PALH-Lake Hood, Alaska, 07/2013

[NickPeterman]

Hey Guys,

Installment #3 of the Alaska odyssey (coming a few hours late today due to a jetlag induced nap) took us to the world's busiest floatplane base, Lake Hood. Essentially adjacent to the Anchorage International Airport, it is a spot that many photographers miss in the excitement occurring just next door, however true to everything I was told before we got there, it is a place not to be missed. The summer light in the evenings, combined with the backdrops and volume of traffic make for awesome shooting. All of these photos were taken in a roughly 2.5 to 3 hour stretch over 2 days, and trust me, there were a ton more that I didn't shoot or post here! While the traffic can get repetitive, one can move freely around the lake to change up the vantage points if wanted, but regardless, it is a must see for anyone in Anchorage.

Okay...enough chatter, some photos!


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The DHC Beaver is the real treat around the Lake, you cannot beat that radial sound!

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Beavers still sporting the original 2-bladed prop are a bit uncommon, sadly

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With floatplane after floatplane coming in, the temptation to drop one's shutterspeed becomes tempting, even for me the world's worst panner.

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Sometimes you drop it a little too low...

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And lastly, for the "widebody" of Lake Hood, the DHC Turbo-Otter. While a round engine would have been cooler, this thing just felt huge compared to the rest of the traffic (funny, I know)

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Once again, while not necessarily a normal thread, I hope you guys have enjoyed a snapshot of the goings-on at Lake Hood. By tomorrow I should have the photos from PALH's larger, more jet-oriented neighbor finished and ready to go. Please forgive any softness from overzealous panning, I was just too caught up in getting some prop-blur :cool:

Cheers!

Nick

[Kiffy]

Wow thats a great set of panning images, great job! They look fantastic, very sharp, don't underestimate your ability! :cool:

[NickPeterman]

Thanks Kiffy! It's definitely not my comfort zone, but it was a great learning experience.

[Kiffy]

They're better than I could ever do. Every time I want to practice I never want to totally ruin the shot so I chicken out and bump the up shutter.

I really like the head-on shots.

[wunaladreamin]

Excellent stuff again Nick. I'm jealous of the panning work!

[Gerard]

Great shots!! So many different seaplanes with great liverys!!:cool:

[RWB]

Epic stuff! You never cease to amaze me!! Keep those great Alaska photos coming!

[NickPeterman]

I really appreciate it guys! Lake Hood was probably the most fun I've had shooting in a long time, because unlike the usually approaches to a runway I was used to, these guys can land way short, way long, bank in from either direction, it's just a very dynamic experience for sure!

[steve1840]

Wow!! Excellent work Nick!! very nice set of images. I swear by the end of installment #5, I'm gonna have my bags packed and tickets booked to fly to Alaska!

[jerslice]

Jeez. Great set.