The most vibrant non-winter months in Alaska are June and July. This is when the majority of the seasonal rebirth, growth, blossoming, and seeding of wildflowers culminates. Among the earliest to bloom are chiming bells, the petals of which are most often an intense cerulean blue in color, or rarely pink. While the blooming period for most Alaska wildflowers is short, the extended hours of sunlight on the longest days of the year make completing the annual cycle possible.
Among the most elegant of waterfowl that spend the summer in Alaska are trumpeter swans. Most pass through the southcentral part of the state in April on their way farther north, though a few remain in local lakes and marshes to nest and raise young, becoming regal residents.
The beginning of spring bird migration in Anchorage is usually noted by the arrival of gulls in midtown. Traditionally I’ve expected them during the first week of April, but this year they arrived on March 30th, adding another twist to a rather unusual year. Canada geese and other waterfowl will be close behind, followed by numerous songbirds. It’s nice to see the season change.
Digital image editing software has come a very long way in the last couple of decades. Indeed, the number and complexity of constantly evolving applications make it hard to determine which are the most efficient and effective in both cost and function. Regarding cost, see Thom Hogan’s article on PetaPixel for some clear-eyed value comparisons.
Every photographer eventually develops a preferred workflow using software that suits his or her needs. What works for me is Adobe Bridge/ACR/Photoshop, staying non-destructive as long as possible. However, now and then a new program comes along that really makes a difference—like DxO’s PureRAW.
DxO PureRAW has been around for a while, now in version 3. It’s designed not as a replacement for a full RAW-processing/editing suite like ACR/Photoshop, Lightroom, Capture One, DxO PhotoLab, or others, but as a slimmed down, modest-cost perpetual (non-subscription) application containing a few of DxO PhotoLab’s best RAW-development features while integrating seamlessly with a Lightroom or ACR/Photoshop workflow. Here’s how it works: select a native RAW file (or files) to process, choose the type of noise reduction, optical correction, and output format (JPEG, TIFF, or DNG); then process. The renamed file is saved to a DxO subfolder of the original image’s folder, or other designated location. DxO’s noise reduction is excellent, especially with DeepPRIME XD, and their lens corrections are world-class. I’ve found the results of using PureRAW so good—especially with older files—that I’m systematically reviewing and reprocessing selects from my entire digital archive.
A lot has changed in the last few years with regard to capturing, processing, and viewing images on screens or as prints, and methods and means continue to evolve. But the last two years have been filled with disruptions—severe disruptions, beginning with COVID, which drove supply chain holdups and business closures (temporary or permanent) and crippled the economy, and most recently the war in Ukraine that has fueled more price hikes and threatened democracy worldwide. All of this has obliterated previous expectations of availability of all sorts of things. Like it or not, it’s the world we live in, and the turmoil will likely continue for some time to come requiring a new level of patience in order to cope.
On the camera front, the transition to mirrorless is pretty much complete. Of course, a host of DSLRs are still in use making perfectly fine image files, but the majority of research, development, and new announcements going forward will be in mirrorless, with very few exceptions (like Ricoh/Pentax). And when new product does come along—like the Nikon Z9 flagship pro body—it may take a very long time to actually reach most paying customers.
Image processing software development has greatly expanded. During the transition from film to digital a couple of decades ago, Adobe editing programs were the industry standard with little serious competition. Not so now. A whole array of software tools currently exist that cover the gamut from RAW processing to specialized noise reduction and sharpening to full-blown development and image file management systems, many of which use advanced “AI” (machine learning).
Software runs on computer hardware, and there’s been little slowdown on that front though chip architectures are morphing rapidly. On the Apple side their recently released Mac Studio using the in-house M1 processor seems to be the longed-for powerful yet relatively small Apple desktop system without an attached display (bigger than a Mac mini, smaller than a Mac Pro). In the Windows realm, Intel’s latest Core i9-12900KS CPU is the current processor king as relates to running most photo editing tools, though AMD will surely bring more challenges later this year. Graphics cards have also surged ahead (though they’ve been in extremely short supple and very costly due to stiff competition from crypto mining), helping leverage the computational requirements of AI (machine learning), and becoming a much more important consideration in spec’ing a photo editing system.
Even on the display front, color-critical monitors are moving ahead, even though it appears some may actually be leaving this market niche entirely (Sharp/NEC). Eizo has two new top-end units coming shortly (CG2700S and CG2700X) that will be state-of-the-art in the 27” category, and already have a very popular pair of slightly less expensive “CS” models (CS2731 and CS2740) that also meet most critical requirements with slightly fewer bells and whistles. In a significant shift, most new models offer a much broader array of color spaces, especially for video.
And not to forget printers (for the small number of dedicated photographers who still value this method of finishing photographs), the Epson SureColor P900 17” inkjet printer is the current cream of the crop. Physically quite small and with a superior ink set, it will fit into even cramped studios and provide nearly unparalleled printing options in this paper-size category.
So, the tools are there, and more capable than ever. Indeed, the plethora of options makes carefully choosing among them one of the bigger challenges, along with the constant relearning to make it all work together. It’s a rich environment, even with all the turmoil.
As imaging technology advances, some improvements present in unanticipated ways. For those who pursue small, wary nature subjects (birds in particular), long lenses with a narrow angle of view are especially useful, and items like extenders or teleconverters aid in increasing perceived reach. While adding an extender to a telephoto lens always degrades the image quality to some degree, at times the benefits are worth it. Over the years I’ve often used Canon’s EF1.4 Extender with excellent results. I’ve also used the EF2.0 Extender on numerous occasions, but even with the most careful focusing and sturdy support, the results have rarely been satisfying. Enter the Canon EOS R5. While major user-interface changes required considerable retraining of muscle memory, when optimally configured the body is a marvel. Of particular note has been how well Eye Detection autofocus works—especially with the EF500/4 II + EF2.0 III and EF-EOS R Mount Adapter…better results than I’ve ever achieved before. To be sure, I’d rather be close enough to use the prime lens without extender, but when pressed, I’m no longer reluctant to use this 500+2X combo. I don’t know why this works so well, but whatever the reason it’s a big plus.
It’s been another challenging year. Life as we know it has changed, and finding a “new normal” will require willpower and perseverance. But time marches on and things will sort out, one way or another. In the meantime we’ll keep our hopes up. Here’s to a better, more fulfilling, more productive 2022.
Non-winter seasons at this latitude are crammed into a much shorter length of time than in the Lower-48. Spring comes late and flowers rush to complete the bloom/seed cycle. Early wildflowers are reaching their peak in Southcentral Alaska, like these Jacob’s Ladder blossoms at Eklutna Flats.
It’s that time of year again, when winter begins to fade as temperatures gradually rise above the freezing point. One of the first spots in Anchorage where the change is most notable is a shallow manmade lagoon along Chester Creek. Parts of the creek flow fast enough to maintain a little open water through most of the winter, but that accelerates quickly during the transition, opening long channels that invite the first migratory waterfowl of the season—as well as other visitors. Such as the Northern River Otters recently gathering small fish and other edibles there, and after dining, sliding around on the snow-covered ice in a playful manner. Then, ever mindful of competition for a limited food source, one of the otters swam over to three Common Mergansers and aggressively chased them off.
The big, white, elegant Trumpeter swans have passed through southcentral Alaska again. Dozens stop by Potter Marsh each fall to feed and rest on their migration south. They have an acute sense of how long to stay and when best to continue their travel, usually departing just before freeze-up.
