field notes from 02/08/23

Denali tundra in midsummer

· Denali National Park, Alaska · Cool, 54°F, scattered cloud, little wind · Fujifilm X-T5, 150-600mm

Flew into Anchorage and drove north. Took the bus from the park entrance to Eielson for an overnight. Walking on open tundra at midnight with the sun still up is a specifically Alaskan experience. Caribou in small groups, a lone grizzly far off, ptarmigan in summer plumage on ridge tops. Got my best-ever Northern Wheatear frames on the walk back to the bus.

The scale here breaks you a bit. Everything at the edge of your lens is five miles farther away than it looks.

Caribou bull in summer velvet
Bull in velvet on a green slope. Caribou 400mm, 1/2000s, f/8, ISO 800
Caribou herd crossing tundra
Small herd crossing a ridge. Caribou 600mm, 1/1600s, f/8, ISO 640
Willow ptarmigan in summer colors
Summer plumage. Red eyebrow. Willow Ptarmigan 450mm, 1/2000s, f/6.3, ISO 640
Grizzly on tundra at distance
Far off. Zoomed in and still mostly context. Grizzly Bear, distant 600mm, 1/800s, f/8, ISO 2000
Wheatear on rock
Best wheatear frames I've gotten. Northern Wheatear 300mm, 1/1000s, f/7.1, ISO 200
Ground squirrel on bare tundra
Everywhere. Alarms constantly. Arctic Ground Squirrel 300mm, 1/2000s, f/8, ISO 640
Dall sheep on scree
Small group, far on a scree slope. Dall Sheep 600mm, 1/1600s, f/8, ISO 640
Golden eagle soaring ridge
Over a ridge at midday. Golden Eagle 600mm, 1/1600s, f/10, ISO 1250
Wide view of tundra with distant mountains
The place. Mountains didn't come out. Denali tundra 23mm, 1/250s, f/8, ISO 200
Close view of dwarf fireweed
Already blooming in the gravel. Dwarf fireweed 150mm, 1/500s, f/5.6, ISO 800
Long-tailed jaeger in flight
Hunting low over tundra. Long-tailed Jaeger 300mm, 1/2000s, f/8, ISO 1000
Hoary marmot on boulder
Calling on a boulder field. Hoary Marmot 200mm, 1/800s, f/7.1, ISO 640