National Geographic Expeditions Photographer Susan Seubert in Alaska

Greetings!  I had the wonderful privilege of being the on-board Photography Expert for the week of May 22 on the National Geographic Sea Bird in Alaska’s Inside Passage.  The week was packed with wildlife sightings, hiking, zodiac tours and kayaking – I can’t believe how fast the 8 day journey went!  We explored a lot of territory in a short amount of time, and being on board a small ship we were able to go places that larger vessels cannot.  I arrived with a large portion of the guests on a flight from Seattle to Juneau, from which we were whisked to a wonderful lunch.  Afterwords, we had an hour or so to peruse the Alaska State Museum, then we were off to Mendenhall Glacier, just 12 miles outside of the city center.  I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw 3 stand-up paddle-boarders in full wetsuits making their way through the icebergs towards the glacier.  The visitor’s center is quite nice, but I relished the time outdoors.  Later that afternoon we boarded the Sea Bird and were treated, as usual, to a delightful dinner.  Later that evening we set sail for the remainder of our adventure, which culminated with a brief tour of Sitka, its Russian Orthodox Church and the Alaska Raptor Center, which rehabilitates injured birds of prey.  More on this expedition in future posts but in the mean time, here are a few snapshots from the first 24 hours of our adventure.  You can see a web gallery of images from Alaska here.  Enjoy!

A Stand-Up Paddle-boarder (SUP) paddling through the icebergs at Mendenhall Glacier outside of Juneau

National Geographic Sea Bird anchored in Endicott Arm near Dawes Glacier

Zodiac excursions to see Dawes Glacier up close and personal

tasting the icebergs!

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Multimedia Photographer Susan Seubert with National Geographic Expeditions in Alaska

Last week I spent aboard the National Geographic Sea Bird where we traversed Alaska’s Inside Passage.  The weather was constantly changing but it rained very little, much to my surprise and delight!  I will be writing more about this National Geographic Expedition in the next few days, but I was so excited about this footage that I felt that the blogsphere would be a better place if I could share the joy of watching a pair of Dall’s porpoises bow riding on the last day of our journey.  I was preparing for a slideshow presentation when I suddenly heard hoots of excitement coming from the front of the ship.  A group of these cetaceans had decided to join us and bow ride for a good deal of time.  For a while, there were as many as 5 in front of our ship, much to the delight of everyone on board.  People took turns looking over the bow as the animals jumped and played in the water.  I was fortunate enough to get some video footage of these amazing marine mammals.  Their distinguishing marks were made visible as they turned on their sides and it was wonderful to witness their agility as they frolicked in front of the ship.  I hope that the movie below transports you to Southeast Alaska for a moment and affords you a glimpse into what it’s like to be on board with National Geographic.

Dall’s Porpoises bow riding the National Geographic Sea Bird

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This video was made with a Canon 5D Mark II fitted with a 24-105 IS USM lens and processed in iMovie.

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National Geographic Expeditions Photographer Susan Seubert heading to Alaska

Greetings!  After a month of surfing and shooting in Maui, I’ll be headed to Alaska’s Inside Passage for an expedition with National Geographic and Lindblad aboard the National Geographic Sea Bird from May 22-29, 2010.  Last night we saw at least six humpback whales off Ka’anapali Beach here on Maui and I’m looking forward to seeing more of these large cetaceans in Alaska where they migrate to their feeding grounds.  Here in the Hawaiian Islands, the whales mate and give birth, but they don’t eat, so they’ll be mighty hungry when they return to the colder waters of Alaska. If you’d like to join us on this expedition, please sign up here.  See you there!

National Geographic Expeditions "Alaska's Inside Passage"

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