Photographing denali

Hi , my wife and I are amatuer photographers and would love to shoot in Denali. If anyone has ideas of the best way to accomplish this I would appreciate your thoughts. There seems so many options; cruise/land tours, bus tours staying nearby, not sure what would be the best choice. Thank you in advance for any ideas.

JimB

Photographing denali

Hello Jim,

First, all cruise lines offer side trips to the interior of Alaska and take people by buses on overnight ,usually very quick and limited, trips to Denali National Park. This is not a way to go if you want to focus on photographing amazing beauty of Denali NP. If you really want to photograph in Denali NP then you cannot possibly depend on a schedule of any tours. Become independent traveler, come up with your own itinerary, stay in the park or near the entrance to the park. Book your accommodations for a few nights, include lots of time in Denali NP. To start, read all posts here on Denali National Park and soon you%26#39;ll realize how easy it is and how much fun you can fun to come up with your own itinerary. As soon as you have your final itinerary book multiple days on shuttle buses to the park. If you stay in the end of the road stay for a few nights too. Do not rush, take your time. Regardless where you want to stay for your visit of Denali don%26#39;t wait too long with booking your lodging or RV for August 2007.

www.nps.gov/dena

Photographing denali

One thing that is not mentioned often on this forum is getting a back country permit for Denali Park and choosing some highland to establish your camp(s) that will give you a 24 hour view of Denali. Locating or relocating near the animals that you are seeking is a factor to consider as well

This would be for the serious amateur photographers (or animal observers) who are also comfortable backpacking and being quite self-sufficient.

The advantages can%26#39;t be beat. You have 24 hours in a day to observe and photograph. The mountain will often clear up about 4AM, so it helps to have the tent open toward the mountain %26amp; sleep with the camera handy. You get away from the crowds as much as you want to. You can jump on shuttle busses to relocate within your designated area to get new perspectives and animals, and the bus time gives you the same advantages the day trip tourists get, covering a lot of ground and chances of seeing animals both distance and near- offering good decision points for stepping out for a few hours or a night or two.

The 24 hour exposure to the mountain and taking your time observing lets you see terrain and mountain under light from different angles, an advantage people in a hurry do not have.

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The mountain is also visible and about the same distance away from the road between Anchorage and Denali, and from the hiking trails in Denali State Park, so you can spread your time around, not just stay in Denali National Park area. By the way, due to clouds you might only see it on 1 out of 4 or 5 days. And there are a lot of other beautiful mountain to photograph in Alaska...

Thank you all for your suggestions. We are thinking about a 7 day cruise then renting a RV, Any suggestions on which cruise line and what RV company is a good choice? ALso is this a good plan for what were looking for and lastly which dirstion to RV from north to south or S to N. Thanks again.

Jim

Which directions? Well, that depends what places you want to visit and what time of the year. If you are going in May I suggest going to Denali NP in the end of your trip as it is sometime not open until June. If you are going in September then the park usually closes its road around September 15th or earlier depending on a weather.

First, how many days you have and what places do you want to include in your itinerary? Plan on being in Denali for at least three days.

Combing a cruise with an independent tour of the interior is a great plan if you have enough time.

We have two weeks and will be going in July or August. We would want the most oppertunities to photo wildlife and some scenics

Jim

In July or August won%26#39;t make any difference whether you go to Denali in the beginning or the end of your trip.

Below are only of few examples of most scenic spots

-Denali NP

-Hatcher Pass

-Sheep Mountain area and Matanuska Glacier

-Drive on Richardson Highway to Valdez with stops at Worthington Glacier , Thompson Pass and Keystone

-Drive along Seward Highway

T-rain ride to Seward

-Homer

-Halibut Cove

-Tram ride in Girdwood

-sea kayaking among glaciers from Valdez or Homer

-26 Glacier cruise from Whittier

-Many more

Wildlife

-Denali National Park

-Cruise to Kenai Fjords National Park

-Bear watching tour to Katmai National Park

-Birding in Fairbanks

-Kenai National Wildlife Refuge

Thank you everyone. Places ,thank you for your list, how much time would I need to do that list right ( Lol I know ';YEARS'; )? Also would anyone have any suggestions on which cruise line to use?

JimB

If you have 3 weeks driving around you can do everything on that list. With 2 weeks you will need to skip some. With 1 week you are limited to too few places.

ttt for Jim