Petersburg and Snow Pass
Twice each day, there is what we call a magic hour, when the light is golden. This light is what photographer’s dream of. Colors jump. Reflections intensify. The lines in our faces and light in our eyes are warmed.
Petersburg at sunrise was a photographer’s delight. Fishing boats with rigging reflected in the still water of the harbor. Shops and houses with painted wooden siding and telemark rosemaling on the window frames were aglow in the ruby warm light. Fog over the spruce dropped as the island of Mitkof warmed and this working fishing town came to life. Dozens of photographers meandered, “on assignment for National Geographic,” in search of perfect light.
Flightseeing over La Conte Glacier, a dock walk, including, a remote underwater camera broadcasting to a hand-held screen, and exploration of the unique habitat of a bog were accompanied by rare blue sky and sunshine in Petersburg. Rain gauges record hundreds of feet each year. Wrangell Narrows provided excellent bird watching and identification. Cruising the inside passage of Alaska on the bow and sundeck of National Geographic Sea Bird provided amazing views of this lovely wild place.
Misty low clouds shrouded and layered the mountains surrounding Snow Pass. During the second magic hour of the day, photographer’s with both “aim & create” and long lenses watched endeavoring to fill their viewfinders with humpback whales feeding cooperatively. Establishing images with a rainbow, God’s rays and golden light were to be had. Birds though were the directors, signaling where to pre-focus, ready for the whales to lunge with mouths agape, baleen dripping, and ventral pleats pink and white in the golden hour.
A sharing of imagery from “on assignment with National Geographic,” hosted by National Geographic photographer Michael Melford, gave us the opportunity to see through one another’s eyes. Friendship is in the air. Some are silver and others gold.
