Final Installment on Cordova…

Childs Glacier taken minutes before it calved. Don't let
scale and size fool you... this thing is massive!

So.. There I was sitting on the bank of the glacier river, with this gorgeous glacier wall across from me. The glacier front was so massive I was having a hard time photographing it. Jaz had stayed above (about 50 feet) at the viewpoint and was shooting with a wide angle lens.

My strategy (since I have no such lens) was to get down near the river and shoot across and upstream where I could capture more of the length. It is hard to shoot ice. The shoreline was very rocky and hard to navigate, but it was so beautiful. I have seen many glaciers up close and personal all over Alaska, but Childs Glacier has to be the most spectacular to date.

So there I sat adjusting and fiddling with my camera when a large chunk of ice calved -off the front. Now, of course, my camera was not facing the ice, so I missed the shot. I turned and tried to face the ice, but was too late. Suddenly all my hair stood on end and my immediate reaction was to grab the camera and tripod and run. The piece of ice that fell off did not seem that large but it apparently was. I no sooner turned and made it away from the river before the water receded and began advancing on my position! I managed to stay a couple of feet away from the moving water, but boy was it loud and powerful! Jaz missed the opportunity of photographing me running…

Very refreshing and invigorating! Nature is very powerful. The rest of the trip went well.

I have since traveled to Denali National Park and Preserve and got some wonderful shots of wildlife but I am going to have to play catch-up on that trip and skip to my current trip: France

Riding the Copper River Highway was amazing!

Here is a link to an amazing video that recently captured an Alaskan glacier calving, and it demonstrates how the water can react.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL3EjH9-WSs&feature=related