On the recent Pacific Horticulture Society tour of Alaska everybody was a photographer.

Hike to Caine’s Head Resurrection Bay on Kenai Peninsula, Pacific Horticulture tour of Alaska

The Botanical Alaska tour was organized through PacHort, and unlike many of our tours, instead of gardens, this one concentrated on natural areas and wildflowers. But like all tours, everyone had a camera of some kind, and I was delighted to offer photography tips.

Photographers studying foliage textures with Rheum palmatum; Pacific Horticulture Society tour Alaska Botanical Garden, Anchorage

The first trick of getting a good photograph is to be in the right place at the right time and our naturalist guides provided plenty of opportunity.

Heath tundra near Hatcher Pass, Alaska, Independence Mine State Historical Park; Pacific Horticulture Society tour

Guides David Wimpfheimer and John Burns have both been to Alaska many times, knew where to take us, and were adept at handling a group that sometimes wanted to dawdle and take photos and others who wanted to get down the trail.

Trail to Gold Core Lake through subalpine heath tundra, Alaska at Independence Mine State Historical Park

The wide open spaces and vast landscapes can make it hard to find great compositions but simply having a camera and using it to observe can make the whole experience more rewarding.

Photographing wildflowers on Glen Alps Trail in Chugach Mountains, Alaska

I will post my own pictures and tips on another blog post about Alaska but I do hope all of the photographers on this trip learned to be very aware of the landscape by using the camera.

Photographer with wildflowers in subalpine heath tundra at Stony Dome, Denali National Park, Alaska. Pacific Horticulture tour Botanical Alaska 2019

Photographer studying heath tundra near Hatcher Pass, Alaska, Independence Mine State Historical Park

Yes, it is too often true that many tourists use the camera to grab a memory rather than appreciate the scene, but I do find a camera can make you even more aware of the moment, allowing you to study and make careful compositions.

Photographer focusing on Betula neoalaskana, Birch tree at Turnagain Pass in Chugash National Forest on Kenai Peninsula, Alaska

Betula neoalaskana, Birch tree at Turnagain Pass in Chugash National Forest on Kenai Peninsula, Alaska

Sometime photographers photograph photographers photographing photographic scenes.

Hike to Caine’s Head Resurrection Bay on Kenai Peninsula, Pacific Horticulture tour of Alaska

Gallery: Botanical Alaska in PhotoBotanic Archives