Jason Soza Photography » Alaska

Glacier Trek, Juneau, AK, August 2013

admin — Sat, 03 Aug 2013 03:38:22 +0000

I was lucky enough to go on a glacial adventure this weekend with the help of NorthStar Trekking!

Going underneath the Mendenhall Glacier is one thing, but putting on a pair of crampons and checking out all the features on top of it is awesome… as is scaling the face of a frozen slab of ice. In all, the exploring lasted about three hours. Throw in the helicopter rides and perfect weather and well, needless to say, it was a pretty epic afternoon.

Below are just a sampling of the nearly 500 photos I snapped. I did my best to capture the full breadth of the experience, but I would highly recommend making your own way onto the Mendenhall if you can, even if you’re from Juneau and you see it all the time. There’s nothing like it!

On the Ramp

Fly By

Heli

Mendenhall Glacier + Valley

Suicide Falls

Previous Trekker

Blue Water

Yellow Tent

Glacial Pool

Mt. Stroller-White + Mendenhall Glacier

Crampon Walking

Glacial Traverse

Mendenhall Towers + Thunder Mountain

The Blues

Ice Fall

Glacier Waterfall

Watery Blues

Base Camp

Trek 19

Waterfall + Stream

Ice Climbing

Intent Watching

Summit!

Coat Rack

Ascending

Trek 26

Rappeling

Summiting

Glacier Water

The Guide

Landing Zone

Blue Peaks

Deep Blue

Glacial Stream

Valley

Slowly Decaying Leaf

Water Drops

Sunshine + Stroller-White

Returning

REAL Glacier Water

Moulin Bleu

Glacierscape

Rocks

Yellow + Blue

Juneau Airport

Landed

Mt. Bradley (aka Jumbo), Juneau, AK, July 2013

admin — Tue, 30 Jul 2013 03:51:21 +0000

I would say that there’s not much better than hiking up a mountain on a sunny and warm Juneau day, but… Juneau’s pretty awesome that way. No matter what you do on a sunny and warm Juneau day however, you can never go wrong by making your way to the top of a mountain!

Mt. Bradley, otherwise known as Mt. Jumbo, is a 3,337 foot peak on Douglas Island, offering great views of downtown Juneau, the backside of Douglas, the airport area, and pretty much everywhere else.

The trail is about three and a half miles long and up, up, UP. It’s well worth the effort though…

Willow Ptarmigan

Downtown Juneau from Above

Beer + Mountain = Awesome

Seeing Forever

Shadowy Wavy Snowy Abstract

My Own Shadow

Layers and the Chilkats

Admiralty Island

Gastineau Channel

Mountain Harebell

July Snow

Sunset Glow

Fields of Green

"One of these things is not like the other..."

Downtown Scenery

Wildflowers

Through the Trees

Mt. Jumbo

Hiking Down

Lone Tree

Mountain Lillypads

Little Niagara

Mendenhall Glacier Cave, Juneau, AK, June 2013

admin — Mon, 29 Jul 2013 21:06:39 +0000

This was my third hike to the glacier cave at Mendenhall Glacier that has been the “go to” cave for the past few years. I went in July 2011 and October 2011 – for moving at glacial speeds, it’s amazing how much has changed in between visits!

Much more of the face has calved off and melted over these two short years and the entrance to the cave itself has receded at least 100 feet. It actually looks a bit more stable now, as the previous ice outcropping that was at the entrance before was relatively thin looking. Inside the cave is just as amazing – the bluest of blues and the sound of water rushing under the glacier. If you go, be safe and bring rain gear!

Enjoy the photos.

Glacier Cave Entrance

Peering In

Looking Out

On the Glacier

Hiking Out

Glacier Dog

Lower Glacier "Cave"

West Glacier Unnamed Creek

East Glacier Trail, Juneau, AK, October 2012

admin — Sun, 21 Oct 2012 18:43:51 +0000

The leaves are brown, the air is crisp, and the sky is gray… autumn has definitely arrived in Juneau!

Here are some photos from a weekend hike around East Glacier Trail.

Grassy Rain

Creek Falls

Forest Gnome

Trail Marker

Bridge to Somewhere

9 Leaves

Northern Lights, Juneau, AK, October 2012

admin — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 22:28:37 +0000

It’s been tough to catch the aurora borealis down here lately and today was looking like no exception – stormy weather bringing bouts of torrential rain made it seem very unlikely that Juneau was going to enjoy any of the auroral displays that Anchorage and the rest of the state had gotten to see recently.

However, the northern lights deities decided to give Juneau a break. Arriving home after a late-night hockey game, I noticed that not only had it stopped raining and I could see the stars, I could also see the faint glow of the aurora. Of course, I ran inside, grabbed my camera and tripod, and headed out for a few hours!

Enjoy…

Aurora over Aurora Harbor

Aurora Sky Painting

Egan Drive Fog

Egan Lights and Aurora

Swoosh!

Peek-a-Bee!

admin — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 22:03:56 +0000

I’ve been on a roll with going through my thousands and thousands of old photos and getting rid of duplicates, out-of-focus shots, and just plain bad photos. In doing this, I’ve come across a few photos that I totally must have missed in my post-shoot excitement.

This shot is one of those. I tagged another photo from this set to be published (you can see it here), but I have to be honest – I like this one much more! This little bumblebee looks like she’s trying to be sneaky, eh?

Happy Friday and enjoy!

Outer Point Sunset, Juneau, AK, April 2012

admin — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 20:19:47 +0000

Sunsets in Juneau, when they’re visible and the clouds line themselves up just so, are amazing. So amazing, that if it even looks like a spectacular sunset is possible, people start migrating to the best viewing spots as early as possible so they don’t miss it.

Here’s one such sunset, viewed from Outer Point.

Outer Point Trees

Kayakers + Chilkats

Zam the Super Dog

Shaman Island @ Dusk

A Chilkat Sunset

Golden Rays

Twilight @ Outer Point

Treadwell Mining Complex Ruins Vol. 1, Juneau, AK

admin — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 22:51:16 +0000

Central Power Plant and New Office Building

The old Treadwell Mining Complex ruins at Sandy Beach are one of my favorite things to photograph. It’s so easy to take a moment and imagine what it must have been like when Treadwell was operating at full capacity, with some 2,000 mine employees working to crank out tons of gold each day.

Here are some photos of a couple of the first large, recognizable ruins you come across as you head down the trail from its start near the recreational shelters – first, the remains of the Central Power Plant and then what was known as the New Office Building, which served as a temporary hospital after a fire wiped out Douglas and Treadwell in 1937.

In the weeks to come, I hope to post more photos of ruins further down the trail. Stay tuned!

Growth on the Central Power Plant.

Central Power Plant remains.

Creepy Clown

Radiator

New Office Building.

Colorful

fool?!?

Inside the New Office Building.

New Office Building interior.

Graffiti

Salmon Inspiration

Wharf and Warehouse pilings.

Mt. Juneau, Juneau, July 2012

admin — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 23:40:55 +0000

A break in the seemingly constant summer rain here in Juneau meant it was time to ditch work and head up a mountain.

The mountain of choice was Mt. Juneau, topping out at 3,576 feet. I learned a bit of Mt. Juneau trivia from its Wikipedia page, like that it’s been known as Gold Mountain and Bald Mountain in the past and that it receives 300% more rain than downtown Juneau. Crazy.

Not too many photos to share this time, as it was cold, windy, and the next wave of rain was quickly heading in, but snapped a few good ones nonetheless!

Alaska's State Bird, the Willow Ptarmigan

A Flock of Mountain Goats

Juneau from 3,576 Feet

Juneau International Airport and Chilkats

Mountaintop Snacks

Summit Construction

Mt. Juneau Shack

Brew Fest 2012 @ Haines, AK, May 2012

admin — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 05:36:51 +0000

Whew. Haines. Brew Fest. Crazy!

There are not many photos from the event itself… it’s hard to hold a camera and sample at the same time. I did at least manage some nice “out & about” shots of Haines. Enjoy!

Brew Fest 2012!

Packed Dalton City

Battery Point

Yellow Daisy

Bemused Boxer

Honey Moon Hotel

MV Partner

Artsy boat.

Haines in black and white.

Lackadaisical Lab