Since this week’s Fun Photo Friday concludes my series on cruising Alaska off-season, I thought I would start off with the sunset photo above. That picture was taken shortly after Ovation of the Seas left Endicott Arm and turned south for our return to Seattle. I’m still contemplating what next week’s series will be, but I’m still leaning toward a week of interesting firearms followed by our trip to Barcelona and our transatlantic cruise returning us to the U.S. Until then, Here’s today’s Fun Photo Friday of Endicott Arm favorites:
The walls of Endicott Arm are steep. Very steep. And myriad waterfalls cascade down their sheer dropoffs into the cold, glacier-fed waters below. The pictures shown today were taken on Cruise 2 of our back-to-back off-season Alaska voyages. So, the photos you see today were taken on 6 October in bright sunlit conditions.
One of Endicott’s many waterfalls
We also enjoyed these scenes from our Cruise 2 balcony, and I took advantage of the sunlight illuminating the walls on our way into the fiord since I knew that we would be on the shadowed side on the way out. On this excursion the tide was out. The water was much lower than our 30 September transit, so we didn’t get as close to Dawes Glacier on this trip:
Dawes from a distance
The low water level actually worked out to my benefit when photographing the fiord walls, as the levels of color enhanced the images:
Low tide in Endicott Arm
Still, because of the steep walls, some shots were going to wind up in shade no matter what. Even so, I was able to get a few gems along the way. This colorful reflection shot, for example:
Endicott Arm exploding in color
Now for some growlers and icebergs:
This week’s Fun Photo Friday concludes this series on cruising Alaska in the off-season. I’ve not yet decided what I will begin next week, but I’m leaning toward a series on some interesting revolvers I’ve recently stumbled across. Or, I might throw in a particularly interesting little discontinued .25 ACP/6.35 mm Beretta. If a weeks of firearms is what I go with, the following week I’ll begin with series on our recent (28 October) visit to Barcelona, Spain, followed by a transatlantic cruise we took from that port city.
Oh, what a difference a week makes. We’re back in Endicott Arm, headed for Dawes Glacier, but this time we’re under bright sun and blue skies. Which, in my book, makes for much better photography in most cases, unless you’re going for mood. For instance, just compare the shot above with this one from Fun Photo Friday I posted on December 17:
Endicott Arm one week earlier
Even the icebergs and growlers come off looking much more intense in color, and the clear portions of ice positively come alive with sparkle:
Endicott ice glistening in the sun
To see what I mean about the clear ice, here’s a closer view of the iceberg depicted above:
Like peering into a blue topaz
The rich blues of Dawes Glacier came through much more intensely as well:
Dawes Glacier in sunlight
Even the sunlit rocks dotting the way really showed off their colors, and reflections in the water were enhanced:
Endicott rock with color
Now let me leave you with these three sunlit landscapes:
Decisions — Murder in Paradise
The Globe — Murder in Luxury
R. Doug Wicker — Author 