I have questions bout what gear to take on my trip and what gear to take on the day trips for our Alaska cruise on Princess. We stop in Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway and will take the three day inland trip . In Ketchikan we are scheduled for the Neets Bay Bear Watch & flight, but could take the Neets Bay Bear Cruise or the Bear Country & Wildlife Expedition. In Juneau we are scheduled for the whale watching & Mendenhall Glacier photo safari. In Skagway we are scheduled for the Alaska Nature & Wildlife Expedition. Questions are as follows:
Should I bring my carbon fiber tripod and Wimberley Gimbal on the trip and if on day trips which ones? I also have a carbon fiber mono-pod I plan to bring.
What gear should I bring on my day trips?
If someone has taken this cruise and was focused on photography during, I would love to discuss equipment and what to expect. 562-233-1336 Patrick
Posted by Joana Roncero on September 10, 2012 at 1:45 AM
Hi Patrick,
I was in Alaska during last June and July. I wasn't in the same places that you propose; I take 3 different day-cruises; one in Valdez and the other two in Seward. In any case, regarding gear, I fairly recommend you to bring the monopod to take pictures from the ship. If not, it can be really difficult, especially with smaller boats. Regarding lenses, I used 500mm and 70-200mm with 2x extender (in two different bodies) and, for some landscapes, my 24-70 mm.
Here you can see some of the results:
http://frvisionblog.wordpress.com/2012/07/31/dia-54-day-54th-kenai-fjords-n-p/
http://frvisionblog.wordpress.com/2012/07/03/dia-29-29th-day-kenai-fjords-national-park/
http://frvisionblog.wordpress.com/2012/06/23/dia-18-18th-day-prince-william-sound-valdez/
I hope that this helps
Regards
Joana
Posted by David Frye on September 15, 2012 at 4:11 PM
Patrick:
My wife and I went on a cruise and land tour of Alaska in August. We did the whale watching and Mendenhall Glacier photo safari in Juneau as well. Our boat for the whale watching was small, with about a dozen people on it. I'd concur this Joana that the space would be too cramped for a tripod. I had my monopod, but found that with the abundant light, the pitching of the boat, and working the different sides of the boat that propping myself on the window frames and so on worked best. The monopod was helpful for the walking to the glacier view. If you cover the route we did, a landscape lens will help with the vistas and a x–200+ with getting some tighter shots.
Does your cruise include glaciers? There is plenty of time to move about the ship, pick spots, set up tripods or use monopods, and opportunities to swap out bodies or lenses.
There were times, too, when I just set the cameras aside and spent some time soaking in the majesty of nature and giving thanks there are still places where humanity is just a seasoning sprinkled onto the land and has not so thoroughly worked it over that wilderness is unrecognizable.
Discussion
2 repliesShould I bring my carbon fiber tripod and Wimberley Gimbal on the trip and if on day trips which ones? I also have a carbon fiber mono-pod I plan to bring.
What gear should I bring on my day trips?
If someone has taken this cruise and was focused on photography during, I would love to discuss equipment and what to expect. 562-233-1336 Patrick
I was in Alaska during last June and July. I wasn't in the same places that you propose; I take 3 different day-cruises; one in Valdez and the other two in Seward. In any case, regarding gear, I fairly recommend you to bring the monopod to take pictures from the ship. If not, it can be really difficult, especially with smaller boats. Regarding lenses, I used 500mm and 70-200mm with 2x extender (in two different bodies) and, for some landscapes, my 24-70 mm.
Here you can see some of the results:
http://frvisionblog.wordpress.com/2012/07/31/dia-54-day-54th-kenai-fjords-n-p/
http://frvisionblog.wordpress.com/2012/07/03/dia-29-29th-day-kenai-fjords-national-park/
http://frvisionblog.wordpress.com/2012/06/23/dia-18-18th-day-prince-william-sound-valdez/
I hope that this helps
Regards
Joana
My wife and I went on a cruise and land tour of Alaska in August. We did the whale watching and Mendenhall Glacier photo safari in Juneau as well. Our boat for the whale watching was small, with about a dozen people on it. I'd concur this Joana that the space would be too cramped for a tripod. I had my monopod, but found that with the abundant light, the pitching of the boat, and working the different sides of the boat that propping myself on the window frames and so on worked best. The monopod was helpful for the walking to the glacier view. If you cover the route we did, a landscape lens will help with the vistas and a x–200+ with getting some tighter shots.
Does your cruise include glaciers? There is plenty of time to move about the ship, pick spots, set up tripods or use monopods, and opportunities to swap out bodies or lenses.
There were times, too, when I just set the cameras aside and spent some time soaking in the majesty of nature and giving thanks there are still places where humanity is just a seasoning sprinkled onto the land and has not so thoroughly worked it over that wilderness is unrecognizable.
Enjoy!