Wednesday 25 November 2015

The Mad Dash to the Finish Line!

I've been making Photobooks for the past couple of years.  I have so many begun-but-not-finished Scrapbooks that I had to find a way to get from start to finish.  My way?  I buy a Photobook coupon with an expiry date and then I have no choice.  I don't like to throw money out the window any more than other people do.

Well, that's what I did with my Alaska Photobook.  You'll remember that I mentioned Ken and I took a cruise to Alaska along the Inner Passage back in July.  I decided to buy a Photobook coupon near the end of July and, since it expired November 29th, knew I had lots of time.  Well, time goes by.  Actually time races by.  Have you noticed that, too?  It doesn't just pass, it whizzes by so quickly that if you blink, you miss something.  Well, I blinked a couple of times and suddenly I'm in November and the expiry date is looming dreadfully close.  This wasn't the way I planned things.

Editing is the most tedious part of the process.  You begin with 800+ photos and know that you can't possibly use more than 150 to 200 without boring the heck out of anyone who opens the book.  And, quite honestly, a lot of those photos are so similar that it takes away from the good ones to put in all the other ones as well.  Editing took me a week and a half.  I wound up with 248 photos that I had edited and thought I would use.

Time to begin the Photobook.  I had bought a coupon for a large, coffee-table style book.  It will measure 12" high by 17 1/2" wide.  Yes, it's going to be a bit of a monster, but I wanted room to show off some of the best photos.  Putting the Photobook together has taken me just over two weeks.  The deadline is coming up in days and I am feeling rather good since it has been assembled.  Next comes the editing process.  No matter how closely I check the written areas, I always wind up with at least one error.  It annoys me no end, but it has become an accepted fact.

Would you like to see a few of those photos?  Even though we went back in July, I am still stoked about some of the photo opportunities that came my way.  Yes, it is overcast and wet in most of the photos, but this is one of the world's largest rainforests.  We had a wonderful time despite the weather.  If you click on the photo, a larger version will show.

Approaching Icy Strait Point

Our cruise ship from shore at Icy Strait Point

A pod of Orcas during our whale watching excursion

Two sea lions, one of which was taken by an Orca

Approaching the Hubbard Glacier--sea lions on an iceberg

A panorama of the Hubbard Glacier which is growing each year

The left side of the Hubbard Glacier

The right side of the Hubbard Glacier

A long view across Mendelhall Lake

Mendenhall Glacier with iceberg in foreground

White water rafting down Mendenhall River

Gastineau Channel in Juneau

Tree on top of Mt Roberts, deformed by heavy snow

Doesn't this look like a Japanese painting?

Our cruise ship in the Juneau harbour from the top of Mt Roberts

Zane (our guide) and I in front of one of many Tlingit totemic carvings

In Ketchikan, eagle's nest in Tatoosh Islands

Kayaks waiting for our adventure

Our first time in a double kayak.  The saltwater was like glass.

Eagle  near the top of a snag in the distance

Close up of eagle on snag with added quotation

Our guide.  In sunny weather there would be seals on the rocks

An eagle watches for fish

An eagle in the trees

The fine drizzle and mist made magic

Ketchikan city

Ketchikan city

Ketchikan--a statue honouring the many founders

Ketchikan harbour and city view.  The roads are on stilts.

6 comments:

  1. Beautiful. Love you photographic eye. Stunning scenery well captured.

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    1. Thanks so much, Darrah. This is just a sampling. The scenery there was spectacular, eclipsing the inclement weather. I'd go back in a heartbeat for more adventures. We didn't even scratch the surface.

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  2. Heidi, we watch Alaska on TV, so really enjoyed your pictures with the personal touch.

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  3. These are absolutely awesome Heidi!!!! WOW. This must have been quite a trip and the experience of a lifetime. Really stunning.

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    1. Thanks, Louise. It was a great trip. Yes, it was cloudy and wet and cold but it was great. The scenery was stunning. I had to keep wiping my lenses or else there would be droplets distorting the photos. Actually there are a couple in which you can see that, but it was so much fun. This was also our first big cruise and we were totally spoiled. We had been on a three day cruise down the Rhine River and that was really terrific but totally different.

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I welcome your comments or questions.