Yukon Territory and Alaska Aug 2013 Part II

We boarded the Zaamdam in Seward, Alaska. It seemed to be waiting for us--maybe literally. We arrived just 20 minutes before it sailed from our Portage Lake Glacier and Kenai Peninsula excursion by motor coach.

Zaamdam stateroom 1092 on Dolphin Deck, Deck 1.

Center organ sculpture in Atrium of Zaamdam Promenade Deck 5 with winding stair case between Decks 4 and 5. 2013:08:26 15:50:36 Exposure time: 1/13 F-stop: 3.5 ISO speed: 800 Focal length: 18mm

Top of the Atrium organ sculpture in Atrium of Zaamdam Promenade Deck 5 2013:08:26 15:49:52 Exposure time: 1/15 F-stop: 3.5 ISO speed: 800 Focal length: 18mm

Lido Deck (8) pool. The top rolls off, but rarely in Alaska I would imagine.

Leaving Vancouver from the rear outdoor Sea View Pool on Lido Deck (8)

Lido Deck Pool aft of the Lido Restaurant

Heading out of Vancouver from the top Sports Deck (9)

This is the next day on the bow of the ship forward of the Promenade Deck accessed by doors, usually locked, to the side of the Mondriaan Lounge Theater stage (note security man). We were here watching for whales heading up into Glacier Bay. That is, we were heading up into Glacier Bay. I don't know where the whales were going. 2013:08:27 11:10:19 Exposure time: 1/1000 F-stop: 16.0 ISO speed: 800 Focal length: 11mm

Going up Glacier Bay from the bow of the Zaamdam watching for whales, sea otters, seals. 2013:08:27 11:14:52 Exposure time: 1/1600 F-stop: 10.0 ISO speed: 800 Focal length: 70

Sea otters in Glacier Bay 2013:08:27 11:15:54 Exposure time: 1/3200 F-stop: 7.1 ISO speed: 800 Focal length: 300mm cropped and enlarged 150% Distance estimated at 200+ yards

Sea otters in Glacier Bay 2013:08:27 11:16:01 Exposure time: 1/3200 F-stop: 7.1 ISO speed: 800 Focal length: 300mm cropped and enlarged 175% Distance estimated at 200+ yards

Sea Otters 2013:08:27 11:21:19 Exposure time: 1/4000 F-stop: 8.0 ISO speed: 800 Focal length: 300mm cropped, sharpened, edge sharpened, enlarged 175% Distance at least 200 yards

Route into Glacier Bay. We took left turn into the western arm at the north end of the Bay which is the Johns Hopkins Arm to see the Johns Hopkins Glacier after cruising all the first day and most of morning of the second day.

Glacier Bay from bow deck

Glacier Bay from bow deck

Gloomy Knob in Glacier Bay 2013:08:27 12:45:49 Exposure time: 1/1250 F-stop: 9.0 ISO speed: 800 Focal length: 70mm

Sea otter very far away

Glacier melting and feeding another one and wetting it and melting (?) It 2013:08:27 13:15:06 Exposure time: 1/1000 F-stop: 8.0 ISO speed: 800 Focal length: 70mm

Reid (??) Glacier in Glacier Bay 2013:08:27 13:36:48 Exposure time: 1/3200 F-stop: 7.1 ISO speed: 800 Focal length: 135 mm

Lamplugh (??) Glacier in glacier Bay 2013:08:27 13:48:09 Exposure time: 1/1250 F-stop: 9.0 ISO speed: 800 Focal length: 70mm

Ice fields and glacier, Glacier Bay, Alaska 2013:08:27 14:12:28 Exposure time: 1/1600 F-stop: 10.0 ISO speed: 800 Focal length: 125mm

Ice field and glacier Glacier Bay, Alaska 2013:08:27 14:12:28 Exposure time: 1/1600 F-stop: 10.0 ISO speed: 800 Focal length: 125mm

The edge or face of the Johns Hopkins Glacier wide field view 2013:08:27 14:17:22 Exposure time: 1/1250 F-stop: 9.0 ISO speed: 800 Focal length: 116mm

Gull landed then shortly took off

Watching for calving. Gull flying in front of Johns Hopkins Glacier, Glacier Bay, Alaska.

Blue Ice in Glacier Bay. The light shins through the ice either from behind where all but the blue visible wavelengths are absorbed by the ice or, in this case, from the front, and then the non absorbed blue light is internally reflected back out toward the viewer.

Other spots of blue ice

Black legged Kittiwake (probably)

Mew Gulls (perhaps)

Many of the passengers out watching for calving. 2013:08:27 14:56:48 Exposure time: 1/1000 F-stop: 13.0 ISO speed: 800 Focal length: 18mm

I was standing at the rail looking at a different part of the glacier face, and when I heard a loud report like a rifle shot I started an automatic sequence of photos of this Calving Event by holding down the shutter button. This was probably the largest calving I saw. The glacier often cracked like a rifle shot, and groaned and creaked, but calving was rare, although we did see about 6. My pictures are unspectacular, except for this one, because they was over before I could swing the wide field... 
View More 18-55mm lens to one. Use of the 70-300mm lens was unfeasible since they lasted only a second or 3 or four. Some shot movies, to catch an event from start to finish. This photo, the first of the series was recorded as 2013:08:27 15:22:00 Exposure time: 1/1000 F-stop: 13.0 ISO speed: 800 Focal length: 48mm. Time as recorded by the camera is 3:22 and 0 seconds.

Same Calving event taken approximately 1 second later (camera records time to nearest second, so it could have been as much as nearly 2 seconds later). 2013:08:27 15:22:01 Exposure time: 1/1000 F-stop: 13.0 ISO speed: 800 Focal length: 48mm

This is the last of a series of photos of this event I took, and the camera recorded the time as 15:22:04. It was the 9th in the series, so given that the camera only records whole seconds, the elapsed time is 4 seconds +/- 1/2 second at each end of the sequence, so this photo was taken 4 +/- 1 second after the first one I took.

Aftermath of the Calving Event taken 21 seconds +/- 2 seconds later as recorded by camera as 2013:08:27 15:22:21 Exposure time: 1/800 F-stop: 13.0 ISO speed: 800 Focal length: 48mm. This is the 10th photo of this event I took

Spreading ice bergs after all of the Calving as we were leaving. 2013:08:27 17:03:14 Exposure time: 1/400 F-stop: 11.0 ISO speed: 800 Focal length: 70mm Time as recorded by the camera is 5:03 and 14 seconds.

The next morning we awoke after cruising all night in Haines, Alaska near the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve

Getting on rafts for float, Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve. Our guide is the near bearded one facing us. Other guides helped us into our life vests.

Bundled up early morning for float trip about 8 AM Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve. They gave Sharon a new life vest. I got this old ratty one.

Eagle! I don't see it, but I take a photo just in case. It is low light, heavy overcast, note slow shutter speed required at ISO 1600, boat bobbing fair amount, so hard to hold camera still. I eventually got approximately 117 photos of about 20 eagles, of which photos only about 15 were fair (some blurring) to nearly sharp. I really needed to shoot at 1/500 second or faster for 300mm focal length, my longest lens, but low light forbade that. I would have needed 1/1000 sec exposure if raft was bobbing much at all, which it was. What I am saying is any good pictures are luck, which is why I took 117 pictures.

This is the 14th of 17 photos of this eagle. The first 13 were all blurred by motion of the camera (boat motion) at the extreme focal length (large magnification) combined with the low light requirement of slow shutter speed. This shot was taken at 300mm, f/11/, 1/400 sec exposure, with the camera set at ISO 1600.

This is the same eagle, shot #17 of 17 photos of this eagle. The automatic Nikon Camera (D80) set the exposure 25% faster at 1/500 sec, and that faster shutter speed probably made this shot slightly sharper. It was 300mm, f/11/, 1/500 sec exposure, with the camera set at ISO 1600.

I took 29 photos of this eagle, and this is only fair with some blurring due to the slow shutter speed of 1/160 sec (300mm, f/9, ISO 1600)

This has the same camera parameters as the last shot (300mm, f/9, ISO 1600, 1/160 sec exposure time), and it was plain lucky to be so sharp at that slow shutter speed. This is why I take so many photos and use so few.

This is a poor shot of an immature eagle as shown by the speckled feathers and lack of white head and tail feathers, which show up at 5 years of age. I included this to go with the next one. It is 300mm, f/9, ISO 1600, but only 1/125 sec, and that slow speed shows. See the next photo.

This is the same young eagle but the camera set the speed at 1/160 second, so it is slightly sharper (less movement while the shutter was open). It was probably pretty lucky also in relative lack of raft motion. Here it is unfolding its wings just as it took off.

This is the young eagle in flight. I chose this picture over another also in flight a moment later because the sky was the background. While I mention the sky, notice the darkness. It was about 10 AM at this time, still not too much light. This was 300 mm, f/11/ ISO 1600, 1/500 sec.

This was a young eagle eating fish probably brought to it by the parent beside it. 300 mm, f/10, ISO 1600, exp 1/250, and blurrymainly from raft motion, Because nothing is in focus, it is not a focus problem.

Same two eagles with parent taking off. Same parameters, exp = 1/250 sec

I guess parent did not fly off. f/10, 1/200 sec Bald eagles can swim but if their feathers get wet they can die of hypothermia, so they won't swim long and often ruffle their feathers to dry them.