Glacier Bay Oystercatcher

Birdwatching in Glacier Bay National Park from small ship cruiseI had just stepped out of the skiff at Lamplough glacier in Glacier Bay National Park when this oystercatcher gave me a look that more or less seemed to suggest that the mussels hidden under the kelp were for oystercatcher only.

This photo is from our May 2019 Glacier Bay Photography Workshop. There’s still space for the upcoming 2020 season. Visit our Glacier Bay Photography Workshop page for more information and discount pricing.

Ice Spires of Lamplough Glacier

There’s a short walk next to Lamplough Glacier in Glacier Bay National Park where, if you take the time you’ll get to appreciate the slow march of glacial history written into the accumulated layers of ancient snowfalls.

This photo was from July 2019 on our Glacier Bay with AdventuresNW Magazine’s Photography Workshop. To learn more about this cruise in 2020, click here…

Sundew, the midge eating plant

Insect eating Sundew in an Alaskan MuskegSundew are some of the coolest plants we get to show our guests. They catch insects in their sticky dew-like secretions as a way to get nutrients that are not available in the nutrition poor muskeg. They’re also small and easily missed.

This photo was taken on one of our Petersburg to Juneau Alaska Inside Passage cruises in June of 2019.

Hidden Glacier

Hidden glacier in endicott arm on a small ship cruise in AlaskaOnce upon a time, this Glacier was a tributary to Dawes Glacier in Endicott Arm. Now it’s a peek-a-boo reminder of a cooler time when glaciers filled Endicott Arm. One thing I like to think about as we pass this particular glacier is how you can see in the vegetation that the glacier had been in its valley as recently as 50 years ago. That’s because the low shrubby willow and alder are considered pioneer plants that are slowly helping to make soils. As time passes trees like cottonwood will begin to grow and eventually those trees will be replaced with a spruce and hemlock forest.

This photo was taken our Southeast Alaska Fjords Photography Workshop. To learn more about this trip click here.

 

Blue Ice on a Rainy Day

Iceberg in AlaskaRainy days are one of my guilty pleasures. Partly because the David B is always so warm and cozy on the inside, but also because rainy days accentuates the blueness of icebergs. This was my favorite iceberg from last year. I was really impressed with the way the two towers stayed propped up against each other as they floated around in Endicott Arm. To learn more about our Alaska cruises.