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Greetings,
My Sitka tours went well, see below. And after the nice cool climate of Sitka, I returned home to the shock of summer heat and straight into home project stuff. Like splitting wood from six trees we removed so we could expand our driveway. My back is so happy about that…
…and did I mention the heat? I DO NOT like hot weather.
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Sitka tours report
We had a variety of weather during the two Sitka tours I recently led. It ranged from light rain, to heavy rain, to soaking drizzle. To be fair, we also had plenty of days with just overcast. And even one or two days with sun, one of which reached a blistering 70 degrees.
 I love Sitka. Except for the prices in the grocery store. Those were rather a shock.
When it rained, we went into the forest. The Sitka Historic National Park (Totem Park) is actually a great place to photograph in the rain. The tree canopy is thick enough that you can find plenty of areas to photograph out of the rain.
On the boat trips (three per tour) we saw plenty of whales, fishing boats, otters, puffins, eagles, and bears! Along Silver Bay is a salmon hatchery where bears sometime hang out. On one tour, we were able to see and photograph a sow and her three cubs. On the other tour, we saw a lone bear.
Last year we were lucky enough to see a humpback breaching very close to the boat. One of us (not me) managed to get an amazing shot. This year, on the second tour, we were got to see another breach. It wasn’t nearly as close as last year, but everybody saw it. No, no one was able to photograph it. It’s difficult, if not impossible to be ready for.
If you want to see a few more pictures, take a look at my Sitka blog post.
I’m in the process of arranging Sitka tours for 2023. I already have a few people from the last tours who want to go again, so if you’re also interested, let me know soon so I can gauge how many tours I need to plan.
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Olympic National Park in May
I’m in planning stage for my May Olympic National Park workshop. Tentative date is May 16-21. We’ll be based out of Forks and will concentrate on forest, streams and waterfalls and more intimate landscapes. We'll also spend a lot of time on the coast. We’ll be visiting Ruby Beach, Second Beach, and Rialto Beach looking for dynamic landscapes and spectacular sunsets. We’ll have at least four nights for these so chances are pretty good that something exciting will happen!
Once the hotel I use can confirm the dates I want, I’ll open the workshop to registration.
Let me know if you want to be added to the early notification list. This trip will be limited to seven.
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Palouse workshop open for registration
My June 19-24, 2023 Palouse workshop is now open for registration. As you may know, I’ve been visiting the Palouse every year for the last 15 or 20 years. I never tire of it (except in the sense of not getting enough sleep during the workshop!).
This workshop is limited to seven and there are currently only three spaces remaining. More information can be found on my Palouse page.
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Other workshops
Cliff Zenor and I are planning some more workshops for 2023 and early 2024. First up is Great Smoky Mountains National Park, April 25-29, 2023. That trip is now open to registration.
We’re also in the process of setting up a North Carolina Waterfalls trip May 1-5.
Other trips in the works are Colorado fall colors October 1-6 based in Ouray, CO; Bosque del Apache November 29 – December 3, White Sands National Park December 6-10, and Death Valley in January or February of 2024.
Let me know if you want to be added to the early notification list for any of these.
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Nikon Autofocus
Most of you know that I’m primarily a landscape and close up photographer. But I sometimes delve into the realm of wildlife. Last year that materialized in Bosque del Apache and more recently (and more often) in Sitka, AK. In Bosque it was primarily birds. In Sitka it was whales, eagles, bears, otters and more. And all mainly from a boat.
I’ll admit that I probably know less about the autofocus systems on my DSLR and mirrorless cameras than I should. But I’m fixing that deficiency (one of my few deficiencies, if I may be so humble to say). And the way I’ve been doing that is by reading a couple of books by Steve Perry. No, not the Steve Perry that once sang for the band Journey. I’m talking about Steve Perry the photographer and prolific author and YouTuber.
Steve has lots of book and videos for sale. The ones I bought cover the Nikon AF system for mirrorless, and the AF system for DSLRs. I’m learning lots so far, like when and why to use the different AF areas one can choose from.
Now if only I can retain the information. I am Senior Lifetime Pass years old now, after all!
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