Alaska photography questions

[bound4dbeach]

 

Would you suggest using a polarizer Filter for glacier pictures?  Any suggestions/tips

 

I’m  doing a float plane excursion in Juneau and am thinking a 70-200 should suffice.     Would you suggest longer?  Any tips for shooting from the plane?

 

Do you think a 100-400 lens would be too long for Alaska?

 

[masterdrago]

I did not take one because I shoot so much super wide stuff, but on a lens of the focal length you are considering, it would work very well. On the float plane excursion, I suggest something wide like a 10-24 on a DX format camera. The pix below was taken at 19mm using my 10-24 on a Nikon D7500 f/8 1/2000 ISO 640. The 70-200 will be too long. Something like an 18-55 would clearly work. The 100-400 would be perfect for wildlife on whale watch or bus tours in Denali.

 

[bound4dbeach]

I really need to think about the “big picture,”  instead of trying to find things on the ground.    Almost tempted to take a spare body for wide-angle shots.    I really want to get some great glacier colors from above- that’s what made me think the 70-200 could give me that reach.    Your picture is beautiful!   I love seeing parts of the plane- I think it gives it that extra bit of character. 

 

Thanks  for the advice on the 100-400... maybe I should leave the 70-200 as that is sort of redundant. 

[masterdrago]

Not sure which body you have but if Canon, they make a really good 15-85, Sigma has an 18-140 but that's overlap. I did take two bodies but caught heck from DW for all the gear - 10-24, 28-300, and a 150-600 which I only used on the transit bus in Denali. I normally use only one body and an 18-200 but Alaska was special for me. To be honest, I think if I do another flight seeing excursion, I'll just let the GoPro run in 4k mode and grab stills from it. One time in Ketchikan, Michelle of Island Wings pointed out a pod of Orca near the shoreline and a nice long lens would have caught them, whereas the 10-24 was short.

 

If the lighting is right, glacier colors will not be an issue. Radiance of the Seas arrived with the sun up ~43 degrees lighting the main 2 mile face of Hubbard Glacier perfectly. Shot at 28mm f/10 1/2000th ISO 320. No polarizer.

 

Edited July 20, 2019 by masterdrago

[smplybcause]

So I brought the two stock Nikon lens with me, but only took one lens out on excursions. If your looking for mostly landscape you want a pretty wide lens - mostly stuck on 18mm for those. But if you want more wildlife I found you need a pretty decent zoom - my lens that only went to 200mm left me wishing for more zoom since most excursions will be staying a distance away from wildlife to not disturb them. If you're wanting to take wildlife photos from the ship while sailing I'd say over 300 to make them more than small spots.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[masterdrago]

A good example of what smplybcause is referring to is this shot of a Black Bear in Prince William Sound from not all that close using a 300mm. The captain spotted him while most of the other "bears" spotted by the other 4 on the boat were big dark rocks on the shore. I had brought a 600 but it would have been very difficult to use it from the boat on the open water. The image is full frame.

 

Edited July 20, 2019 by masterdrago

[mrell345]

11 hours ago, bound4dbeach said:

 

Would you suggest using a polarizer Filter for glacier pictures?  Any suggestions/tips

 

I’m  doing a float plane excursion in Juneau and am thinking a 70-200 should suffice.     Would you suggest longer?  Any tips for shooting from the plane?

 

Do you think a 100-400 lens would be too long for Alaska?

 

I have a 28-300 which i use a lot, however depending on the space available in the plane some of the longer lenses can be interesting to use in tight quarters.

[bound4dbeach]

Thank you all for the responses!  I use a Canon crop sensor camera.  Masterdrago; you are right about wide.  I am thinking, just for the floatplane, I am going to take a second body with my 16-35....    I just bought a gopro the other day with a suction mount for 4K for this as well.   Other than the floatplane I think this camera will stay in the cabin.

 

i am taking some wildlife excursions and you all are right, I’m going to leave the 70-200 at home and take my 24-105 and my 100-400.   And just use the 16-35/spare body on the plane.     The 100-400 does extend, but not all that bad.  I’ve gotten used to using it in tight spaces.

 

thanks everyone!

[Gardyloo]

11 hours ago, bound4dbeach said:

 

Would you suggest using a polarizer Filter for glacier pictures?  Any suggestions/tips

 

I’m  doing a float plane excursion in Juneau and am thinking a 70-200 should suffice.     Would you suggest longer?  Any tips for shooting from the plane?

 

Do you think a 100-400 lens would be too long for Alaska?

 

How big/how many mp is your camera's sensor?  Which (if any) photo processing software do you use?  What do you plan to do with the pictures when you get back home?  

 

The reason for asking is that most cameras nowadays have big enough sensors (6M+ mp) that you can do a lot of zooming (and cropping) on the computer without any noticeable loss of detail.  Likewise with the polarizing filter, some easy enhancements using photo processing software can eliminate the need to fiddle with filters in the field.  Sometimes the subjects are standing still, like glaciers.  Other times it's a moose in the bush, and a "grab shot" is the best you can do.  In those cases fast autofocus and shutter speed have a lot more to do with it than having a nice blue sky.

 

As for what you're doing with the pictures, you don't need a 4000-pixel wide image if you're posting the pictures on a blog, or enlarging them to 11 x 14 for hanging on a wall.   So use the extra capacity on the sensor to solve composition or zoom issues in the field - shoot, move, shoot again, and don't spend too much time fiddling with the settings; there's plenty of time for that later.

 

 

[bound4dbeach]

My main body is a Canon 7DM2.  I believe it’s 20mp.   My backup is a Canon 70D

 

software wise, I primarily use Photoshop elements, sometimes with the Perfectly Clear Filter software.   I JUST started dabbling in RAW and can’t believe how much information you can salvage from under/overexposed shots!   But takes me a while to get the pictures right in post processing.

 

picture wise, we print some and then basically view them on-line.....  I have cropped pictures to get the composition I need, but I just like trying to get it right from the getgo.  That’s the reason I broke down and got the 100-400 to help minimize this.   But you are right sometimes I will have to plan on cropping to get the picture I want..... 

 

Everyone says my my biggest problem is I spend too much time behind the camera and not enjoying the “now.”  My response is that if I can capture that moment, I can live it forever and share it with others.

[Ptroxx]

Hope you don’t mind me asking a question as well. Kinda in the same topic.  

Should I use polarizer  ??

 

And ? 

I leave for an alaska trip in 35 days and was thinking about getting this lens as an all around lens for all shots.   Right now now I have a 18-135mm and I really like the versatility of the lens.  But really want a longer zoom for wildlife. So thought the 18-400 would be great.     I’ll get a lot of use outta that lens in so much other photography.   

Im using an older Nikon D80 body 

 

 

Tamron - 18-400mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC HLD All-In-One Telephoto Lens for Nikon APS-C DSLR Cameras - black

Model:AFB028N700 

SKU:5948023

[masterdrago]

Just some more thoughts...
The 28-300 does extend a good bit, doubling in length.

The 16-35 sounds perfect for great shots from the Sea Plane.

The windows are Plexiglass in the the planes we were in (Otter and Beaver). I was not allowed to use the suction cup on the window. One vendor asked me if I wanted to mount it outside!! At 120MPH, NOT! And curved so introduce some distortion.

The GoPro produces great images captured from video when shooting in 4k.

Agree with Gardyloo. Unless making wall murals, no need for 25MP images but does increase the cropping ability.

RAW, I've found is a lot of work and the newer camera jpeg do fine with PSE processing.

I've heard nothing but good stuff about the 18-400 Tamron.

As for settings, I did auto ISO with set on f/8 and minimum shutter speed ~ 1/500th on the D7500 but set differently on the D5100 and 10-24.

Edited July 20, 2019 by masterdrago

[bound4dbeach]

Mrell345. I’m jealous- I have lens envy.   I ended up with the 100-400 because I already had the 16-35, 24-105, & 70-200

 

Would be nice to have that all in 1.    The 100-400 extends about the same length as yours... I know I’ll be leaning back some when it’s fully extended

[vozzie]

I've solved my lens and bodies issues by hiring a good "bridge camera" for my Alaska trip. Wide to very Zoom...all in one. Shoots in RAW. Plenty of MPs.

Taking multiple bodies and lenses is prohibitive when travelling inter-continental !

[bound4dbeach]

Masterdrago, I saw in 1 of your posts you did the 5 glacier float plane tour in Juneau.   I booked this tour as well.   This is where I want to mount the gopro - maybe I should mount it once we get moving 🤫.     I’ve seen some people doing time lapse pictures with the gopro - pretty neat stuff.    I plan on being on deck to take advantage of both sides- I know the captain spins the ship, but I just like being prepared.    I plan on using an external battery with the gopro and setting it up on the balcony railing (gorilla pod and zip-ties to hold it all in place

[quack2]

13 hours ago, Ptroxx said:

Hope you don’t mind me asking a question as well. Kinda in the same topic.  

Should I use polarizer  ??

 

And ? 

I leave for an alaska trip in 35 days and was thinking about getting this lens as an all around lens for all shots.   Right now now I have a 18-135mm and I really like the versatility of the lens.  But really want a longer zoom for wildlife. So thought the 18-400 would be great.     I’ll get a lot of use outta that lens in so much other photography.   

Im using an older Nikon D80 body 

 

 

Tamron - 18-400mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC HLD All-In-One Telephoto Lens for Nikon APS-C DSLR Cameras - black

Model:AFB028N700 

SKU:5948023

I bought the Tamron 18-400 before my June trip to Alaska.  I was pretty happy with it for distant wildlife shots

 

Also brought a 10-22 for extra wide angle.  That was very handy for flightseeing at Denali and Misty Fjords.

[mrell345]

18 hours ago, bound4dbeach said:

Mrell345. I’m jealous- I have lens envy.   I ended up with the 100-400 because I already had the 16-35, 24-105, & 70-200

 

Would be nice to have that all in 1.    The 100-400 extends about the same length as yours... I know I’ll be leaning back some when it’s fully extended

With that lens lineup it sounds like you are all canon, my problem has been getting down to what I absolutely need for the trip.  I have a Tenba Hybrid 21 bag so I can carry it but I am bringing my 7DII my 6DII my 28-300 and my 16-35 (2.8) along with the 100-400 my friend loaned me.  I plan on doing some sunset work while on my land tour hence the full frame.  I have Circular polarizers for all my lenses and a set of square filters for those sunset shots.  By the way, don't forget your 1.6 multiplier when using the crop sensor.

Edited July 21, 2019 by mrell345

[masterdrago]

20 hours ago, bound4dbeach said:

Masterdrago, I saw in 1 of your posts you did the 5 glacier float plane tour in Juneau.   I booked this tour as well.   This is where I want to mount the gopro - maybe I should mount it once we get moving 🤫.     I’ve seen some people doing time lapse pictures with the gopro - pretty neat stuff.    I plan on being on deck to take advantage of both sides- I know the captain spins the ship, but I just like being prepared.    I plan on using an external battery with the gopro and setting it up on the balcony railing (gorilla pod and zip-ties to hold it all in place

Just make sure your GP has the latest firmware update. I think 1.7. My new one was using 1.67, I think, and ruined my 3 hr video at Hubbard Glacier. I was going to do time-lapse from the balcony but decided that I might miss any calving so set it for 1080 60fps with a battery bank attached. On the 2nd chapter about half way through, it started recording the same frame on every frame thereafter the full remainder of the 3 hours. It did record 3hrs of audio :+} I had only tested it on time-lapse b4 we left for the trip. So my advice is to run some 3 hr vids at home. You will definitely need and external battery bank. I took a 72 and 46 WHr Anchor battery Bank.

 

I think what I would do with the GP on a flight seeing tour is use a something like the AmazonBasics Head Strap Camera Mount for GoPro. Another idea I came up with after the trip was to use a mic adapter for your specific GP model and insert a small mic inside your headset earphone cup (the one you will wear on the plane to hear the pilot). That way, if you want to use any of the pilot's narration, you'll have it. Test everything b4 the trip!! 

 

We were all set for the 5 glacier tour while in Juneau. When we boarded the ship, we discovered that RCI had moved our 3:30pm flight to 10:15am, so had to cancel it. I really wanted to do that flight but had a whale watch with Harv & Marv's at 10.

[Paul Bradley]

On my recent trip, I took two Canon bodies (T7i and T5i), and two lenses - 28-105 and 70-300. I had considered taking my 150-600 for wildlife, but frankly, I'd have only used it once and it would have been problematic with the weather we experienced that day. The two I took were sufficient for wildlife, scenery and glacier-viewing. I also did the 5-Glaciers Floatplane and took both cameras, but only used the long zoom for taking photos of the floatplanes taking off and landing while waiting for my flight!

Edited July 22, 2019 by Paul Bradley

[Daveintb]

21 hours ago, masterdrago said:

Just make sure your GP has the latest firmware update. I think 1.7. My new one was using 1.67, I think, and ruined my 3 hr video at Hubbard Glacier. I was going to do time-lapse from the balcony but decided that I might miss any calving so set it for 1080 60fps with a battery bank attached. On the 2nd chapter about half way through, it started recording the same frame on every frame thereafter the full remainder of the 3 hours. It did record 3hrs of audio :+} I had only tested it on time-lapse b4 we left for the trip. So my advice is to run some 3 hr vids at home. You will definitely need and external battery bank. I took a 72 and 46 WHr Anchor battery Bank.

 

I think what I would do with the GP on a flight seeing tour is use a something like the AmazonBasics Head Strap Camera Mount for GoPro. Another idea I came up with after the trip was to use a mic adapter for your specific GP model and insert a small mic inside your headset earphone cup (the one you will wear on the plane to hear the pilot). That way, if you want to use any of the pilot's narration, you'll have it. Test everything b4 the trip!! 

 

We were all set for the 5 glacier tour while in Juneau. When we boarded the ship, we discovered that RCI had moved our 3:30pm flight to 10:15am, so had to cancel it. I really wanted to do that flight but had a whale watch with Harv & Marv's at 10.

 

masterdrago, when your recording the time lapse video with the GP, what time interval did you find that suited you best ? 

[masterdrago]

1 hour ago, Daveintb said:

 

masterdrago, when your recording the time lapse video with the GP, what time interval did you find that suited you best ? 

I chose not to do time-lapse at Hubbard Glacier since I was planning on using a 72WHr battery bank, so knew that I would not have any issues with the GP dropping power. I also shot linear, 60fps, and 1080P, stabilization off so knew that I could get ~4hrs of nonstop video on a 64Gig card. I just let it roll. Not really much need to run time-lapse since that might cause a loss of full capture of a calving event. Had I chose time-lapse, the advice I had found was to do 1/2 second intervals. That turned out fairly smooth on our departure from Skagway.

 

 

Edited July 22, 2019 by masterdrago

[bound4dbeach]

Wow- thank you all for all the great responses!!!!  Definitely help me out a lot.  

[Daveintb]

Great info, thank you.

[djwool]

Nice informative thread! We're heading to AK in mid August for one week DIY pre-cruise in and around Anchorage plus a seven day southbound from Seward to Vancouver. Thought I would post my planned equipment list and get anyone's comments or recommendations. My camera is the Nikon D5300. I plan on taking a 35mm fixed lens and 18-105 and 70-300 zooms. Plus I purchased a 2X converter for any long wildlife shots I might encounter. No plane rides for us, so I don't think I'll need anything super wide.

 

Comments....suggestions? 

[SempreMare]

WOW, 

 

@masterdrago that picture with the GorillaPod is one of the coolest Alaska pics ever! 

The scenery is breathtaking  and the geek factor is extreme! 

 

After debating waterproof cameras to supplement my superzoom and not being excited by any of them, I recently opted for the DJI Osmo Action.  I've never had a GoPro, but seeing  side by side YouTubes showing image stabilization comparisons and the front facing screen flipped me towards the new DJI flavor .  But yours looked silky smooth and stabilized! 

 

How many SD cards (which quantity  & which GB) did you bring with you and how much did you use? 

That external battery supply is a neat trick!  Which one do you recommend? 

Edited July 23, 2019 by SempreMare