A Winter to Remember

Atlanta most certainly has put on a show this winter.  The Snowpocalypse of two weeks ago (which I was lucky enough to avoid) had people stranded in cars, at their workplaces, or in various restaurants, shops and private homes that opened their doors to complete strangers in a true display of Southern hospitality.

Good folks all over town headed out to the highways with hot drinks and food for those who were stuck on the treacherously icy roads.  I've been known to mock Atlanta drivers on occasion, but what happened here last month was no laughing matter - it was downright dangerous.  Roads large and small all over the greater Atlanta metro area were clogged.

This week we were better prepared, if only because schools closed and many workplaces asked their employees to work from home.  A far cry from 30 January, when cars and trucks littered the highways, this time the city became an overgrown ghost town.  Traffic cameras that two weeks ago displayed the extent of the chaos in 10 minute updates, now showed the few who were venturing out into the frozen stillness.  Many areas experienced power outages which added insult to injury.

But not all was doom and gloom.  The kids on my street built snowmen - one with a hard hat and another with a pink bonnet.  Families spent time together making candles, playing games and enjoying time seldom spent together.

Yesterday morning, before the sun came out and the city began to thaw, I woke to a layer of snow-covered ice on the trees, with a bright red cardinal who hung around long enough for me to grab my camera.  Seeing him sitting there in the confusion of branches brought to mind the closing lines of a poem my Mum used to have hanging on the wall:

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.*

* From Max Ehrmann, Desiderata 1927.

Alaska - Wolves and Bears

Part 4 of the Alaska Series.  Don't miss a moment: click here to start reading at Part 1: Above the Arctic Circle!


Luckily, I wasn't holed up the entire time with a cold.  The first fine day saw me champing at the bit to be out by myself in the Great Outdoors of Alaska.  But there was a problem:  I didn't have anything for protection from the wild beasties.  Not that we'd been inundated with four-legged visitors; all we'd seen so far were a couple of moose, at a distance.  The only thing I was planning on shooting with was my trusty Nikon.  Nevertheless, best not to tempt fate, so when Wayne offered to lend me his handgun, I accepted.

This wasn't any old handgun though; this was a Smith & Wesson 500, no less.  According to Wikipedia, the S&W 500 is 'the most powerful production revolver in the world today, and it is being marketed as [...] "the world's most powerful handgun" by the manufacturer."  Yikes.

(I just used Wikipedia as a source in my writing.  My English professors will be rolling their eyes in dismay.)

Okay, so that you know where I'm coming from, I hadn't even seen a handgun until I came to the US.   My brother has a rifle, my uncle and cousins enjoyed hunting and I'd shot a BB rifle, but I'd never been in the presence of a real-live, hip-holstered, gun-totin' type before emigrating.  When we were planning the Alaska trip, Steve and I decided it would be a good idea for me to learn how to use a handgun, if only so that I didn't shoot myself...  (For the record, I'm pretty darn good at sporting clays and the paper-silhouette target at the gun range ended up with a nice, tight cluster of holes in its shoulder, right where I intended it to be.)

Smith & Wesson 500

Anyhow, back to the story.  Here's me, the rookie in camp, out for a walk by myself with a portable canon strapped to my chest (gee I hope Mum isn't reading this...).  The S&W 500 is a lot heavier than those I practiced with at the gun range, but Wayne promised me the adrenaline rush would take care of that if I had to point it at something.  Oh joy.

I walked far enough away that camp was a few smallish white blips in the distance, then stopped to breathe in the scenery.  A movement caught my eye and I spotted a black bear moving at a fairly quick pace in the direction of camp.  My heart started racing - it wasn't the first black bear I'd seen in the wild, but this time I was alone.  My initial thought was to alert the folks back in camp.  Actually, that was my third thought.  The first two were:  Eek!  Oh whew, it's moving away from me and then Rats!  I wish I had a longer zoom lens.

Black bear heading towards camp.

But my cellphone was stuffed into the bottom of a pack in my tent and no-one provides service north of the Arctic Circle anyhow.  Yes, that's right; of all the ridiculous things to flash through my mind at that moment, calling camp on the cellphone was one.  Yet more proof that I've lived in a large city too long.  (Smoke signals would have been more effective.  Hold on a moment while I rustle up a fire.)

By this time, I was fairly hopping with excitement and no-one around to high-five.  At least I had photographic proof!  I turned south again and spotted husband-and-wife team Jerry and Lisa heading back to camp.  Walking over to meet them, I 'casually mentioned' seeing the bear.  Jerry took one look at the photos and hot-footed it back to camp, trying to intercept the bear before it could disappear.  Lisa and I chatted for a while, then she followed Jerry back to camp.

If you look closely enough, Jerry is just below the horizon off
Lisa's right shoulder.

That wasn't the end of the excitement, however.  Walking back to the river, I spotted a wolf on the far bank.  No doubt he'd long since seen me, but right then he was watching Jerry and Lisa intently as they moved further away.  Determining that they were no longer a threat, he focused his attention on the next curiosity - me.  My heart was now pounding so hard that I could barely get a clear photo, because if there was one animal I wanted to see out here, it was a wolf.

My friend the wolf.

I was totally okay with him trotting down the far bank, then daintily crossing the river and I even got a few shots of him looking upstream and downstream on the near bank.  But when he stared fixedly at me, then quick-trotted straight for me, I started getting nervous.  I thought wolves were shy creatures!  This one was sizing me up for a tasty snack.

Quickly but carefully (yes, carefully, go figure!), I placed my camera on the ground and stood up, drawing the gun and standing broadside to the wolf in one movement.  The gun that was so heavy had never felt lighter.  Until this point, I'd been standing side on so as to better steady myself while photographing the wolf, but turning to face him afforded him a better view of me and he realised I was human.

If I'd known then what I know now, I would have handled it completely differently and ended up with some beautiful photos before scaring him off.  And I would also have scored some awesome video footage as the wolf spun a swift 180 then forded the river, pushing up waves bigger than he was as he bounded back across.  My mind is now the sole keeper of these images, as well as how he quickly climbed the bank, shook himself, then looked back at me over his shoulder before disappearing into the trees.  Next time, my friend.

Next up: Planes from the Inside World

Alaska - Food, Glorious Food & Pitching In

Looking south-ish from near camp.  The sun never got higher than this, but it took forever to cross the sky.

Part 3 of the Alaska Series.  Click here to read Part 1: Above the Arctic Circle, or Part 2: The Outfitters Camp & Moose Bottoms.

Any camp that has razzleberry pie or cake every day is not too shabby in my books, even if it does mean dealing with a long-drop.  I thought I was going to lose weight out there - not a chance - these guys can cook!  And you have the opportunity for fresh caught food, like the Arctic Char one of the hunters fished.  If you've never tried fresh Arctic Char, you're missing out on a treat.

Part of the fun of camp is helping out with the chores.  This is no five star hotel with a chocolate on your pillow!  But that's not my cup of tea anyhow - I'd much rather be having fun in the 'great outdoors'.  Although, the hot shower in Kotzebue after eight days out in the field was much appreciated.  Taking showers by mixing a tub of hot water with a tub of cold water, then ladling it over the top of your head has only so much entertainment value.  Especially when the shower tent is built with shorter people in mind.

I made a killer pasta sauce one night (with the help of a special, top-secret ingredient entrusted to me by Le Roy) and chicken with chipotle sauce another night.  What else was I going to do while having to hang out in camp for a couple of days, nursing a nasty head cold?

Then there's the wood-chopping to do and plenty of it, to keep the cold nights at bay.  I helped out with that too, mostly chopping kindling.  Welllllll, I say chopping, but it was more like scaring the wood to pieces, if the truth be told...

Next up:  Wolves and Bears

Alaska - The Outfitters Camp & Moose Bottoms

Alaska Kobuk Outfitters Camp

Part 2 of the Alaska Series.  Click here to read Part 1: Above the Arctic Circle

Prior to leaving on our Alaskan Adventure, Steve built a slider for my camera so I could pan smoothly while videoing.  The whole thing disassembles and fits neatly into a tube for storage and travel.  The mistake we made before catching our flight is that we didn't have the TSA folks open it, check the contents and seal it with "TSA Inspected" tape.  After all, it was a whole bunch of metal rods and hunting knives stuffed into a 3ft PVC pipe...

We arrived into Kotzebue with all our bags except for the one containing the slider tube.  A search by the helpful airport folks found it in Seattle and one of the local pilots brought it out to me at camp that evening (yay for fantastic customer service - thanks Alaska Airlines and Eric!).  The whole bag was thoroughly inspected, including my apparently suspicious-looking bag of woolly socks.  I do wish the TSA people would learn to repack stuff nicely.  It all fit in once upon a time; it can do it again.

But while waiting for the bag to arrive we realised that my sleeping bag was with it.  It's not much fun in Alaska without a warm sleeping bag and not knowing if it would arrive that day (if ever), I was in a bind.  Camp guide Cecil came to the rescue with a -40deg sleeping bag.  I was Toasty (see that capital T?!) and kept it for the whole time we were there.  I even had to take my socks off.  Best. Bag. Ever. (Thanks, Cecil!)

Wayne and his Alaska Kobuk Outfitters crew really treat you well.  There is a woodburner in your tent to keep the cold out and trust me, you stay warm with that going, as well as drying your clothes when it rains.  And it rained.  We were in a four-man tent (with Steve's brother and sister) and there was plenty of room.  The cots (stretchers in Kiwi-lingo) are comfortable and have enough clearance to store bags under them.

The first full day in camp brought a lot of rain.  Did I mention before that it rained?  September is definitely rainy season in Alaska.  But that (along with a snowfall the previous week) dealt to the bugs, so I was okay with it - mostly because I wouldn't need to wear my BCHN (this is comparable to a pair of BCGs, but is a hairnet instead of glasses).  We spent time getting to know the other folks in camp then suddenly word came in that a moose and calf had been spotted nearby.  Steve and I took off after them, but those long-legged beasties are speedy even when walking.

We climbed up a small rise and waited for a while, finally seeing the pair as they broke cover and headed for the hills.  I only had a chance to photograph their backsides as they quickly moved away from us.  But hey - I snagged a photo of a moose.  Next time it'll be up close and personal.

Next up:  Food, Glorious Food & Pitching In

Alaska - Above the Arctic Circle

Alaska - a land of wolves, bears and cute arctic foxes; rugged wilderness and breathtaking scenery.  A land where one mistake can make the difference between life or death and a land that will take hold of your heart and not let go.

Two weeks ago Steve and I boarded a plane for a part of the world where I never dreamed I'd actually set foot.  Three flights and 19 hours' travel time later, we arrived in Kotzebue - 53km (33mi) north of the Arctic Circle (if you're really interested, the coordinates are 66°53′50″N 162°35′8″W.  Trust me - it's waaaay up there).  But this wasn't an ordinary tourist excursion to the top of the world; we were there to hunt caribou and rough it - as far as you can call it that with a gas stove in camp.

Kotzebue gave us a welcome that was a far cry from the Hotalanta summer we'd just left: cold, windy and a misty drizzle.  Arriving at 9:40am local time, we had a few hours to kill while we waited for the weather to clear for the flight out to the camp run by Alaska Kobuk Outfitters.

One thing we noticed while exploring Kotzebue is that the satellite dishes don't point up; they point to the horizon.  Yet another clue that you're in a completely different part of the world.

At around 3pm local time we finally received word that the cloud layer had lifted sufficiently at camp for us to land out there - and we were off again; even further north and inland.  I've piloted a Cessna once, a long time ago (and have one hour clocked in a pilot's logbook to prove it) but that was on a sunny, windless day and this was not.  I'll freely admit I'm not the happiest flyer, but once I got the courage up to ignore the bumps and look out the window, I was in for a treat.

Our pilot was ever on the lookout for wildlife and thanks to him we saw a group of musk oxen and a rather large-ish moose, which glared up at the plane with a "what?!" attitude.  After a sweet landing on the riverbed (much smoother than the wind-blown thriller landing into Kotzebue), the pilot took off back to Kotz, leaving me to catch this shot of the plane heading for the cloudy sky.

This truly was an adventure to remember - and one that will always be among the best I've ever had the privilege of experiencing.

Next up: the Alaska Kobuk Outfitters Camp and Moose Bottoms.

An Unlikely Match

Here's a short and sweet clip to help dispel your Monday morning blues.  I was looking for motivational videos this morning, to kick-start my week and uncovered this little treasure.

I love cats, hedgehogs are cooler than bowties and the videography is lovely.  Enjoy and have a great week!

Mixing Work and Play

One of the personal projects I'm working on at the moment is a Wildflower Series.  More to come on that later, but today I wanted to showcase this little guy I spotted while out shooting.

He was busy scouting around on the post I was using to brace myself when I spotted him.  We both paused for a moment, taking time out of work to play.  I took one image of him and then he graciously lifted his head up.  I'm certain he was posing - it had nothing to do with the big black lens suddenly dominating his world...

New Zealand Weka

Our second day in the South Island saw us heading from St. Arnaud to Westport, hoping to get photos of seals at Cape Foulwind.  Unfortunately it was raining and blowing a gale (go figure) but I was treated with a weka which allowed me to get quite close.  These birds are around 55cm (22in) in length and are one of the many flightless birds native to New Zealand.

For more in the New Zealand series, click HERE

New Zealand Pukeko

It's fairly well-known that New Zealand has some unique and, well, downright odd-looking birds.  Not least of which is the pukeko.  Standing at around 50cm (19in) high, they can be spotted in paddocks and along the roadside pretty much throughout the country.

This guy below was in a less-travelled area and was not all that keen on my interrupting his breakfast.  The white feathers you can see under his tail are flashed to other pukeko as a warning of danger.

For more in the New Zealand series, click HERE

New Zealand Fur Seals

Apparently it's International Day of the Seal today in the USA.  So in honour of that, here are some photos of the New Zealand Fur Seal.  Enjoy!

This little guy above was a little nervous about how close I was getting.  But not to worry - mum (below) has an eye on things.  Taken north of Kaiapoi, on the east coast of the South Island.

A likely bunch!  After having sunned themselves silly, these nine seals decided to pass out in the shade.  Taken in spectacular Milford Sound, west coast of the South Island.

For more in the New Zealand series, click HERE

Straight from the Horse's Mouth

My wish for a foggy day was finally granted yesterday and there was no holding me back.  I met up with a couple of friendly chappies who were curious about everything me, especially the camera I kept sticking in their faces.  They tag-teamed me; taking turns with one posing while the other sniffed my hair and bumped my shoulder.  Attention hogs, both of them!

I held the camera up for this guy to inspect and after blowing through his nostrils at it a couple of times, he decided it might be tasty and quickly lipped it.  Let's hear it for lens hoods - not only do they prevent unwanted sun flare on your photo, but they also protect your lens from horse slobber.