In a recent article I wrote about downtown Seattle and some of its attractions. I was with my family and we took a cruise through various destinations on the coast of Alaska; our first stop was Ketchikan.
Ketchikan is a small city named after the Ketchikan Creek, which flows through the town, emptying into the Tongass Narrows a short distance southeast of its downtown. Walking the streets of Ketchikan, thereโs a small town vibe all around; small stores sell their goods to the visiting tourists bustling about.
Creek Street
A small walk away from the docks is Creek Street, a boardwalk mounted in stilts on a high slope on the east side of Ketchikan Creek, east of the city’s downtown. It is infamous as being Ketchikan’s red light district, roughly between 1903 and 1954, and some of its attractions are commemorations of this past.
From the boardwalk itโs possible to spot seals, fish and birds swimming in the creek bellow and through a path that passes through trees and back up in to the city again.
While we wanted to see salmons and bears, sadly, it wasnโt meant to be. Our cruise was during the last week of august, up to the first week of September; by this time, the salmon had already swam upstream and died off, and the bears had already had their fill and were starting their hibernation. As it was โ when I was there โ all there was to see of the local fauna was scavenger birds feeding on salmon carrion.
So if I ever return, Iโll make sure to come during the seasons that showcase the areaโs wildlife โ around June to August.
The weather and how it affects photography
Though it wasnโt very cold at the time I was there, it rained a lot. That is the one prominent feature of the areaโs climate, the high amount of rainfall with an equivalent average of 153 inches per year. This particular issue is important when trying โ like I was โ to take photos; thereโs an almost constant over-casted sky that makes for difficult lighting. While this kind of light is good for portraits โ because it gives an even light and a natural soft box effect (as in the photos below) โ it doesnโt allow for much contrast and is not that great for landscapes.
For this reason, many photos that seemed good in my cameraโs screen did not make the cut for posting here. Because of this, one of the best advice I can share with any photographer โ especially when traveling โ is to keep shooting. When you think you have your winner photo, keep shooting; when you think youโre done taking photos, keep shooting; if thereโs still space in your memory card, keep shooting; and if you run out of space in the memory card โ put a new empty memory card โ and keep shooting. Thereโs nothing like knowing you could have taken that winning shot you wanted โ on that trip you may not take again or may not return to in a long time โ and didnโt.
In the end I did find some good photos and I did have a lot of fun. I wish Iโd taken more quality pictures, but I learned and did better on our next port.
Next time
In the next article I will write about the glaciers of Juneau. There, we had the amazing experience of going on a helicopter and dogsled ride on top of the glaciers, it was an incredible experience. So thanks for reading and don’t miss the next article.
Superb photos – looks an amazing place. ๐
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Thank you, It is quite beautiful. I only wish I could have been there for the salmon spawning season; I wanted to get photos of the salmon jumping upstream and bears hunting. Next time, I guess.
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I would love to see that – seen it on tv but it must be amazing to see it ‘live’ ๐
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Me too! ๐ hopefully someday I’ll go back and choose the right season. I would also love to get a shot of eagles fishing.
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