When I was home for Christmas break one of the questions I got asked fairly regularly was “what’s it like to live in Alaska in the winter?”. I always grin, which seems to be what people expect because they grin back, but I think I disappoint them by explaining that a lot of times the winter conditions are not as desperate as you think. Yes, 40 below is cold, but in Fairbanks the wind rarely blows making the cold very tolerable. 20-25% humidity ensures that it is a ‘dry cold’ (think of someone from Arizona explaining the dry heat). In the eyes of many, the hardest thing to adapt to is the short days in the winter. Although we are gaining length now, the dark days at bottom of winter make getting out of bed hard and sleeping easy. In Alaskan winters I celebrate and cherish the sun because I miss it! The darkness lately has been compounded by cloudy skies, so when the sun was out this morning I knew I wanted to be outside for it as much as possible! I gathered together my gear for setting burbot lines (more on that soon!!) and headed to the Tanana river. But, my trip to the river certainly was not linear, all along the way I found things to swing my camera lens at in that beautiful sunshine. So, today I give you a snap shot of January 17th in Alaska, a beautiful day! Photos are time-stamped and in order of occurrence. Hopefully you’ll see that not all winter days are so bad in Alaska!
11:37 AM : A boreal chickadee poses for a cute picture just outside of my house11:37 AM : A boreal chickadee looks before it leaps and is eyeing up some suet.11:39 AM : Red-backed voles are a common Alaskan rodent. I have counted up to eight at a time under my feeders scavenging what they can find. Red-backed voles have actually been demonstrated to spend a large portion of their days in black spruces which is a recently documented behavior!11:43 AM : A sharp tailed grouse sits under the spruces. This seems to be a pretty normal winter behavior – move as little as possible to conserve energy.12:06 PM : The sharp-tailed grouse is actually a pretty small bird. Tucked up high in the spruces it is safe from almost any predator present in the Alaskan winter. Most raptors have migrated for the season, although a lingering great-horned owl could get bold and try for this big meal!12:06 PM : Sharp-tailed grouse moved to the birches to pick at the catkins2:18 PM : I spent the afternoon drilling through the Tanana River to set burbot lines. The ice was thick! About 36 inches. However, early in the season the river broke up and formed “jumbled ice”. The shadows of small snow-dunes indicate a rough texture underneath!4:29 PM : As I got back into town the Alaska Range (South of Fairbanks) was lit up by the low sun. The mountain range is always beautiful, but on nights like this you cannot stop watching! The pinks and purples of this sunset were amazing! This is easily my favorite panorama to date because it is a view I get to enjoy everyday, and this picture captures it well!4:32 PM : The sun is almost ready to disappear. We’ve gained an amazing amount of time back since December 21st when the day length was 3.5 hours. Today’s day length is just over 5 hours!
“But, my trip to the river certainly was not linear”. A GREAT line, and is the hallmark of a similarly great photographer!!! Having a camera in your hands certainly decreases linearity! BTW…jumbled-ice photo = “keeper”
Everyone should try to capture 5 hours of their day in this way, Ian. I think the appreciation of and ability to reflect on the images at day’s end would help reduce what we all seem to take for granted….the events of the day around us. The Alaskan Range photo is a stunner as is the river ice. You captured the waning daylight perfectly.
Wow, the Tanana River looks like the Sahara Desert, and the all of the critters are perfectly set in their own habitat. The chickadees get me every time!
You missed what I consider a paramount reason for loving the winter no mosquitoes. I do agree with you about having a problem with linear drives to get where you are going. I don’t know how many times the light was ‘just right’ or a shadow fell in a perfect place for a picture and a detour ensued. For me though the path from Fairbanks to my cabin up near Livengood remained linear…well after all there is only one road North right? (Great photographs thanks for sharing)
Thanks for stopping by, Pete! Yes, the lack of mosquitoes is a HUGE benefit :). The worst part of those moments you described is when you don’t have a camera giving strength to the adage that the best camera is one you have with you!
“But, my trip to the river certainly was not linear”. A GREAT line, and is the hallmark of a similarly great photographer!!! Having a camera in your hands certainly decreases linearity! BTW…jumbled-ice photo = “keeper”
Thanks! Yeah, as soon I pulled that low shot over the jumbled ice I got pretty excited about it! Lots of texture, and lots of Alaska in it!
Everyone should try to capture 5 hours of their day in this way, Ian. I think the appreciation of and ability to reflect on the images at day’s end would help reduce what we all seem to take for granted….the events of the day around us. The Alaskan Range photo is a stunner as is the river ice. You captured the waning daylight perfectly.
When I stitched the Alaska range photo I actually jumped from my seat and did a fist pump. I was/am VERY excited about it!!
Wow, the Tanana River looks like the Sahara Desert, and the all of the critters are perfectly set in their own habitat. The chickadees get me every time!
In winter, interior Alaska is a desert, and in summer it is transformed into the Oasis! 🙂
There is a fist full of keepers on this page. The panorama is great Ian, but the real stunner is the Tanana. Beautiful!!!
Thank-you Dave! Yes, it’s a great shot! I was just down there today and was trying to decide if I could “do it better”. Maybe I can – we’ll see 🙂
You missed what I consider a paramount reason for loving the winter no mosquitoes. I do agree with you about having a problem with linear drives to get where you are going. I don’t know how many times the light was ‘just right’ or a shadow fell in a perfect place for a picture and a detour ensued. For me though the path from Fairbanks to my cabin up near Livengood remained linear…well after all there is only one road North right? (Great photographs thanks for sharing)
Thanks for stopping by, Pete! Yes, the lack of mosquitoes is a HUGE benefit :). The worst part of those moments you described is when you don’t have a camera giving strength to the adage that the best camera is one you have with you!
At this point I think I can relax?
Sent from my iPad
You can ALWAYS relax 🙂 Part of my mantra! Only un-relax when you have to!