
The Mendenhall Glacier reflects in the Mendenhall River next to Brotherhood Park. Usually in Juneau, we only get one or two good days in October, except for this year which has been extraodinarily warm and dry. Shots like this have been easy to come by this autumn. This photo illustrates the month of October in […]
Mendenhall River, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2644
Today, Eaglecrest Ski Area is reporting 50 inches of snow at the top of the mountain. The last three winters in Juneau have been record setting snowfalls, and I could not be happier. The more snow the better life gets. On one really snowy day, I went out to photograph the local lone black wolf […]
Photo Point, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska. – Image 2741
The Mendenhall Glacier on a multi-cruise ship day is a very busy place. Somewhere between 40 to 50% of all cruise ship passengers coming to Alaska go to the Mendenhall Glacier making the glacier the most visited natural wonder in Alaska. Photo point is the place most visitors go to view the scene. For several […]
Patagonia Catalog: Bitter Cold – Image 2747
This two-page spread out of the Patagonia catalog “Bitter Cold” features my image of my son, Gabe, under the Mendenhall Glacier. This is my first image ever published in a Patagonia catalog. I use to submit photos regularly about 15 to 20 years ago but stopped when life with kids, family and business got too […]
Nugget Falls, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2783
This is another lucky, found moment. I usually go out to photograph with an image in my mind. This day, I wanted to get a photo showing Nugget Falls and people interacting with the environment. I thought I would get a bunch of people standing around enjoying the amazing seen. I worked the situation as […]
Black Bear, Mt McGinnis, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2941
When I look for a cover for my calendars, I am looking for an image that shows the essence of Alaska. Rule one is the image has to have great light. Next the image has to show the essential elements that make Alaska special to me and the world: wilderness, wildlife, mountains and glaciers. One […]