Alaska cruise advice

[nbfoto]

I'm doing an inside passage cruise first week of June. Vancouver-

Juneau-Skagway-Glacier Bay-Ketchikan. Most shore time is in Juneau

and Skagway. Never shot from a ship before. Any advice on shooting

from the ship? The only stabilized lense I have is a 28-135. Does

the ship vibrate too much for tripod use? Is faster film

recommended? (I usually use Velvia or 100VS for landscapes.) Going

with my wife and inlaws so I'll have to squeeze photo time in between

family activities. But I sure would like to come back with a few

images to frame for the wall. Any help would be appreciated, as I

have no idea what to expect.

 

nb

[rich_b1]

I did this cruise last year at the end of June. My major piece of advice would be to shoot 200 or 400 speed film, which probably will break a Velvia enthusiast's heart, however, you simply cannot get good shots at the slower speed. We forget that southeast Alaska is a rain forest, and on our trip, we didn't see the sun for 10 straight days. It was a constant gray, foggy, misty drizzle, and even on the occassional break, when we were ashore on hikes, the forests did not let much of the gray light penetrate. When you shoot from the ship it is usually moving (although slowly) & with the low light, you would need too long of an exposure, which would blur your landscapes.

 

I wouldn't worry about the IS lens. I used a 20mm & 28-105 regular and a 75-300 IS lens, & all worked fine. As mentioned, the ships move slowly & smoothly past anything worth shooting, so the jostling won't be too great. Also, a tripod would probably not be the easiest thing, as you must be moving around the deck to get a good vantage point. Make use of the deck rail to steady yourself & your shots or if you feel you must, bring along a monopod. Just make sure to check it in your luggage, so some overzealous security person won't try to confiscate it.

 

Since you're going to Glacier Bay, make sure you're out on deck at the stern early to get a great view as the ship swings around & you get the whole panorama. The blue color and the sound of the glaciers calving is incredible.

 

Hopefully, you'll luck out & have better weather than we did, but in any case, have a great trip!

 

Rich B

[brien_szabo]

I've done a similar cruise to Alaska. I brought some Velvia but it went unused. I mostly shot Provia pushed to 200 and shot some 400 print film. From the boat you'll have to go handheld because vibrations will render all shots blurry using a tripod.

 

That said - I learned never to bring a tripod on a cruise as I have yet to find the time to use it. A monopod on the other hand has been invaluable, especially on on-shore excurions. My wife and I did several hikes on our Alaska cruise and I was able to take many images with the use of the monopod that I couldn't handheld.

 

Be prepared for cloudy weather. Our weeklong cruise only had one sunny day. The monopod was the key to successful shooting in less than ideal lighting situations.

[rick_wong]

Been on two cruises to Alaska... Will be leaving on 4/18/2003 for my third... If you want to shoot landscape from shore go up to Mt Roberts or Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau.. ( if you plan to go to Mendenhall Glacier just look around the docks for a van.. will cost from $6 one way to $11 round trip... You will be able to spend as long as you want vers a tour)

 

You will need your tripod and slow film is ok to use.. When shooting from the ship at Glacier Bay a tripod on deck will not work but a super-clamp with a ball-head will work just fine... If shooting with a 300-400 mm range lens clamping the head to the wooden hand rail will let you shoot around 125th with no problems.. if you use an 81C filter it will warm this up and still have a nice blue on the ice...

 

Tip when shooting in Glacier bay. pick you spot well before you arive in the bay... get to the lowest deck you are alow to shoot from.. if you are able to get on the Bow you will be able to shoot both sides...

 

Here are links to some Alaska cruise photos

 

http://rickwong.com/Cruising%20Alaska.html

 

http://rickwong.com/50th%20Cruise.html

 

Later Rick

[praveen murthy]

I did this cruise almost 10 years ago, and found the tripod on the ship to be quite useless as all of the "midnight sunset" shots were ruined. On the other hand, if you do shore excursions, which is defintely recommended, then you will still want a tripod. Most of the scenery type photo ops will occur on shore anyway. I did one trip to the chilkat valley in Haines where you have the highest number of bald eagles. Take a tripod and the biggest glass you have to catch 'em fishing for salmon. Also, I made the mistake of shooting Fuji reala that turned out quite horrible; slides would be the best bet unless you want to print the negs yourself. The kodachrome 25 I shot I was happy with. I have to see if the reala negs themselves are ok, but haven't done so.

[brien_szabo]

A good point was brought up - If you are going to do trips on your own, then a tripod is a good idea because you'll have the time to do things at your own pace. The towns are all very small (Juneau is the biggest and it isn't that big) and getting around in them is quite easy. However, if you are doing boat trips on land, then you probably won't have time to use a tripod. The groups move too quick and you'll find yourself more frustrated than anything else.

 

It makes sense to try and do as much research as possible about a park you want to visit and transportation options if going it on your own. Also, pack rain gear, it could turn out to be your best friend.

[david_duma]

I enjoyed Ketchikan the most. Grab a cab to the totem park if the weather is nice, if it's raining you can walk up the hill from the cruise dock to the totem museum and shoot FAST film with no flash allowed.