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July 7, 2024

Why I Woke Up Early on Vacation to Spot the Sunrise Instead of Sleeping In

I used the early mornings from my summer vacation to capture timelapses of the sun rising over the mud flats in Cape Porpoise, Maine. Here’s how I set up my photo gear.

Creating a timelapse video of the sunrise is like looking at a snowflake. One is never exactly the same as the next. The sun may arrive on schedule, but the surrounding weather is always the wild card.

Specifically, it’s all about the clouds. They will make or break your sunrise timelapse photography every time. Yes, you don’t want a cloud to be blocking the sun as it makes its grand entrance on the horizon, but that’s only one piece.

Wonderful Clouds
Properly positioned in your shot, clouds are the secret ingredient that can create a spectacular sunrise in a timelapse. They’re always on the move, and a timelapse will speed up their motion. Plus, clouds augment the visual drama by reflecting the orange hues on the horizon and adding stunning contrasts to what can otherwise be a boring blue sky.

But it all must organically come together for your camera at the right time. Every morning doesn’t offer the perfect sunrise. So, repetition is key.

The Magical Mud Flats
Over the past three summers, my family and I have been driving up the Maine coast to the same beach house for a little R&R.

The house overlooks the mud flats of Cape Porpoise near Kennebunkport. And if you walk for 15 seconds to the edge of the ‘flats’ at the crack of dawn, you’re offered a magnificent environmental canvas for the sunrise. (Whether the flats are dry or filled with tidal ocean water, it’s always a stunning view.)

We’ve been sharing this Maine vacation experience with two other families, and each morning while everyone was still asleep, I got up at 4:35am to get my gear in place ahead of the sunrise. (And if you’re concerned that I haven’t been giving myself the opportunity to sleep in and rest up, don’t worry. I caught up on my Z’s during luxurious afternoon vacation naps.)

DJI Osmo Pocket 3
My camera of choice for my ongoing sunrise timelapse project is currently the DJI Osmo Pocket 3. Its superpower is its tiny gimbal design. The lens can be programmed to pan left or right throughout the timelapse sequence. (DJI calls that a ‘motionlapse.’)

I bought the original Osmo Pocket back in 2019, and I’ve just upgraded to the third-generation model (Pocket 3), which among other improvements boasts a larger 1” sensor size for better image quality.
I usually set my timelapses to run for 30 minutes, with each frame set at 3-second intervals. That creates a 20 second timelapse. (Sometimes I double it and go a full hour for a 40-second timelapse.)

I try to start at least 10-15 minutes before the first edge of the sun peeks out, and then I let my Osmo Pocket track the sun during those wonderful early minutes before it becomes too intense for the camera. (I also use a DJI ND16 magnetic filter which acts like sunglasses for the lens.)

Holiday Parade
This year, the best sunrise presented itself to my Osmo Pocket 3 on July 4th.

When I stumbled out of bed with my Pocket 3 and tripod, I spotted a few clouds already in good position. I set up my gear at the edge of the flats for the full hour, crossed my fingers and walked away to get a cup of Joe. When I returned, I was so pleased with what I got. The clouds offered up a perfect parade.
My Magic Hour
Waking up early to document sunrises may seem like a counterintuitive vacation activity. But when the opportunity is literally right in front of you, it’s hard to pass up.

Plus, I usually rise on the early side throughout the year for what I call my ‘magic hour’ from 5:30-6:30am. I use this time for my blog writing and photography editing. My mind is fresh, and I find that the creativity flows.

So, waking up 40 minutes earlier for my vacation sunrise timelapse project isn’t such a big change from my usual routine.

Another benefit of greeting the sunrise is the massive sense of accomplishment you get before most people are even awake. I’m a huge believer of ‘doing’ in the morning hours. The rest of the day then feels much fuller.

Tend to your Flame
There’s nothing wrong with waking up late when you’re taking some time off.

But for me, I find happiness practicing my personal photography. Capturing a glorious sunrise always juices my joy factor.

Even capturing the energy of a blustery, cloudy morning brings me great satisfaction.
This cloudy morning on day 2 of our Maine vacation obscured the sunrise, but my resulting timelapse still did not disappoint.

It’s about exploring the art of the unexpected. Results will inevitably vary.

Practicing your craft, whatever that may be, will always revitalize your spark.

September 24, 2023

How We Scheduled our Alaskan Vacation out of Anchorage

When you’re trying to figure out how to vacation in Alaska, be realistic on how much you can see. Here’s our 10-day itinerary.

When I first told my friends that my family and I were going to Alaska, they usually asked, “Are you taking a cruise?” If you’ve checked out my past few posts on our Alaskan adventure, you know that we followed a different vacation path. We took a Backroads’ family tour out of Anchorage that transported us throughout the Kenai Peninsula. Though we spent a day cruising through parts of Prince William Sound exploring glaciers and sea kayaked on Kachemak Bay, we spent the rest of our time on land, hiking and biking. It was all simply spectacular.

The Need to Narrow our Itinerary’s Scope
When we first thought about taking an Alaskan vacation, the big challenge was figuring out where to go and how to maximize our geographical coverage during our 10-day trip.

That was the wrong question to ask, and we quickly realized that, because Alaska is so huge. Any attempt to drive between the key sections would take up too many days and doom the trip to endless road time.

Even taking a train to Mount Denali was a complete day right there, and then that choice would set up extended travel days from point to point in that part of Alaska.

It’s ridiculous to even try to cover Alaska in one trip, unless you’re hopping on a plane every other day.

The only solution to our itinerary, of course, was to pick one ‘small’ area, and then stick to it. (And that’s what Backroads provided us.) Even doing that required two to four hours of driving on almost every day. (Fortunately, we were comfortably driven around in our Backroads’ van.)

Hello, Kenai Peninsula!
So, we explored the Kenai Peninsula south of Anchorage, and believe me, it felt like just that small sliver of the state was a separate massive planet. We covered plenty of miles, even though it’s just a fraction of Alaska.
If you’re planning for your own Alaskan vacation, and you’re trying to figure out your own itinerary, here’s what we did:

Our Alaskan Vacation Itinerary

Day 1
Fly to Anchorage
Settle into your hotel. Unless you’re starting from the west coast of the United States, it’ll be a full travel day.

Day 2
Unscheduled
Go through your jet lag (as needed).
We visited the Anchorage Museum and took a trolly tour (very touristy but fun). The key to this day is to make it a buffer day. There would have been no way for us to easily turn it around and begin our Backroads’ tour that morning. Not as a family.

Plus, what if your fight gets delayed or canceled the day before? (It actually took three hours for our plane to get out of Newark, New Jersey due to weather restrictions and the need to find a new flight plan!)

Day 3
Travel to Girdwood
Stay at the Alyeska Resort
This was our first Backroads’ day, and it began big with a cycling adventure. We biked along the amazing Turnagain Arm.

We eventually ended up at the Alyeska Resort midafternoon. We didn’t have a whole lot of time to enjoy its immersive salt-water pool, but we did squeeze in a late-afternoon dip. (If you can spend an extra day here, I’d recommend it.)

Day 4
Travel to Whittier
Take Prince William Sound Glacier Cruise
Getting to Whittier required driving through the 2.5 mile portage tunnel through a mountain. That, by itself, was an experience. As for our glacier cruise, it was as dazzling as it sounds.

After our cruise, we jumped back in our van and headed to Seward.

Day 5
In Seward, Drive into Kenai Fjords National Park
Hike the 8-Mile Harding Icefield Trail next to Exit Glacier
We hiked up this trail right next to the glacier. (We were on solid earth the entire way.) The summit of the trail is 3,512 feet.
Yes, it was a wicked-challenging hike with a steep incline, which reminded me of my family’s New Hampshire mountain hikes that topped 4,000 feet.

For the record, I was the last one up and the last one down the Harding Icefield Trail. Yes, I was slow, but I did it!

Day 6
Drive to Homer
Bike the Spit
This was our second cycling day, and we biked into Homer (after our van took us most of the way from Seward) and through the Homer “Spit” that extends out into Kachemak Bay. Our hotel (Land’s End Resort) was perfectly located at the end of the Spit. You could also reverse engineer this idea and bike the spit after you settle into Homer.

After dinner, we enjoyed a brilliant sunset over Kachemak Bay. (In the summer, the sun doesn’t go down until around 10pm.)

Day 7
Stay in Homer
Go Sea Kayaking in Kachemak Bay
As soon as I woke up and got dressed to get my morning cup of Joe, I took a peek outside and saw the opportunity to capture a striking sunrise over the water. So, I stumbled out of our room with my DJI Osmo Pocket and GoPro to begin some timelapse recordings as dawn was breaking.

After breakfast, we took a water taxi to Yukon Island and suited up for our all-day kayaking exploration.

Again… stunning. Even our time on Yukon Island offered breathtaking views of Kachemak Bay.

Day 8
Explore Homer
Drive back to Anchorage
In the morning, we visited the inspirational Dean family farm and art studios. After lunch, our group headed back to Anchorage. This last leg of our Backroads’ tour took five hours, the longest driving stretch of our vacation.

And that was the end of our exceptional Backroads’ tour. But our Alaskan vacation wasn’t over quite yet!

Day 9
Stay in Anchorage
Take a Glacier Flightseeing Tour in a Cessna
We started our day with a little more bike riding, this time around Anchorage. (We rented from Downtown Bicycle.) Along the way on the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, we ran into a few moose. (Well, they almost ran into us!)

In the afternoon, we took our Knik and Colony Glacier Flightseeing Tour (by Regal Air) from Lake Hood. This two-hour roundtrip flight through Chugach State Park in a tiny Cessna was the perfect way to wrap up what was already an unforgettable vacation.

And as if our flying over glaciers wasn’t thrilling enough, we also landed on a strip of dirt in the middle of it all to ‘stretch our legs’ before embarking on the second half of the flight. (Cessnas are amazing little planes.)

Day 10
Hang Out in Anchorage
Fly Home
Our flight back to Newark wasn’t until 8pm (a red eye and the only non-stop). So, we had much of the day to still spend in Anchorage. As it was raining, we focused on indoor activities. We visited Alaska Escape Rooms and then headed to the Alaska Aviation Museum before taking a free shuttle to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, only ten minutes away.

A Few Final Travel Tips

Bring your Raincoat
It rains a fair amount in this part of Alaska during August. So, you should expect some. The fact that we experienced perfect weather throughout our entire Backroads’ tour was unusual (and certainly enhanced our overall experience).

Make Dinner Reservations in Anchorage
Yes, Alaska has a total population of only 732,000 people, and Anchorage feels accordingly empty by comparison to other cities. But there are tons of tourists moving through to take their cruises. And the restaurants totally fill up by 6pm. So, plan ahead for your evening meals.

Focus your Photography Wide
Of course, everyone wants to spot some wildlife, and yes, we ran across our fair share: some moose, black bears, mountain goats, seals, sea otters and one giant sea lion. And I got off a few good tight shots. But the majority of photo opportunities on this kind of trip is to capture the vast and incredible landscape. That’s where you’ll find your visual magic moments.

Go!
Visiting Alaska was certainly a bucket-list trip. And to fully experience our 49th state, you really need to see it from both the water and land. And if you can swing it, get in some flightseeing time in too!

It all makes for a trip of a lifetime.

September 10, 2023

How to Find your Perfect Camera Moment on Vacation

When you think you’ve just snapped your perfect vacation shot like I did while sea kayaking in Alaska, don’t put your camera away just yet. The best may be yet to come.

You can plan all you want, but finding the best moment to visually capture the awesomeness of your vacation will usually be an unexpected opportunity.

During our Backroads’ Alaskan vacation, that happened to me during a fifteen-minute break after we had finished our amazing group sea kayaking expedition around Yukon Island in the Kachemak Bay near Homer.

Downtime can be your Magic Opportunity
We were all waiting around on the island’s beach for the water taxi to pick us up and transport us back to Homer. The group slowly began to focus on skipping stones on the water. This was technically a slight delay in our schedule (as if you could ever perfectly align every minute).

I had already taken my share of photos and videos with my waterproof GoPro while my son and I traversed the Kachemak Bay in our kayak. It was hard to know how successful my shots would be as I snapped away, but I felt satisfied with my attempt.

That said, I can’t deny that I still felt the painful memory of my iPhone kayaking disaster back in Connecticut earlier in the summer. The incident was still fresh. So, I had been a bit preoccupied to avoid a similar incident. Sure, my GoPro was more impervious, but I didn’t have it locked down. I could have easily dropped the GoPro into the bay. (But if I had, that would have certainly been the topic of this post.)

Time to Put my GoPro to Work
I already had ample opportunity to capture beautiful shots and record a few videos while on the water. I was done. Or was I?

For me, a big challenge during this kind of trip was to snap away… and also keep up.

Remember, I was always in motion with the group… kayaking… bicycling and hiking. I never had fifteen minutes to really take my time and craft the perfect shot. And then it hit me…

I was standing there on a mystical island in Alaska in perfect weather conditions. I had nothing to do for fifteen minutes while our group waited.

Holy cow! This was the moment! My opportunity! It was like a lightning bolt hit me. (And yes, sometimes I need that to see the obvious.)

Every view from this rocky island beach was spectacular. My mind raced as I considered my options on how to best use this creative opportunity.

By this point in our vacation, I had realized that the wide Alaskan vistas were my ‘money shots.’ I had come prepared to zoom in tight with my Panasonic Lumix ZX200D and its 15x zoom lens. But I quickly learned that the opposite approach demanded equal attention.

GoPro… this is your moment to shine!

But wait, I didn’t have a tripod with me. D’oh! I looked about at the craggy shore and angled boulders littered about. (I felt like nature was smirking at me.) Then I walked up to one of the rocks and peered closer. Yep… I could see a few flat spots… Enough space to balance my GoPro.

I looked behind me. Everyone was happily skipping their own rocks, and nobody noticed my absence.

I had found my moment. And I put my GoPro to work. Here’s what it captured:

My Alaskan Zen
It’s often difficult to be in an incredible environment and appropriately capture its imagery. And in trying to do so, you can easily forget to fully immerse yourself in that space.

This fifteen-minute exercise enabled me to do both. Admittedly, my video clips only offer a limited view on this mind-blowing Alaskan space. But I can happily report that these fifteen minutes also became my minutes of pure Alaskan Zen.

Slow Down
I returned to the group as the water taxi arrived. I boarded the boat, and nobody knew what I had just experienced. I had joined with the Alaskan wilderness for those few minutes. It was a true gift.

When you’re wired to always be on the go, it’s useful to sometimes slow down and embrace the unscheduled moment. That’s where the magic often resides.

For your camera… and for you.

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