Tag Archives: Glacier bay

July 27, 2016 · 5:35 am

The Norwegian Sun Explores Margerie Glacier

Glacier Bay — Margerie Glacier

The Norwegian Sun spent well over an hour very close to the face of the Margerie Glacier, slowly rotating to give viewers stunning views from both sides of the ship.

Glacier Bay — Margerie Glacier

This means that if you have a balcony cabin then there is no need to go above decks to get marvelous views. Just hang out on your balcony and click away.

Glacier Bay — Margerie Glacier

Make sure you stand ready to catch ice falling into the waters. This makes for some dramatic photos, and very dramatic video as you’ll see later in this glacier series.

Glacier Bay — Margerie Glacier

Another nifty feature to catch is melting water tunneling through the glacier and pouring into the bay.

Glacier Bay — Margerie Glacier

Click on any image below for today’s gallery slide show:

Glacier Bay — Margerie Glacier

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Filed under Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, vacation

Tagged as Alaska, Alaska cruise, Glacier bay, Margerie Glacier, Norwegian Sun, photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, travel photography, vacation

July 25, 2016 · 5:35 am

Norwegian Sun Enters Glacier Bay

Glacier Bay — Approaching Margerie Glacier

The glaciers of Alaska are incredible sights. And the glacier you’ll get closest to on any cruise is Margerie Glacier in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. As you approach Margerie Glacier you’ll be greeted by myriad waterfalls cascading into the bay.

Waterfalls in Glacier Bay

Early in the season you’ll also see unmelted snowfields flowing down vegetation-covered bedrock and exposed granite. These photos were taken very early in the cruise season, on June 4 of this year.

Glacier Bay — Approaching Margerie Glacier

Early in the morning the Norwegian Sun picked up several National Park Rangers at the Glacier Bay Lodge Visitor Center and proceeded for several hours up the Tarr Inlet to arrive at Margerie Glacier.

Glacier Bay — Margerie Glacier

Marjorie Glacier is 21 miles/34 kilometers long, 350 feet/110 meters thick, and 1 mile/1.6 kilometers wide. It’s also a very active glacier if you want to see ice calving from its face into the water. Have your camera ready, because you’ll see the ice breaking off several seconds before the cracking sound reaches your ears. You’ll have to be quick!

Ice crashing off Margerie Glacier

Looking at the layers of ancient ice is looking back millennia in time. And remember, there’s still 100 feet/30 meters of ice below the surface of the water.

Centuries on Layered Glacial Ice

Click on any image below to bring up today’s slide show gallery:

Glacier Bay — Margerie Glacier

Glacial Ice

Mendenhall Glacier

Glacier Bay — Margerie Glacier

Glacier Bay — Margerie Glacier

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Filed under Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, vacation

Tagged as Alaska, Alaska cruise, Glacier bay, Margerie Glacier, Norwegian Sun, photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, travel photography, vacation

September 5, 2012 · 12:00 am

After Skagway—Spending the Day Cruising Glacier Bay

One never gets tired of traversing Glacier Bay. It’s just that beautiful and awe-inspiring. And on this voyage we were treated to some spectacular examples of glacial calving at Margerie Glacier. As you stand on the deck of the ship, you usually hear the crack of the ice before you see the ice falling into the water unless you’re fortunate enough to be looking at the precise location of the calving event. If you hear first, the main spectacle is already well underway by the time you see it. That makes capturing the event in a photograph very tricky indeed.

While calving may be the most dynamic sight at Margerie Glacier, it’s the intense blue of the glacial ice that makes for some of the most impressive images. The closeup images below have not been saturated, so that’s the true color.

Also impressive, but not as approachable, is the John Hopkins Glacier. Closest approach is about two miles because of the large chunks of ice that continually break off the sheer face of this advancing behemoth. But, while ships must keep their distance, that does not detract from the surrounding majesty of the mountains and the odd, cloudy green water of the John Hopkins Inlet, caused by the rock flour suspended in the water.

Photographically speaking, Glacier Bay is a treasure. Hone your panoramic stitching skills before making the journey. Realize that closeup shots of snow-covered mountains and blue-white glacial ice mean that exposure compensation is in order. Most of the glacier shots you see below were made by increasing exposure by ⅔ of a stop. Also, you may want to set white balance manually to make sure you capture correctly the intense blue of the glacial ice.