Calving, Johns Hopkins Glacier, Glacier Bay NP #3081

I have been shooting calving glaciers for over 38 years, and have been lucky enough to have witnessed hundreds of calving events. Sadly most of the images just do not work. It is terribly frustrating bearing witness to such amazing powers of nature and not being able to translate that moment into a still image. In person the sight and sounds are totally mind blowing, but in a frozen still image the photo can look static and the falling ice just blends in perfectly with the face of the glacier. I got a break in front of the 250 foot high Johns Hopkins Glacier in Glacier Bay National Park while shooting into the sun. Because the image was backlit, the sun only highlighted the column of falling ice debris separating it sharply from the shadowed blue ice face. If you really want to capture the full impact of a calving glacier shoot in video mode with sound. This photo illustrates the month of February in my 2019 Alaska Calendar. Thank you for visiting and enjoy – Camera: Nikon: D800, Lens: Nikkor 24-120mm, Digital Capture, Hand Held ©Mark Kelley