Moonset Coit Tower, originally uploaded by Pacific Landscapes.

January 2011 moonset over San Francisco and Coit Tower seen from Treasure Island in SF Bay.

Berkeley Hills Sunset, originally uploaded by Pacific Landscapes.

December 11, 2010 sunset over San Francisco Bay made unusual by the persistent tule fog that hugged the ground all day and into evening. Clearing clouds from an intense passing storm contributed the sky color. This is a high dynamic range (HDR) image compositing three frames with different exposures into a single image.

Park City Autumn Foliage, originally uploaded by Pacific Landscapes.

Second week of September 2010 showing the onset of fall in Park City, Utah.

Monumental Night Sky, originally uploaded by Pacific Landscapes.

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park’s “The Mittens” silhouetted under the August Milky Way. Composite image created from two frames. Milky Way image made the previous evening outside of Page, Arizona.

Made on a week-long car trip through Nevada, Utah and Arizona. August 2010.

Diver, Stinson Beach, originally uploaded by Pacific Landscapes.

Brown pelican diving for Pacific Ocean fish at Stinson Beach, Marin County, California. July-August 2010.

Wildlife Images from Alaska’s Inside Passage from Stephen Lefkovits on Vimeo.

Those of us from Down Below frequently refer to “Alaska” as if it were a single place or eco-system. Alaska is as big as the 11 central plains states and is at least as varied and diverse as the region from Oklahoma to North Dakota. The Inside Passage is part of a coastal system that extends from Puget Sound in Washington state to Anchorage, a 3,500 mile arc along the Pacific and the Gulf of Alaska.

To an outsider, one of the most striking features of this landscape is the profusion of fish – specifically salmon – in these waters. Salmon are a predictor of healthy habitat as they require clean, oxygenated water as well as several different types of food (plankton, kelp, seaweed, insects, and crustaceans) to thrive.

In turn, salmon are a key protein source for mammals (whales, bears, humans) and predatory birds like eagles.

Seen from sea level in an 18-foot fishing boat, the Chatham Strait and the islands like Admiralty, Baranof and Chichagof are of enormous, intimidating scale. The islands are mountains that extend a thousand feet below the clear water’s surface. Without roads, buildings or skyscrapers, the landscape dwarfs man and makes it apparent just how tenuous is our place in this environment.

This collection of images is during a week’s visit in July of 2010 to Whalers Cove Lodge on Killisnoo Island in the Inside Passage. Killisnoo neighbors Admiralty Island. Together, they are south of Glacier Bay National Park and Haines, Alaska. With the help of expert guides I got to see excellent examples of the diversity of life in the area. A week is not enough to gain a complete picture of behavior, but provided a good sampling of the area.

Thank you to the owners and staff of Whaler’s Cove Lodge in Angoon, Alaska for their kind hospitality and guiding. WhalersCoveLodge.com.

For prints and image usage rights please contact steve@pacific-landscapes.com.

milky way detail–9604_srgb, originally uploaded by Pacific Landscapes.

The summer Milky Way in the Northern Hemisphere including the Lagoon Nebula, Scorpius Jewel Box and the Rho Oph nebula. Single frame processed in Lightroom and Photoshop. Image made using a modified Canon 40D with a 17-35mm lens on an Astrotrac TT320X polar mount. Seen from New Mexico Skies.

The Milky Way Over New Mexico, originally uploaded by Pacific Landscapes.

The magnificent summer sky’s Milky Way, seen from Elephant Butte State Park, New Mexico. Had to leave when I realized I was in the middle of three different packs of coyotes howling from a distancr at 2 AM. They may have been far, but being triangulated made me feel like prey.

Stinson Stars, originally uploaded by Pacific Landscapes.

A sky full of stars over the Pacific Ocean seen from Stinson Beach during Memorial Day weekend, May 2010.

Competiton surfer staying ahead of the advancing wall of water that gave him a ride. Mavericks, February 2010.  Taken from the ‘New Captain Pete’ viewing boat.