2012 July 6-20 Alaska Land and Cruise Adventure Review with LOTS of photos!

[WalleyeLJ]

Wow! Just spotted your review....best pics ever I've seen here on CC.

 

Can't wait for our trip in Sept. Have already booked HnM and Michelle for the float plane. We don't fish that often, but the rest of my family does. My brother is a die hard fly fisherman and he loves bone fishing the coast with fly. They would love your fish photos. What trophies you all caught!

 

You should be working for National Geo. I'm saving all your camera advice for our cruise bud who does Nikon. We shoot Canon Rebel but have only scratched the serface with ours. He is much more knowledgeble and has tried to convert us to the dark side! Ha! He has some big A lenz he's taking for our trip. We're doing the video and he's doing the stills. But don't know how we'd ever beat yours...totally fantabulous! Keep them coming, didn't your trip end in Vancouver? Waiting for your obviously fantastic pics of the Lion's Gate Bridge and coming into Canada Place.:p:D

 

BecciBoo - you're very sweet. For some darn reason, no one from Nat Geo seems to be on CC (I would DIE if that happened:D). Some of it's is skill and gear, but a lot of it is just anticipation and getting out there. I shoot the stills and my wife shoots the video on our trips, so it works out really well. It just takes me forever to get tot he video editing!

 

As for Lion's Gate...it was rainy and foggy and 7am when we came in on this trip...

 

 

However, we had FANTASTIC weather in 2009 for our afternoon departure. The sun was behind the bridge, so there was no way to get a decent wide angle shot as we headed out - but these still came out pretty well...is was cool being so close to the bridge and listening to the cars "run" us over!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Away from the pier, we started making our way south toward Canada. Here 's a quick series of different shots of the waterfront as we made our way down the Tongass Narrows...

 

 

 

I know I've already shown a couple of broader shots of town, but these show off the really cool clouds and blue sky above as we left...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The famous "Welcome to Ketchikan" sign over Mission Street. If you're leaving mid-ship Berth #2, Mission Street with take you right to the huge Chief Johnson totem pole at the upper parking lot access to Creek Street.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shopping and... more shopping!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One last set of departure photos to come - and then dinner and some interior shots of Radiance!

 

 

 

L.J.

[world_traveler_et]

Thanks for your tips!

 

I just bought the Canon Rebel 4TI with the STM 18-135 lens and a 55-250 lens. Would you recommend getting any filters like UV or Skylight filters to protect the lens? Do you think the brand of filters matters? I just bought the camera at Best Buy and they only have their private label Rocketfish. I have used Hoya filters in the past. Just wonder your view on the filters.

 

I am planning on getting a circular polarizer as well.

 

Thanks again for continuing to post your fabulous pictures from your trip!

[WalleyeLJ]

As we passed by Berth#1, we passed by the small boat harbor. As I've mentioned before, I love the boat harbors and marinas along coastal Alaska. Maybe someday I'll have a boat in one of them!

 

 

 

A close up...

 

 

 

 

 

The full harbor. The bridge that is found at the south end of Creek Street and a couple of the buildings are in the upper left corner...

 

 

 

 

 

 

South of Ketchikan...somewhere ahead - Canada (and the LONGEST bus ride from Vancouver to Seattle EVER!!!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

In case you think those little red and green channel markers are small, take a look at this (note the scale versus the parked cars).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alaskan driveways can be a LITTLE different from those in other parts of the world...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Me taking a picture of the woman with the million dollar view taking a picture of us!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next stop - dinner!

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

I just bought the Canon Rebel 4TI with the STM 18-135 lens and a 55-250 lens. Would you recommend getting any filters like UV or Skylight filters to protect the lens? Do you think the brand of filters matters? I just bought the camera at Best Buy and they only have their private label Rocketfish. I have used Hoya filters in the past. Just wonder your view on the filters.

 

I am planning on getting a circular polarizer as well.

 

Thanks again for continuing to post your fabulous pictures from your trip!

 

Nice camera choice.! Honestly I never used UV filters until I somehow scratched the front of a 70-200 f/2.8. So...the next two expensive lenses I bought I got B+W UV filters for them. I bought fairly expensive ones so that I did minimize any possible degradation. Then I got another 70-200 f/2.8 - and didn't get a UV:D. In any case, I use lens hoods frequently, so I haven't managed to scratch any more lenses - or filters.

 

Whenever I'm outside shooting nature/landscape/travel photos, I almost always have a circular polarizer on my 18-200mm. I helps with color saturation, especially on vegetation, and helps with cloud definiton and deeper blue skies. I also helps cut glare off of reflective surfaces - from water to store windows. It can be overdone, but the nice thing is you can rotate to taste!

L.J.

[BecciBoo]

Nice camera choice.! Honestly I never used UV filters until I somehow scratched the front of a 70-200 f/2.8. So...the next two expensive lenses I bought I got B+W UV filters for them. I bought fairly expensive ones so that I did minimize any possible degradation. Then I got another 70-200 f/2.8 - and didn't get a UV:D. In any case, I use lens hoods frequently, so I haven't managed to scratch any more lenses - or filters.

 

Whenever I'm outside shooting nature/landscape/travel photos, I almost always have a circular polarizer on my 18-200mm. I helps with color saturation, especially on vegetation, and helps with cloud definiton and deeper blue skies. I also helps cut glare off of reflective surfaces - from water to store windows. It can be overdone, but the nice thing is you can rotate to taste!

 

L.J.

 

So is that how you're getting such great saturation of color with those town shots? Or do you use an editor to achieve those brilliant colors...they are just awesome! Should we get the polarizer for sure for our whale trip?

Edited February 22, 2013 by BecciBoo

[BecciBoo]

Ha another funny thing....take out the whales and sea lions and the pole list looks like our bucket list for Yellowstone. I can say we made all of the list except the water animals in that park and it is our favorite place in the world...unless we switch to Alaska!:D Add in Marmets, fox, Coyote, Wolf, Bison and Elk.

Edited February 22, 2013 by BecciBoo

[TxKroozer]

Becci....

 

We signed up for Harv and Marv Whale Watching in Juneau.

[WalleyeLJ]

We ate in the Main Dining Room, so no pics from dinner. Before heading into the Aurora Theater, I grabbed some more of the Atrium. I do miss the Royal Promenade on the bigger RCI ships, but I have developed a fondness for the Radiance class atriums. I also got a shot of Cafe Lattetudes. They serve Starbucks coffee and specialty drinks, for which there is a charge, but all the baked goods and pastries are free, so there is that!

 

 

 

Atrium, from yet another perspective!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cafe Lattetudes

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now - on to the show!!!

 

 

The show tonight was one of the main production shows for the week - "The Piano Man". This was a fun show that featured music from Billy Joel, Elton John, Stevie Wonder and Barry Manilow, among others. The show sort of progressed through the 1950s to the late 1970s, early 1980s. It was a lot of fun and very upbeat - a welcome shot in the arm so to speak at the end of almost 2 weeks of non-stop adventure. There are always folks who post about the ship performers and rail on about how it's nothing like Broadway, but I think those folks often lack a bit of perspective. We've been to several Broadway shows, and yes, no cruise performance is the same as sitting in the Theater District in mid-town Manhattan...

 

 

Because it's a CRUSIE SHIP! The very best talent on the planet performs on Broadway - so ease off the rest of the very talented folks out there plying their trade:D. Personally I think most of the performers we've seen perform in cruise ship shows are very talented and enjoyable to watch and listen to. Then again, vacation is my time to escape the stresses and angst of everyday life, so I don't seek discord when I'm on a ship. I like it in my cruise bubble! Sometimes the shows themselves aren't always my favorite, but I'm always fascinated by the fact that these folks can sing and dance on a moving ship, when every day I watch folks stumble and trip just walking the halls of the ship. Anywho...on to some pics - if only I had a way to put music with it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

The final four from "The Piano Man"...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Show over, we made our way back to try and catch up on some sleep. The next day is our final day - tour the ship, rest, relax - and pack:eek::(...

 

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

So is that how you're getting such great saturation of color with those town shots? Or do you use an editor to achieve those brilliant colors...they are just awesome! Should we get the polarizer for sure for our whale trip?

 

Becci,

The answer is yes - to both. Sometimes it's the polarizer, sometimes I do some basic tweaking in Lightroom. The polarizer is a personal taste call. If you have a grey, overcast, or even rainy day, the light loss due to the polarizer (a stop or two) may be a problem. They are very lightwieght and a cinch to take on and off, so as long as it's with you, you've got options, which is the key!

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Ha another funny thing....take out the whales and sea lions and the pole list looks like our bucket list for Yellowstone. I can say we made all of the list except the water animals in that park and it is our favorite place in the world...unless we switch to Alaska!:D Add in Marmets, fox, Coyote, Wolf, Bison and Elk.

 

LOL - it's funny you say that. I had started planning for us to go to Yellowstone for the first time last year in September for the fall colors and the rut, when my parents unexpectedly did a 180 the summer of 2011 and said "Sure, we'll go on a trip to Alaska with you" in 2012. So - dropped Yellowstone and dove into Alaska 2012 planning.

I'd be curious to see what you think. My Dad actually preferred Yellowstone. He was about 15 years younger and a lot more spry then, so that may have affected his perception. We still have Yellowstone on the radar - but likely not until after Bev & L.J. Visit Alaska - Part 3!!!

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

So...here we are...the last day of the cruise (I don't count the morning of debarkation as cruising). I woke up fairly early, but not the ungodly pre 4am time I did the first time we sailed the Canadian section of the Inside Passage. The ship feels almost deserted as most folks are sleeping in this last day at sea, so I decided it was a good time to wander the ship and take a lot of photos of the various venues. So while there are not a lot of people in the shots, it gives a pretty nice, clean view of the areas. If you have any questions about any of the areas, let me know and I'll see if I can answer them for you. So...here we go!

Top down view of the atrium floor, minus the 70s disco night crowd! You can get a good look for the design, plus the way seating is normally arranged for daytime use. The atrium bar, known as the Lobby Bar, is always hopping once it gets going, but it's also a good place to get a soda or juice refill if you buy one of the unlimited packages. We usually do that on cruises, but we didn't this time since we were on the ship a lot less than on a Caribbean cruise.

A view of the Lobby Bar on Deck 4, RCI online (left) and Cafe Lattatudes (right) on Deck 5, the Casino Royale on Deck 6 (more on that later), and Decks 7 & 8 (barely!)

I started out my photo tour on Deck 5, checking out Cafe Lattatudes, the Centrum Shops walkway (the shops were closed this early in the day), and the photo gallery.

Ahhh...the morning caffinators on the prowl!

The walkway that brings you to the Centrum shops, which are just forward of the atrium itself. For those that have been on cruise ships before, to me they're fun to go through, but it the standard selection of shops with sundries, souvenirs, and clothing, jewelry, watches and alcohol.

Continuing down the passage past the varous little shops, our next stop is the photo gallery. While some of the ships are going to more of an online, print as you go gallery system, Radiance was still putting our racks and racks of print from all the on ship and port debarkation shots.

Forward of the photo gallery is the same art gallery, the tucked away small conference center, and then the Aurora Theater in the bow. Finished on Deck 5, I headed up to Deck 6 for some more shots in the Schooner Bar, Chops, Giovanni's Table and the yet unseen Colony Club!

L.J.

[world_traveler_et]

L.J. & Bev,

Will Alaska 3.0 be on Radiance?

[WalleyeLJ]

L.J. & Bev,

Will Alaska 3.0 be on Radiance?

 

No, actually Bev & L.J. North to Alaska 3.0 right now will not involve a cruise. The basic plan is last week of August, first week of September. Bear viewing and fishing in Katmai/Lake Clark/Brooks Falls, a day or two in Seward, then close out with a few days in Denali taking in the fall tundra colors. That'll give us Alaska in May, July, and late August/September - a basr eline for 4.0 and beyond! As much as we love Radiance, we will likely cheat on RCI with a line that goes into Glacier Bay (and preferably Sitka as well) the next time we cruise Alaska.

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Back in the Schooner Bar, it's totally empty. Might not be the case on a warm weather cruise, but today I've got it all to myself! Given how large it is, there's no wonder why it's such a popular place to gather on the ship, especially with the floor to ceiling windows on the outside edge of the room. Plus, the bar never hurts when it comes to draws on a cruise ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The doors to Chops were closed, but the entrance to Giovanni's Table was open, so I was able to go back in and take some extra pictures without getting in anyone's way. We've already decided that we enjoyed Giovanni's enough that if we cruise on ships that have one, like Chops we will make it a part of the trip whenever we can:

 

 

 

Welcome to Giovanni's Table

 

 

 

 

 

 

The main seating area center/right after entering GT.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Left side seating, the side we sat on for our dinner here:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Something to keep in mind - Giovanni's, like a some of the other specialty restaurants like Izumi and Rita's Cantina, are open sometimes for lunch (seas days mostly I think), so you don't always have to skip the Main Dining Room to try them out.

 

 

 

FYI - this year obviously is a whole new year, but if anyone is interested, we have every cruise compass for each day of the trip. If anyone would like me to post them on here, just let me know!

 

 

 

L.J.

[am-mc]

If you could post te Cruise compass that would be great - I like to see what they had planned and general times.

[world_traveler_et]

Ahhh... the conference was good. I didn't place in the contest, but I was competing against full time professional photographers, so...I'll just have to try again next year!

 

As for flying with Michelle, I would let her know in advance that your are a photographer and would like a good spot on the plane for that. She told me the seat in the back was best, but I was too large in terms of weight to sit back there (sigh...:)), so she had me sit in the next best spot - the co-pilot's seat! If you're right handed, it would be easiest to sit on Michelle's side of the plane so that you can naturally rotate to your left to take photos.

 

The other thing is that she is very specific about not having the front of camera lenses touch or rest against the windows as they can easily scratch the plexiglass. Too much of that and no one gets to take any photos:eek:, so that's understandable. One good idea to make sure if you make accidental contact that you don't damage the window or your camera is to get a rubberized screw on lens hood that will help provide a protective barrier - plus it will help minimize the interior glare off the windows that can really wreck a great photo. You should be able to find one for less than $20, maybe even around $10.

 

Last but not least, a circular polarizer will also help minimize the interior window reflections, and glare off of water, and will help give your photos more saturated colors that are often masked by the glare. If can be tricky to work with the ribberized lens hood, but you can roll the hood back, rotate the polarizer until you like what you see, and then roll the hood back out.

 

Hope that helps!!!

 

L.J.

 

L.J. What brand of circular polarizer filters are you using with your cameras?

[WannabePhotog]

Well, I finally got through most of the thread and then PhotoBucket took off most of the photos, ugh. Hahaha. I saw your answers to a lot of my camera/gear questions I had. I can't believe you got a lot of those shots w/ only a 200mm telephoto. I am planning on renting a 100-400mm L, or possibly just upgrading my telephoto to the 70-300mm L and using that. We booked our cruise for early June so I am scrambling to buy/rent gear now! I am deciding between renting a 7d or just buying a used 60d so I'll have two 60d's to use (one w/ the super telephoto and one w/ my wide angle). I like the burst rate for the 7d, but renting one for 10 days is almost $200. :eek:

 

Do you use any type of waterproof casing? I just bought a Kata E-702 to put over at least one the cameras. Now I am trying to find a smaller backpack to hold just one camera when we do our whale watching excursion.

[WalleyeLJ]

Hey All,

 

I take a few days off and Photobucket pulls my plug - lol. I'm going to buy extra storage so the photos should be reinstated later tonight!

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Well, I upgraded Photobucket, but the links aren't back up yet...hopefully tomorrow...

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

L.J. What brand of circular polarizer filters are you using with your cameras?

 

Right now I use a Tiffen CP. Hoya seems to have one of the best reputations, but I can't bring myself to spend that kind of money yet. I really hope to get a variable neutral density circular polarizer combo filter one of these days...:D

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Well, I finally got through most of the thread and then PhotoBucket took off most of the photos, ugh. Hahaha. I saw your answers to a lot of my camera/gear questions I had. I can't believe you got a lot of those shots w/ only a 200mm telephoto. I am planning on renting a 100-400mm L, or possibly just upgrading my telephoto to the 70-300mm L and using that. We booked our cruise for early June so I am scrambling to buy/rent gear now! I am deciding between renting a 7d or just buying a used 60d so I'll have two 60d's to use (one w/ the super telephoto and one w/ my wide angle). I like the burst rate for the 7d, but renting one for 10 days is almost $200. :eek:

 

Do you use any type of waterproof casing? I just bought a Kata E-702 to put over at least one the cameras. Now I am trying to find a smaller backpack to hold just one camera when we do our whale watching excursion.

 

The extra speed of the 70-200 ended up being more critical this trip than the reach. I rented the 100-400 our first trip to Alaska. It's a little different since it's a push/pull zoom rather than a twist, but I really enjoyed it. It just worked out a lot cheaper to get the Sigma 150-500mm I ended up with rather than the 100-400 when I decided to purchase a long zoom. The 5.3 fps on the 60D will still be great, and it may be easier to have two 60Ds. I still have to remember the differences between my 50D and my 7D when I'm using both.

 

I have a Storm Jacket for rainy conditions, but I have yet to need to use it - which is more luck than anything. The couple of days we've had a lot of rain, it was ALOT of rain and pretty windy - so photography was pretty much out of the question. The few shots I wanted in those conditions I used our waterproof Olympus instead. Any day you just get some list misty or rain showers, it'll be great to have the Kata.

 

 

L.J.

[avalon007]

Hi LJ,

 

I used to have a Canon EOS SLR pre digital but that was a long time ago.

Have had just a small digital camera for the last few years & after seeing your inspiring pics have deicded to make at least some sort of upgrade for our Alaska trip later this year.

 

Having said that I'm not going for the full SLR but something in between with just some more zoom & still compact enough to fit in a small camera bag, no extra lenses etc.

 

I was looking at a Canon Powershot SX500 IS which I know would be a toy to serious photographers but was hoping it would be able to give me decent pics of Alaskan wildlife etc.

 

Any advice you would be able to give would be appreciated.:)

[WannabePhotog]

The extra speed of the 70-200 ended up being more critical this trip than the reach. I rented the 100-400 our first trip to Alaska. It's a little different since it's a push/pull zoom rather than a twist, but I really enjoyed it. It just worked out a lot cheaper to get the Sigma 150-500mm I ended up with rather than the 100-400 when I decided to purchase a long zoom. The 5.3 fps on the 60D will still be great, and it may be easier to have two 60Ds. I still have to remember the differences between my 50D and my 7D when I'm using both.

 

I have a Storm Jacket for rainy conditions, but I have yet to need to use it - which is more luck than anything. The couple of days we've had a lot of rain, it was ALOT of rain and pretty windy - so photography was pretty much out of the question. The few shots I wanted in those conditions I used our waterproof Olympus instead. Any day you just get some list misty or rain showers, it'll be great to have the Kata.

 

 

L.J.

I checked out the storm jackets but got such a great deal on the Kata I had to pick it up, haha. I have talked to a lot of people on a photography forum and they all swear you have to have at least 400mm of reach for an Alaska trip, but you proved otherwise. Now I am considering just renting/buying the 70-300mm. I'd love to go w/ the 70-200mm f/2.8 but then I'd be worried I'd miss some shots w/ only 200mm of reach, even on the crop sensor. Ugh, tough decisions, haha. I'm not sure when we'll go back to Alaska so I'd hate to miss a shot....

 

And of course borrowlenses is running a 25% off sale on the 70-200mm f/2.8 so it'd be VERY cheap to rent. Maybe I just rent it and the 100-400mm, lol.

Edited March 1, 2013 by WannabePhotog