Anyone here live in Alaska?

[Menkaure]

We are gonna go to Alaska in the next couple of years for a photo trip so I'm looking for someone that lives in Alaska to e-mail with about where the good stuff is to do. There are so many guides and trip planners and voyages that we don't know where to begin, who is good, who to stay away from, etc.
Any ideas?

Menkaure

[idiggplants]

liveD in alaska. seward to be specific. i would definitely recommend that town. if your interested in doing some kayak trips, there is an AMAZING trip to do. its to pederson lagoon. one fjord west of seward. its a lake next to the fjord that at high tide the water actually flows from the ocean into the lake, and then into a lagoon.. which has a big glacier feeding it and iceburgs everywhere, and seals that bump your kayak... but its a 5 hour boat ride and then its at least 3 days on the water in a kayak.. well worth it. do it through a place called millers landing. its where i worked. not trying to plug them, but they were really the best. its why i worked there. they do most of the bookings for everyone in town, at least all the good places. also ask them about glacier climbing.

only camp at their campgrounds/cabins, if you are ok with roughing it. which i would recommend cause its the only place outside of town...

the place is family owned(sometimes it shows in a bad way), but they really know there stuff. the current owners mother pioneered the land that the grounds are built on today.

outside of seward i cant tell you much. however i can say if you go to denali and take the bus tour, take it as far in as it goes. its completely worth it.

[Photo_Joe]

I'm living in Alaska, but have only been here for a little over a year now. If you need some advice, I'd be more than happy to try and help you out. I'm in a town called Wasilla, about 45 mins north~ish of Anchorage. Its part of whats referred to as the Matanuska Valley, so there's a few nice mountains in the area, and lots of hiking trails.

Seward is a good place to visit if you're looking for sea wildlife to shoot. I've only been there once, but I saw some seals, otters, birds, and what I thought were dolphins. You may look into a glacier cruise as well, those have a good chance to see a lot of beautiful sights and wildlife.

Fairbanks is supposed to be gorgeous in the summers, but its central, and a little out of the way.

Anyway send me a PM and we can start swapping emails if you like. I can send you a few photos of the places I've been in my area so you have and idea of what its like. I'm planning some hiking trips for this summer, so if you're around I'd love to take you, the more the merrier!

PS Check out a podcast called Alaska HD - http://alaskapodshow.com/ Its a group of guys that goes around to different places in Alaska and films / talks about the sights with background information. That in and of itself may be a great resource of different places you would like to go to, and let you see it before you actually go.

PPS You're luck you didn't come this last summer, it was literally the coldest, wettest summer on record! :cry:

[TrulyAlaskan]

Yep, I live here

[idiggplants]

i forgot to plug my buddy's website.. my two friends biked across alaska on mountain bikes, and while its not directly photography related, they did a video documentary on the whole thing, quite a work of art. you can watch the mini documentaries on their site.. they won a few film festivals. definitely worth a watch!!!

their new film is releasing shortly, and in this one they kayaked from alaska to seattle. quite awesome stuff!!!!

http://dudesonmedia.com/HOME.html

[ddmitchell]

I'm in Juneau.