Alaskan Cruise

[dbmiller]

My wife's and my 25th anniversary gift to ourselves was an Alaskan Cruise. We did a Northbound Alaskan cruise from Vancouver, BC to Seward, AK aboard Royal Caribbean's ship, the Radiance of the Seas. After Seward, we went to Prince William Sound, stayed overnight in Anchorage, and flew out the next morning.

I shot with the A6000, and my wife with the 5n. Our daughter shot with her Canon 5dMkII, but I will forgo those pics. With the high frame rate of the A6000, I took over 2000 shots. My wife took over 1000, and our daughter under 1000. We managed to pick about 100 images for 4x6 prints to go in an album, and I may make a panorama or two. But I'll try and cherry pick fewer than that to post here.

As for lenses, I took the SEL55210, SEL1855, SEL5018, and SEL2418Z, along with a CV 12mm/5.6 and Canon 35/2.8 in LTM mount. My wife shot with the SEL18200 exclusively, and never changed lenses, even though she carried the two Sigmas (19/30).

I will do a separate posts based on the day of the cruise to keep the number of images in each post to a minimum.

Day one was spent going from the Vancouver airport through custom, to the pier, through US immigration, and finally boarding the boat. I don't really have any good pictures from there, nor the next day sailing up the Inside Passage. So we start with ...

 

[dbmiller]

Alaskan Cruise, Day 3 - Ketchikan, Alaska

]A nice little town. Lot of shops - very much set up for tourists near the port.

1) Our ship, the Radiance of the Seas. A6000, SEL1855 @ 29mm, 1/350, f/9.5, ISO 100. SOOC JPEG, no PP

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2) Flower and bee #1. Heavily cropped. A6000, 55mm, 1/1000, f/5.6, ISO 100. Recovery slider used in LR to pull back some detail in the brighter areas.

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3) Flower and bee #2. Cropped, but not nearly as much as the prior. A6000, 55mm, 1/1500, f/5.6, ISO 100. Again, recovery used in LR to pull back some flower details.

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4) A good day to fish. A6000, SEL55210 @ 106mm, 1/750, f/5.6, ISO 100. SOOC JPEG.

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5) Sea Plane. NEX-5n, SEL18200 @ 197mm, 1/320, f/8, ISO 125. SOOC JPEG, slight crop.

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6) Sunset #1. A6000, SEL1855 @ 55mm, 1/250, f/11, ISO 100. Darkened the foreground just enough so the trees are dark.

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7) Sunset #2. A6000, SEL 1855 @ 51mm, 1/100, f/9, ISO 100. SOOC JPEG, No PP

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8) Sunset #3. A6000, SEL 1855 @ 55mm, 1/90, f/4.5, ISO 100, SOOC JPEG, no PP.

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[davect01]

Looks like a fun trip

 

[dbmiller]

Alaskan Cruise, Day 4 - Hoonah (Icy Strait Point)

On day 4, we were in Hoonah, Alaska - also known as Icy Strait Point. It was a very grey day, with scattered rain here and there. Apparently pretty typical weather for that time and location.

The port in Hoonah wasn't deep enough for the ship to be docked at the shore, so we would be tendering to get on and off the ship. While we were getting into port and waiting to begin the tender process, a couple of humpback whales decided to come by the ship and greet us. Here is where the 24mp of the A6000 came in handy, as I didn't always know where the whale was, and couldn't always zoom in fast enough. But with 11fps, I just shot along, and knew I could probably still make a decent 4x6 print by cropping the frames.

1) Humpback whale surfacing for air. A6000, SEL55210 @ 75mm, 1/200, f/5.6, ISO 100. About a 100% crop when viewed at full resolution.

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2) Humpback whale fluke. A6000, SEL55210 @ 75mm, 1/250, f/5.6, ISO 100. Again, a 100% crop. I think this is from the same burst of frames as the prior shot.

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3) Humpback whales feeding. A6000, SEL55210 @ 210mm, 1/350, f/6.3, ISO 160. Cropped, but not as much as the prior two shots.

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4) Bald eagle and cruise ship. A6000, SEL55210 @ 84mm, 1/250, f/5.6, ISO 100.

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[dbmiller]

Alaskan Cruise Day 5 - Juneau

Day 5 brought us to Juneau, where we had book a shore excursion for a photo safari around Mendenhall Glacier and Stephen Passage. This was unfortunately the worst weather day of the cruise. Wetter and more gray than the previous day in Hoonah. During the hiking portion of the tour, most people left their camera inside their jackets or packs - It just wasn't worth bringing them out. The pictures of Mendenhall Glacier are also very gray and dull looking.

We then went to Auke Bay and boarded a small boat to to take us out into Stephens Passage.

1) Bald eagle watches large sea lion. A6000, SEL55210 @ 210mm, 1/500, f/8, ISO 500.

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2) Eagle and sea lions. NEX-5n, SEL18200 @ 137mm, 1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 800.

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3) Whale fluke and lighthouse. A6000, SEL55210 @ 209mm, 1/1000, f/8, ISO 800. Heavy crop, about 100% when viewed in full size.

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4) Bald eagle. A6000, SEL55210 @ 210mm, 1/1000, f/6.3, ISO 640. Fairly heavy crop.

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[dbmiller]

Alaskan Cruise Day 6 - Skagway

A town with an Old West feel. Became a big town during the gold rush in the late 1800's. Now pretty much a town that relies on the summer tourism.

The weather finally broke, and it was a gorgeous day for taking pictures. Mid 60's (Fahrenheit).

1) Our ship in port. A6000, SEL1855 @ 18mm, 1/750, f/4.5, ISO 100. SOOC JPG, No PP

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2) Skagway Park. A6000, SEL1855 @ 29mm, 1/750, f/4.5, ISO 100, SOOC JPG, Slight recovery in LR for the sky/clouds.

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3) Window view from Skagway rail station. NEX-5n, SEL18200 @ 94mm, 1/200, f/11, ISO 100. Blacks brought up to enhance the effect.

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4) Enjoying the view. NEX-5n, SEL18200 @ 18mm, 1/250, f/13, ISO 100. SOOC JPG, no PP.

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5) Late night sunset (10:21pm!) NEX-5n, SEL18200 @ 39mm, 1/60, f/4.5, ISO 500. SOOC JPG, no PP

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[dbmiller]

Alaskan Cruise Day 7 - Hubbard Glacier

A day at sea, but the morning was spent going into Yakutat Bay for an up close look at Hubbard Glacier. A brisk morning, cloudy and somewhat gray.

The Glacier is so big, I don't have a single shot of the entire thing. Not even with the CV 12mm. I may try and stitch a panorama.

1) Harbor seal resting. A6000, SEL55210 @ 210mm, 1/350, f/8, ISO 250. Heavy crop, approaching 100% at full view.

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2) Harbor seal. A6000, SEL55210 @ 176mm, 1/350, f/5.6, ISO 125. Heavy crop. 100% at view view.

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3) Hubbard Glacier calving. A6000, SEL55210 @ 107mm, 1/200, f/8, ISO 125. Cropped and rotated as there was no time to zoom in. 100% at full view

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[WoodWorks]

Looks like a fantastic trip, db. And you came away with some great shots!

 

[dbmiller]

Alaskan Cruise, Day 8 - Prince William Sound

Last one. I swear. Thanks all for your patience and for looking. I wish the weather had been better for photography, but we can't control it (yet!). In sum, Alaska is an area I highly recommend that people visit at least once in their lives.

We ended our cruise in Seward, Alaska, and boarded a tour bus that would take us on a scenic drive up to Whittier - A town on Prince William Sound. The bus tour was a minor hell that I won't go into, but the outing on Prince William Sound was a treat. The weather early was a bit gray, but the skies cleared up over the course of the afternoon.

1) Humpback whale breaching. A6000, SEL 55210 @ 60mm, 1/500, f/8, ISO 100. 100% crop.

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2) Surprise Glacier. A6000, CV 12mm, 1/500, f/8, ISO 100. SOOC JPG, no PP.

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3) Scenic view. A6000, SEL55210 @ 96mm, 1/500, f/8, ISO 100. SOOC JPG, no PP.

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[José De Bardi]

1) Humpback whale breaching. A6000, SEL 55210 @ 60mm, 1/500, f/8, ISO 100. 100% crop.

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Save the best til last!

 

[dbmiller]

Save the best til last!

Yeah - The whale breaching was quite a treat. One of the workers on the boat said it was the first time she'd ever seen it, so a rare sight, indeed. The whale actually breached three times, and then was gone. It was also the only whale we saw on the Prince William Sound tour.

 

[Hawkman]

Save the best til last!

Indeed, that's a great capture!

 

[mingus]

GREAT shots!!

 

[AK47J]

Amazing shots!

BTW, the seaplane is a de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver. I was born and raised in Alaska, flew in many "bush planes".

 

[fractal]

Wonderful images! Thanks for sharing