At 5:11 PM +0000 5/21/01, olympus-digest wrote:
Will be going on Alaskan cruise the end of July, with a few days in Seattle
prior to departure. Only things absolutely in concrete at this time are a
ferry/boat ride to Victoria to see the gardens and a visit to the Hay Street
market in Seattle. Would be interested in hearing from anyone experienced
with the area or Alaskan cruises of "not to miss" photographic opportunities.
Will be stopping at Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway. Will be also going into
Glacier Bay.
Can't help you on things like tripod shift and the like -- had a
wunderbrick when we started the trip, promptly left it in a store in
Juneau, and finished the trip on disposables (those stains on the
picture are my tears when I realized the good pictures I missed <g>).
Can help you on locations. Many have already pointed out good spots.
In Seattle, Pike Place Market is a must. The Seattle Aquarium is just
down the stairs toward the Sound; probably a bigger draw for
interactivity than pictures, but it's your choice. If you're into
airplanes, Boeing Field takes up a chunk of real estate south of
downtown; there frequently are some interesting-looking planes there.
I'd hope for a clear day and hop a ferry (you can see Mt. Rainier;
take a long lens!). And I've taken some beautiful shots (even with
the wunderbrick) of sunsets at Shillshole Bay.
As for Alaska, there is a cable car/tram ride in Juneau that takes
you to the top of Icantremembernow Mountain; I didn't take that trip,
but my wife did. I occupied myself at the mining museum; very
interesting, but not many picture opportunities. I would also
recommend a helicopter or plane trip over the glaciers -- they look
totally different from that angle. And Juneau features a rain forest
with tons of flora and fauna worth photographing (including _dozens_
of bald eagles when we were there). I liked Juneau the best.
The other locations: Skagway's railroad, for sure. There's also a bit
of a railroad museum there if you're into that. A fair amount of
Inuit art around. The Inside Passage is pristine and marvelous.
Honestly, I didn't take too many pictures there because I was just in
awe of so much territory untouched by humans. Glacier Bay was
impressive (even as close as we got, which wasn't very, being in a
huge cruise ship). Note that everyone will crowd around the side of
the ship facing the glaciers, so you won't have much of an
opportunity to set up shop unless you get to the railing very early
(you won't get lots of elbow room, either; be prepared for someone
failing to think and bumping or knocking over your tripod). It gets
better as you wait it out and the lookie-lou's get tired of waiting
for a glacier to calve and make a big noise. But don't wait until the
end to set up.
It's the trip of a lifetime -- enjoy and take lots of pictures!
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