Wildlife from Alaska

[mpenza]

Came back from a trip to Alaska and it was really back to nature. Saw lots of glaciers and wildlife Would like to share some pictures here (a lot of pics are cropped despite using a 70-300 lens).

#1 Young bald eagle off the coast at Ketchikan


#2 Adult bald eagle off the coast at Ketchikan


#3 Red Fox den at Denali National Park


#4 Grizzly bear at Denali National Park

[mpenza]

#5 Dall sheep up in the mountains at Denali National Park


#6 Herd of caribou feeding at Denali National Park


#7 Moose running away at Denali National Park. It was crossing the road right in front of our bus!!!


#8 Artic fox that appeared at the bus park at our hotel early morning. Can still see evidence of its breakfast (rodent).


#9 Artic tern (name correct?) preparing to dive at a river near Talkeetna

[garou12]

wa what lens you use to get so close ups?

[Nik-enduser]

neat series. great wild life to capture. great capture with the 70-300 lens.

[mpenza]

Originally Posted by garou12 wa what lens you use to get so close ups?

Have used the Canon 70-300 f4.5-5.6 IS lens for the shots here. Pretty happy with the results (bought it for the trip). The IS helped a lot when shooting from moving ship, boat, train and bus

[mpenza]

Originally Posted by Nik-enduser neat series. great wild life to capture. great capture with the 70-300 lens.

Thanks. Was great to see the wildlife

Have more pics here:
http://mpenza.clubsnap.org/gallery/alaskawild_1

Have also visited a Wildlife Conservation Centre near Anchorage, Alaska where they nursed injured animals back to health. Saw 2 grizzly bears having fun

#10 Grizzly bears playing

[raptor84]

Man I would really love to go for a trip there. Nice captures and thanks for sharing

[Ally]

Good shooting!

Did you chance upon any orcas or whales?
Alaska has always been on my travel wish-list.. Time to save up again..

btw, how did you do your travel arrangements?

[zcf]

70-300mm also can capture these well.

[Macky]

Nice pictures! I didn't expect Alaska to be so green. Thought there would be ice everywhere.

[mpenza]

Originally Posted by Ally Good shooting! Did you chance upon any orcas or whales? Alaska has always been on my travel wish-list.. Time to save up again.. btw, how did you do your travel arrangements?

Yup yup, saw orcas (killer whales, cousins of dolphins) and hump-backed whales lots of them! didn't have chance to be too close or see any jumping out of water (they're too busy feeding!) though but good enough I think will post pics of them soon.

had the cruise and landtour with Celebrity X. signed up with Citystate, one of their agents in Singapore. It's standard price, so you could sign up with any tour agent that sells the packages. If you have kids, can go for Royal Carribean or other cruiselines cos they offer more activities for the young.

[mpenza]

Originally Posted by Macky Nice pictures! I didn't expect Alaska to be so green. Thought there would be ice everywhere.

It's summer! Some parts are still very white though (especially in the mountains and glaciers).

[mpenza]

Originally Posted by zcf 70-300mm also can capture these well.

Thanks no strength to bring fast and long tele lenses

[mpenza]

Originally Posted by zcf 70-300mm also can capture these well.

Thanks no strength to bring fast and long tele lenses a 400 f5.6 would be great though.

[mpenza]

Adding some marine wildlife pics.....

#11 Humpback whale near Juneau


#12 Tail of a humpback diving to feed.


#13 Another humpback diving


#14 Orcas (killer whales)

[slaam]

ENVY!!
tell us more details about ur trip!
I would like to know costs and duration and agent you went to.. and wat season best to go
or pm me if info is private

[mpenza]

I went on a cruise on Celebrity X Summit. Pretty cool ship with lots of facilities The season for Alaska is May to September (other months being too cold). The local agent doesn't really matter cos it's standard prices. Price for cruise ranges from <S$3k (for cruise in the inside passage (no cruise to glacier bay) in an interior stateroom 7N) to ~$6k (for cruise from Vancouver to Seward on a balcony room + land tour which I went to - 7N cruise+5N land tour). Price is per pax and before taxes and port charges. Shore excursions are optional and charged seperately.