Denali (Mt. McKinley), Wonder Lake, Denali National Park, Alaska – Image 2637

When I decided to do my book on Alaska, I knew I wanted Denali on the cover because it is the iconic image of the state. I set out to get this image, and I booked a cabin at Camp Denali that has a 24-7 view of the mountain for the last week in August. The first four days that I was in camp, it just rained, poured and then snowed. I did not even bring my cameras out of the cabin. On the fifth day, I woke up at 5am to a crystal clear morning. I hopped on a bike with my camera equipment and pedalled to the head of the lake about six miles from my cabin. I shot this image around 6am and by 7:30am the clouds had moved back in totally obscuring the mountain. In my first five days, I saw the mountain once for two hours. This image illustrates the cover of my book, Alaska: A Photographic Excursion”. Enjoy the photo and thanks for visiting.Camera body: Nikon F5, Lens: Nikkor 20-35mm f/2.8 polarized, Fuji Velvia 35mm film-Mark Kelley