A directory of photography blogs
This index allows a quick overview of photography blogs and the adventures behind the photographs, or an account of historically interesting times, people and events as the spirit so moves me.
The Saline Valley Chronicles:
A collection of recollections of “days gone by” in one of America’s most unique “valleys.” This is an ongoing “major” project, which in time will give rise to a publication to preserve the cultural landscape of this remote corner of Death Valley. Collaboration with others is invited and welcome.
T Ganner Photography Blogs of 2023:
The Winter That Was: 2023 | Saline Valley Chronicles
April 2, 2023 … The winter of 2023 brought some of the more challenging road conditions to travelers in Saline Valley.
Marble Bath | Saline Valley Chronicles
March 7, 2023 … Many of the current visitors to the Saline Valley have come to hear of Marble Bath, located toward the top of Steele Pass, connecting Saline Valley with Eureka Valley. Not so many people know how it came to be, or why it came to be. Fewer know of the original Marble Bath.
T Ganner Photography Blogs of 2021 & 2022:
Nabesna Road – Wrangell St. Elias
August 9, 2022 …Down the road less traveled: the Nabesna Road, accessing the northern reach of Wrangell St Elias National Park. Most folks have never even heard of it. Love heading down a new road. Hitting the colors just about right
The Donner Party Assaults Saline Valley | Saline Valley Chronicles
March 12, 2022 … Travel into Saline Valley has often met with challenges. Some challenges are more interesting than others. This day was one for the books.
Chilkoot State Park Management Plan
July 28, 2021 … A new road established along the Chilkoot River may serve to define the long-awaited management plan in the Chilkoot State Park.
T Ganner Photography Blogs of 2020:
Christmas in Saline Valley | Saline Valley Chronicles
December 24, 2020 … Christmas in Saline Valley have always been the best holidays in memory. Christmas in Saline Valley embodied the very best of tradition and celebration.
Portraits of a Chilkoot Bear | Celebrating the life of Speedy
September 24, 2020 … With the confirmation of Speedy’s demise, I offer an obituary and an expanded selection of photos celebrating the the Bearoness and her families.
Chilkoot Bear | A celebration of the life of Speedy
September 2, 2020 … For many years and to the enjoyment of countless visitors, the star of the Chilkoot corridor has been a coastal brown bear locally known as “Speedy.”
Pandemic Paradox | Making the best of the worst is an option
August 10, 2020 … To borrow from Dickens it is the worst of times, it is the best of times. We made it the best of times.
Camp Independence | Owens Valley History
July 15, 2020 … Owens Valley history rivals any John Ford western ever made. I believe Ford took many of his story line ideas directly from the history of Camp Independence and the Owens Valley.
Making Peace with the pandemic | Evolution of a Klepper Kayak
July 8, 2020 … We have enjoyed the challenge of making peace with the pandemic … a Klepper kayak is great for maintaining some social isolation.
The Wedding at Cerro Gordo | American Hotel
June 19, 2020 … Our wedding at Cerro Gordo in the American Hotel was the first wedding since 1875. This is an expanded account of the affair including backstories & history.
Desert Distancing in Saline Valley
May 4, 2020 … A pictorial illustrating an exercise in distancing during the pandemic and coinciding with a wondrous spring bloom of desert flora in Saline Valley
May 2, 2020 … Finally getting around to exploring the local Panamint Valley and its backroads and history. A great place to practice social distancing. These shots are in the vicinity of the Modoc, Minietta mines and Lookout City.
How a 7.1 magnitude earthquake saved our property
April 6, 2020 … An ironic account of how a series of earthquakes saved our property in Ridgecrest, California. This is a follow up on an earlier blog from July 2019.
Mayan Ruins of Palenque and beyond
February 11, 2020 … A trip through the Mexican states of Chiapis and Tabasco to visit Mayan ruins of Palenque, Bonampak, Comalcalco and other points of interest.
T Ganner Photography Blogs of 2019:
News from the Chilkoot
August 15, 2019 … It has been an unusual year in the Chilkoot. With the advent of the pink salmon migration and the emergence of our brown bears I share news of the season.
Ridgecrest California Earthquakes | A report from the home front
July 7, 2019 … Ridgecrest California earthquakes have dominated many lives and much of the news over the Independence Day weekend of 2019. I own a home in Ridgecrest though I am currently in my residence in Alaska. I have been inundated with many phone calls, texts, and social media messages asking how our lives and property are faring. As a retired earth-science teacher I also want to share what I know, understand, and believe about the evolving geology of the region.
Chilkoot River Management Plan
May 9, 2019 … Big changes are coming to the Chilkoot River corridor, and they are scheduled to begin this fall of 2019. The changes to be made are the result of years of agonizing on many official levels over the time bomb of increasing tourism in the area, particularly during the season when brown bears (a.k.a. grizzly bears) frequent the area during later season salmon runs.
In Search of Sheep | Kluane NP
April 28, 2019 … This journey in search of the Dall Sheep of Kluane National Park took place in April of 2014. It is an account of the culmination of several years of adventuring and exploring new wilderness in search of wildlife, It is also a reflection on the dharma of photography and what draws me to capture the essence of a landscape and its inhabitants as a means of doing justice to the Creator’s handiwork.
The Mayan Yucatan
April 16, 2019 … (5 part series) … Our first trip to the Yucatan peninsula was all about discovering the Mayan Yucatan. Culture, history, anthropology and archaeology. Inherent in the exploration was the experience of the meeting and melding of the Mayan and Spanish cultures into the modern state of Yucatan.
California Super Bloom
April 6, 2019 … This year’s California super bloom of wildflowers is like nothing I have ever seen before. This post is more of a pictorial than a written blog. Let the photos speak for themselves. I will say that every day I thought I was done making photos, I found a new corner and a new bloom that demanded my attention. While throngs were gathering in the well known spots, we have the privilege to enjoy the less visited corners in canyons on the southern end of the Eastern Sierras.
Eariler blogs of 2019 not listed in this section can be enjoyed in the Saline Valley Chronicles
T Ganner Photography Blogs of 2018:
Along the Haines Highway
October 27, 2018 … Join me for a virtual tour up the Haines Highway to enjoy the colors of the high country. This is one of the three best roads I have ever traveled.
Chilkoot River Management
October 10, 2018 … The Chilkoot River corridor faces difficult management issues addressing vehicle congestion and tourist safety as crowds visit Haines Alaska to view bears
Dempster Highway Diary
September 28, 2018 … The Dempster Highway in autumn is a journey well worth the time and tires. From Tombstone to Tuktoyaktuk a frontier awaits along the road less traveled.
Chilkoot River Saga Continues
September 1, 2018 … A few stories about the Chilkoot River bears and the people who watch them. Along the way some details on the dynamics along the Chilkoot River
Chilkoot River Bears | Haines Alaska
August 28, 2018 … The Chilkoot River bears offer casual visitors an exceptional opportunity for wildlife viewing. This may come at a cost that is not easily calculated
Totem Poles of Haines Alaska
August 8, 2018 … Totemic art is intrinsic to the northwest indigenous culture and the local Tlingit people have been creators and stewards of some of the finest works for hundreds of years. Toward better understanding what the poles represent, I offer information about our totem poles.
Rafting the Grand Canyon | Down the Ditch
July 3, 2018 … A humorous account of my first trip down the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River as captain of my own boat. Combining tales of yesteryear with recent photos.
Photographing the Super Blue Blood Moon Eclipse – 2018
February 8, 2018 … Photographing the Super Blue Blood Moon during the lunar eclipse of 2018 was a unique opportunity to photograph something different, cover new ground, and engage with old friends.
Kickin’ Kennecott Country & Root Glacier | Wrangell-St. Elias
Part 2: January 24, 2018 … Early in the old mining town of Kennecott, mill and buildings are in full glory. The weather looks to be really stellar, so the decision is made to put off exploring the mill site in favor of exploring the Root Glacier.
The Road to Kennecott | Wrangell-St. Elias
Part 1: January 16, 2018 … The tale will begin, of our first major foray into Wrangell-St. Ellias National Park. Wrangell-St. Elias covers and area of 13.2 million acres and is a member of a UNESCO World Heritage site …
T Ganner Photography Blogs of 2017:
North Carolina Autumn | Brevard
October 22, 2017 … This blog and pictorial is offered in celebration of the season which I can best characterize as North Carolina Autumn. Camus offered that “autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.”
Along the Alaskan Autumn Trail
September 22, 2017 … This blog rightly deserves to be Part III of our Aleutian “road” trip, but it is in every respect a piece well suited to each Alaska autumn season and relates to so many of our journeys’ return legs. I recently felt compelled to give this season a stand-alone status. Please enjoy the color along the way.
Aleutian Islands Road Trip
September 11, 2017 … This is the second of a two part series on our “road-trip” along the Aleutian Islands. This trip will take us down the first stretch of the Aleutian Islands, as far as the Tustemena will take us, through Chignik, Cold Bay, Izembek to Dutch Harbor. Then we head back to Kodiak for an extended stay.
Camping with Brown Bears in Katmai National Park
August 20, 2017 … This blog is the first of two parts, wherein I share the tale of camping with brown bears in Katmai National Park. The second installment of this blog will see us continuing out the Aleutian Island chain to Dutch Harbor, then to Kodiak. […]
The Quality of the Tourism Experience in Southeast Alaska
August 5, 2017 …This blog will allow me to share my concerns about the quality of the tourism experience in Southeast Alaska and the possible compromise of that experience. I have worked as a tour guide in Haines Alaska for the past eight years. It is a job that I have embraced and cherished. My interaction with visitors has encouraged my personal growth, generated friendships that have transcended the brief time we share in the course […]
A Photographer’s Loss of Vision
July 16, 2017 … As a friend recently pointed out, if life is a highway, we occasionally find we have inadvertently taken a dirt road. I have recently experienced the crisis of a loss of vision. This was not the inevitable existential crisis caused by the proliferation of technology that has enabled the endless indulgence in narcissistic fascination known as the selfie, […]
Mclaren Glacier Diary | Denali Highway
July 2, 2017 … I do not have a bucket list. I have a list, and I like to get things done before I have to fret about what may or may not be in sight of the bucket. It has been on my list to enlist the Maclaren River Lodge to transport us to their glacier base camp so we could access the Maclaren Glacier and canoe back down the river. 2016 gave us the opportunity to realize that yearning. […]
Spirit of the Caribou | Dempster Highway
June 17, 2017 … The following adventure is a chapter from my larger blog detailing our adventure up the Dempster Highway which led us from Dawson City in the Yukon Territory to a swim in the Arctic Ocean. This snippet details the possible connections between spiritual realms within a primordial environment. The spirit of the caribou continues to haunt […]
Photographing Bald Eagles is a Matter of Patience and Practice
June 12, 2017 … Toward the top of my list of “favorite things to do,” photographing bald eagles rates pretty high. Throughout the year opportunities abound, ranging from their day to day activities, to nesting and fledging, culminating in the gathering of thousands of bald eagles for a late salmon run at the outset of winter. When I need […]
Raven shares Wisdom with Bear and Why I am Writing Blogs Again
June 4, 2017 … It is time to poke my head out of the rabbit hole and let you know why I am writing blogs again before I share the story of “Raven shares wisdom with Bear.” I spend a lot of time in various rabbit holes. Where they go and how I got into them varies with time and […]
Time for Surf Scoters
May 23, 2017 … Time for Surf Scoters. Surf Scoters have come to be one of my very favorite birds and visits us seasonally in Haines, Alaska. I have come to embrace the appearance of the surf scoters in April as one of the keystone harbingers of the spring season. In doing some background research for this blog I visited […]
Black Oystercatchers on Eldred Rock
May 14, 2017 … The Black Oystercatcher is a colorful, amusing, and intriguing fowl that inhabits and nests on our rocky shores. I have been really looking forward to writing a blog on surf scoters, but yesterday took a turn and presented an opportunity that necessitates a slight sublimation of purpose and a brief delay to the original intention. The […]
Season of the Moose
May 11, 2017 … This is a short follow up to my previous blog post “Day of the Moose.” Questions have been raised which encourage me to continue the story, and relate a happy ending over the course of the season. To briefly recount, in May of 2015 a three-day old moose calf wandered into our yard, plaintively bleating […]
Day of the Moose
May 7, 2017 … The day began simply enough. The game plan was to take a hike through Chilkat State Park to a wonderful little spot by the name of Moose Meadows. As I was preparing, I heard a chirping from my bedroom window unlike any “song” I had heard before, and I was not sure if it was […]
The Hooligan are Home
April 29, 2017 … The hooligan are home! This small fish, properly a smelt, and properly identified as a eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus), migrates to the waters of Alaska’s fjords and inlets every spring. The other common name of “candlefish” derives from it being so fat during spawning, with up to 15% of total body weight in fat, that if caught, dried, […]
The Abundance of Spring in SE Alaska
April 26, 2017 … There is a defining moment to spring’s climax in SE Alaska. It is a growing abundance heralded by the run of hooligan. I feel compelled to build up to it, much as the season builds toward the crescendo. I admit to being what I like to refer to as a “born-again snowbird.” The winter climate […]
