Jason Soza Photography » Nature

Ready for Liftoff

admin — Sun, 21 Jul 2013 18:57:40 +0000

Caught this little ladybug getting ready to head off on another ladybug adventure!

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!

Mendenhall Glacier Cave, Juneau, AK, October 2011

admin — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 22:00:16 +0000

A crisp, clear October morning turned into another hike out West Glacier Trail to the face of the Mendenhall Glacier, then on and under the glacier for a repeat visit to a glacier cave I was last at this past July. The interior of the cave has opened up and is much wider and taller at points, while the arch at the entrance looks significantly less substantial than it did – I have a feeling that this winter’s snow will be too much weight and it may collapse at some point. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see!

In any case, the cave was just as exhilarating as it was three months ago: the colors, the sound of the water echoing off the walls, the temperature, everything. I definitely noticed that upon exiting the cave, my heart rate was up and I had a bit of an adrenaline rush going! All in all, this was an awesome way to spend a sunny October Sunday.

Hard to stay inside on a Juneau day like this.

Closing in on the Mendenhall Glacier.

Iceberg viking ships!

Standing where the glacier one was.

Looks like fun!

Sunny valley behind Mt. Bullard.

Nondescript ice cave entrance.

Looking into the depths.

The ceiling can be very aurora-like.

Some idea of perspective here. The ceiling was anywhere from 20 feet high at the entrance to less than 4 feet as it got deeper. About 9 or 10 feet here.

Frozen water and rushing water. Oh the juxtaposition.

Ice cave waterfalls.

Ice cave abstraction.

And more abstraction...

Got the blues.

Going towards the light.

End of the tunnel.

Let there be light!

On the glacier looking back towards the valley. Not a usual view.

Flooding @ Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, AK, July 2011

admin — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 08:03:26 +0000

Strange happenings at the Mendenhall Glacier! Apparently a lake in/on the glacier burst and released a lot of water into the lake and caused a lot of flooding. Read more here.

Enjoy the photos!

Mendenhall River rushing fast and high!

Flooded Steep Creek.

Almost over the footpath.

Paddling where you normally don't paddle!

High waters.

Sunny skies at the glacier.

Bluesy.

Waterfall.

Mendenhall Glacier with a little extra water.

This squirrel loves his cottonwood all over his nose.

View from East Glacier Trail.

Fungus amongus.

Flooded trail to Nugget Falls.

Daisies.

Stairway to nowhere.

Peekingatchu.

Well hi there.

Butterfly and fireweed.

A Day Around, On, & Under the Mendenhall, Juneau, AK, July 2011

admin — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 22:38:08 +0000

All I have to say is, “WOW.”

I’ve been to the face of the Mendenhall Glacier, but I’ve never been lucky enough to discover a glacier cave until now and I definitely understand why people get so excited about them.

It was amazingly bright no matter how far from the entrance you got. Light somehow found its way through the mass of ice above, which filtered out all but the blue light and gave an eerie glow everywhere you looked. I had a field day snapping photos and constructing makeshift camera platforms from rocks. These are the best in my opinion – enjoy!

Glacial melt.

Rain pool.

Mountain stream.

Alternate route to the glacier.

Glacier up close.

Tip of the iceberg.

Got the blues.

Ice bridge and blue sky.

Ascending.

Glacier layers. Both layers are ice, just one is dirty and one is not.

Moonscape.

Bluesy peaks.

Trekking across the ice.

Meltwater dripping from the ceiling.

Going down.

The abyss.

Goodbye blue sky. Hello blue ice.

It does stop eventually...

Aurora borealis-like ice formations.

Blue, blue, blue.

The deepest blues are black.

Light at the end of the tunnel.

Watch for falling rocks.

Hanging on.

Not a polar bear.

Descending.

Pink!

Tricky.

A Day on the Water, Juneau, AK, June 2011

admin — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 21:46:32 +0000

Juneau is an incredible place.

Some people can become claustrophobic given the fact that due to the mountains and water surrounding us, you can’t easily just pick up and leave. However, those same mountains and water provide such an incredible array of things to do and see, with most things being within a 20 minute drive from wherever you are.

Case in point: a halibut fishing trip. Not only did everyone come home with plenty of halibut and enough shrimp for a great dinner, but we saw whales, eagles, beautiful scenery and… a snailfish. It was a completely awesome day. Enjoy the photos!

Chilkat peak.

ATTACK OF THE TOMCOD!

Fisheye with a fisheye.

Living the dream.

Fishing...

A snailfish. They are weird little guys.

Nice to meet you.

Future dinner date.

This octopus was a SUCKER for shrimp bait. (And the shrimp too.)

Whale tail. A real one, NOT one caused by the combo of low pants, high thong.

Aw yeah, buddy.

Shrimp basket.

Seal playing with his food. (A flounder, if you were wondering.)

On the grass, duuuuude.

Thoughtful pose.

Mt. Roberts, Juneau, AK, June 2010

admin — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 06:48:08 +0000

On Sunday, June 6, 2010, it was sunny and warm here in Juneau and I decided to hike up Mt. Roberts and stop at the tram. I made it to the tram and neither felt like stopping nor going back down the mountain, so I kept going. I made it to the cross (if you’re not familiar with Mt. Roberts, there’s a large cross planted in the ground a decent hike away from the tram) and still neither felt like stopping nor returning to the bottom. This cycle continued until I found myself first on top of Gastineau Peak and then finally, legs burning, on Roberts Peak, 3,819 feet above the world around me. 500 photos and couple of sore legs later, I present the 23 best of the pack below. Enjoy!

Dwarf Dogwood

Cairn and Valley

Lupine

Parasailing Prep

Rock and Robin

Parasailing and Douglas Island

Fun

Perched Flowers

No Shooting

Rock On

Chillin Bug

Basin and Channel

Gastineau Channel South

Fisheye View

Bells

Sunburst

Beautiful Juneau Day

Into the Sun

Green White and Blue

Graceful

Sunset

Through the Trees

Greens

Flowers, a Leaf, and a Snail

admin — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 02:13:33 +0000

One of my favorite kinds of photography is macro photography. Basically, getting up close and personal with whatever you’re taking a photo of. Here are some up close and personal photos of some flowers, a leaf, and a snail. Enjoy!

Orange

Purple

Rainy Daisy

Rainy Leaf

Forget Me Nots

Bee on an Iris

Thistly

Slow as a Snail

Drops

Lilly

Dramatic Forget Me Nots

Auke Bay Deer

admin — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 03:34:50 +0000

I was taking a drive out towards Echo Cove and made use of the Auke Rec bypass that lets you cut straight to Lena Pt rather than hugging Auke Bay with all its twists and turns.

As I was driving along, I noticed this deer on the opposite side of the road. I stopped, pulled over, and backed up – the deer didn’t seem to mind that was literally right across the street from it. I snapped some photos and all of a sudden, I noticed the deer’s head perk up. I took one more shot, this one, and lifted my eye from the camera’s viewfinder to see what the deer was worried about. That’s when I saw a jogger I’d passed earlier and his dog… by the time I got my eye back to my camera, the deer was spooked enough to run off into the woods. You never know when you’re going to run across some wildlife here!