July 2023
Kodiak finally had a decent amount of sun!! I finished my trip to Dillingham and returned to Kodiak, fully expecting another month of rain and clouds. I even wrote a news story about how it’s been ridiculously cloudy this summer.
What made July even better though was that one of my and Amelia’s best friends came to visit us. It was so nice to have Kira around for a few weeks.
Make sure to tap images to see them full screen.
The end of the trip to Dillingham
My last couple days in Dillingham featured a short hike up China Cap Mountain (more like a tall hill) and got some lovely views.
During my trip I even got to see some friends from California who were also visiting Dillingham for a week.
I also went on a short walk around Aleknagik south got some photos from the roadsides.
A new (to me) camera
When I got back to Kodiak, I had a new camera waiting for me in the mail box. I got a used Fujifilm X-T2 that was converted to full spectrum, meaning it can visualize infrared and ultraviolet light as well as regular color. These images were some of the first shot with that camera and with a 720 nanometer light filter on.
It’s kind of crazy to think the world looks so different with other types of light.
Return to visible spectrum
These were taken the same day, just interspersed with using the infrared camera. I love using infrared, but color photos are still great too.
One of my favorite panoramas from Kodiak yet.
Middle and Kalsin Bay details
These were all shot along Kodiak roads, but the bottom two I think are especially fun. They’re sort of a blend of abstract and impressionist art but in landscape photography.
Infrared along the road
Trees and greenery in general just look so different compared in infrared. It gives this really high contrast black and white look that I’m not sure I could ever recreate in standard black and white, even with a ton of editing.
Kira comes to Kodiak
A rare selfie. It was so much fun for Kira to visit, only the second of my college friends to ever come to Alaska to see me.
Kira and Amelia were best friends in high school, and Kira and I became good friends in college. Amelia and I actually met through Kira before we started dating. When we all lived in Spokane we hung out multiple times a week and it was so much fun to see her again.
An epic shot of Kira on White Sands Beach. We went here several times as the sun was out. It was a ton of fun to swim, walk around the water, and just bask in the sunlight. We were afraid she would only see Kodiak in the sun, but it was so nice to just hang out again and chase light around the island.
Landscapes during Kira’s visit
She was in town for two weeks. As much as I loved taking photos of her and Amelia, I made sure to also set aside some time to keep honing my landscape photography.
Just a mountain seen from around Bell’s Flats and Women’s Bay.
Sometimes when clouds hit the mountains they add a ton of shape and I think the moody vibe of this day looked amazing on the drive home.
Pasagshak views
We took Kira down to Pasagshak to see the spaceport and just explore more of the island. I also got these two images, both of which I just might print to hang in our apartment.
These mountains I believe are from the Marin Range. Seen from the road leaving Pasagshak Beach
An absolutely gorgeous wave receding from Pasagshak Beach. It was cloudy when we arrived but we sat down for a while to reset before driving home and the sun decided to pop out so we decided to stay and enjoy the view a while.
Daniel Harmon
Towards the end of the month, I attended a ceremony dedicated to Daniel Harmon, a Vietnam War veteran from Woody Island, near Kodiak. Officials renamed the local National Guard Armory in his memory. My boss, Kirsten, wrote a beautiful story about the ceremony.
Last few adventures
Kira’s visit to the island only lasted a little while, but we did get to go on a boat tour to look for whales. We didn’t see any on that trip however we did see a few otters, a ton of puffins, and some gorgeous views.
The bottom two images were both after Kira left, but I was still glad I could include them. Fireweed are my favorite flowers, and the smoke in those trees just look gorgeous with the light. I’m glad she got to come visit and that summer is finally started. Hopefully the weather continues next month.
