My photographic output tends to shrink during early winter in Interior Alaska. After the fall colors disappear, it's a waiting game until enough snow falls to cover up the brown landscape and provide a good enough base for me to start using my snowshoes and splitboard again. The rivers and creeks are still flowing, but the colder air temperatures make crossings more uncomfortable and dangerous. Snow conditions at higher elevations can be unpredictable. The aurora borealis returns but the nights tend to be cloudy until the really cold temperatures start showing up. Still, it's possible to get out this time of year and take some good shots.

Fall colors on an unmarked trail above Bear Creek in the Alaska Range, near Black Rapids.

One of the latest salmon runs in Alaska occurs in Delta Junction where I live. Salmon travel over 1,000 miles up the Yukon River and Tanana River and spawn in the Delta River and Clearwater River in town. It's an odd sight to see salmon swimming upstream with snow on the banks, and some of them even accumulate ice on their body before they die.

Dead chum salmon near the confluence of the Delta River and Tanana River.

Caribou and moose shed the velvet off their antlers by early September, and they're one of the best subjects to photograph until November. I just passed a large group of bull caribou a couple days ago (mid-November) and I only counted one antler among them. The females keep their antlers much later into winter but they aren't as impressive as male caribou antlers. The bull moose may keep their antlers into December but I haven't had much luck this year bumping into any big bulls at close range.

Bull caribou foraging after the first significant snowfall in the Donnelly Flats.

I saw the aurora on several occasions in August, September, and October, but never at the right time to snap any pictures. I finally caught a good show on November 7 after a heavy snowfall. It was my first time photographing in subzero temperatures this winter and the Richardson Highway was completely frosted over. The moon was nearly full but the aurora still shined brightly in the night sky, dancing over Donnelly Dome and the Alaska Range to the south. (Check out my guide for tips on shooting the aurora.)

Frequent high winds tend to blow the snow away in Delta Junction, so after it snowed heavily a week ago I made a point to photograph around town before the winds arrived. I caught a nice sunrise at the Tanana River bridge in Big Delta, where ice was flowing in the river and bald eagles were flying back and forth over the pipeline.

Sunrise at the Tanana River bridge in Big Delta.

In June, I passed by a new ice cave entrance at the terminus of Castner Glacier. The bulk of Castner Creek used to bubble up from underneath the glacier at this point, but the water has since carved a large tunnel beneath the ice. I visited the tunnel in October but there was too much water flowing through it to get very far inside. I returned to it a few days ago and the floor has now frozen solid. Oddly enough, it has snowed more in Delta Junction than in the mountains, so my friends and I were able to hike to the glacier without snowshoes.

Walking on the ice floor was a little unnerving since we could see silty water flowing beneath the ice. My friends opted to climb onto an "ice bench" and followed it until it ended, while I continued along the floor in crampons. The tunnel darkened as it curved around a corner, and the ice started becoming too thin for me to continue. We heard rushing water echoing somewhere ahead, but couldn't tell how much farther the tunnel extended. I'll be back later this winter after the ice on the floor thickens. (If you're planning to photograph this or another ice cave, check out my blog post How To Photograph An Ice Cave.)

Exploring a tunnel beneath the ice of Castner Glacier.

I'm looking forward to exploring many more ice caves this winter and hopefully many sleepless nights shooting the aurora as well.

Interested in photographing the aurora or an ice cave? I offer guided tours.

Sunrise on Denali with a waning gibbous moon floating nearby.

Visiting Denali National Park in May prior to the start of transit bus service has become an annual tradition for me. Private vehicles are allowed on the park road up to mile 30, and the throngs of tourists have yet to arrive. Staying in the Riley Creek Campground near the park entrance is free until May 15 and the campground is half-empty outside the weekends. Inside the park, you'll find people driving the road looking for wildlife, enjoying the freshly thawed trails, biking the road beyond mile 30, and otherwise enjoying the park at their own pace. I continued my tradition this past week, spending a couple days photographing and hiking in the park.

My first day there I looked for wildlife and scouted a location to shoot the sunrise the next morning. I saw several caribou, sheep, and moose, as well as a couple grizzly bears strolling through the Teklanika Campground, but I didn't have much luck photographing the wildlife. Afternoon clouds made for some great landscape shots, however.

Developing clouds over the Teklanika River.

I stepped out of my tent in the Riley Creek Campground shortly after 4 a.m. the next morning. A few songbirds and an occasional passing vehicle on the nearby Parks Highway disturbed the silence as I loaded up my car. Several moose were feeding along the edge of the road as I drove into the park, including two big bulls with stubby velvet-covered antlers. A waning gibbous moon hung in the sky over the mountains to my left. As I passed mile 9, Denali came into view, looming over the sleepy tundra like a shadowy ghost.

Bull moose with budding antlers foraging before dawn.

With the temperature several degrees below freezing, I parked beside a hill with the best view of Denali from the first 30 miles of the park road and started hiking up with my camera gear. At the top I found a rabbit's foot, but not the lucky kind. I watched as the north and south peaks of Denali started glowing pink, followed quickly by the rest of the mountain.

During the 45 minutes I spent on the hilltop, only a single vehicle passed by. For all the people I see by day photographing wildlife or Denali in harsh light with their expensive camera gear, there are surprisingly few roaming the park in the early morning when the animals are generally more active and Denali is putting on one of the greatest shows in Alaska—what a waste!

When I returned to the road, I sought an obligatory shot of a ptarmigan. Male willow ptarmigan are readily obvious in the park this time of year due to their white plumage contrasting against the mostly snow-free landscape. They also have a good habit of standing still for the camera.

Later that morning, I spotted a grizzly bear lumbering across the Savage River plain. I watched the bear dig up roots for 30 minutes hoping it would approach the road, but it never came close enough for a good shot. Caribou grazing along the edge of the river kept an eye on the bear but did not appear particularly concerned. I left after a crowd of spectators formed, intending to hike the Savage Alpine Trail before rain arrived in the afternoon.

Hiking off-trail above the Savage Alpine Trail, Denali National Park.

With the temperature still below 50 °F, I set out from the trailhead in short sleeves. The sun was shining bright and there was hardly a breeze. As I quickly made my way up the trail, the ridge I climbed a couple months prior stared at me from across the valley, conjuring memories of camping in subzero temperatures that seem so foreign now. When I reached the apex of the trail, I stopped for a few pictures of Denali. Another nature photographer, a woman from Canada, came up the trail behind me and we ended up photographing a lone Dall sheep ram together from close range some distance above the trail. With rain clouds forming to the west and the wind picking up, she turned back to the parking lot while I considered pressing ahead. Several more sheep were mulling around the trail another half-mile ahead, but shadows quickly started encroaching on the mountain and when it appeared rain was imminent I decided to turn back, too.

Dall sheep ram near the Savage Alpine Trail, Denali National Park.

The rest of my time in the park proved unfruitful in terms of photography. I'm planning at least two backpacking trips inside the park later this summer, with the first coming in a few weeks. I'm looking forward to a greener landscape with less snow at high elevations, and a lot more hiking!

Read about my Alaska photography adventures

Early Winter

Denali National Park May 2017