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The Rare And Occasional Newsletter from David W. Shaw

The News from Here

It’s been a long and busy summer of guiding wilderness trips and photo tours in Alaska, and for the first time since June, I feel like I have a moment to sit down and update you all on the latest.

So, what’s been happening? Between June and early September, I guided four wilderness trips for Arctic Wild (www.arcticwild.com) and an autumn photo tour through the Alaska Range. Which means, combined, I’ve spend close to 50 nights away from home since June 15, most of which were spent in a tent on the tundra.

In other words, it’s been a pretty darned good summer.

The first trip I led is the Arctic Wild favorite, Mission Caribou. Four clients and I spent five days chasing herds of caribou around the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Worked too! We found two big groups that passed us by within a stone’s throw.

Next, I ventured down to Katmai National Park to take a couple of returning clients out to the Katmai Coast for a few days of exploration and bear watching. It was an exciting trip, with at least one midnight wake-up snort from a passing bear, and four rare days of blue skies, volcanoes, hiking in wildflower meadows, and watching the waves from our isolated camp on the wide, empty beach. (By the way, if this sounds appealing to you, and it should, I’ll be leading another trip there next summer. Check out the itinerary and dates.).

The third Arctic Wild trip took me back to the Arctic Refuge in late July where I faced my only bad weather window of an otherwise superb season. My two clients and I encountered slashing rain and atypically cold weather. Still, we had a few moments of clear skies in which we ventured out to explore the arctic tundra, do a little fishing and glass for wildlife.

My final wilderness trip of the season took me down my favorite river in the Arctic, the Marsh Fork of the Canning in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. No need to give you every detail, but suffice to say, it was an exceptional journey from the mountains and across the threatened coastal plain. We even had a musk ox walk within yards of our tents! Not a bad way to wrap up my season in the wilderness.

Last, but far from least, I led a custom photo tour through the Alaska Range. My co-travellers were a pair of returning clients from a March Aurora Workshop a few years ago. We spent a great week photographing the fall colors, landscape, and wildlife of the Alaska Range. This trip was such a success, that I may put it on the regular itinerary. Anyone interested?

That’s my summer in a nutshell.

Upcoming Photo Workshops

Recent Publications

To be honest, I’ve been so busy this summer that I’ve failed to pay attention to what articles and images have hit the newsstands. However, I can recall at least of a few things…

Photography

I continue to write a couple of articles a month for the Digital Photography School. You can see my entire collection of articles on my biography page at DPS.

I also have been writing regularly for Expert Photography and three articles (with two more forthcoming) are out. They cover topics on shooting coastal landscapes, forests, and a guide to bird photography.

Science, Travel, and Natural History

The September issue of Alaska Magazine has an article I wrote and photographed about exploring the White Mountains of Alaska via fat bike. It’s on newsstands now!

A fall issue of Muse magazine will include my article on the creepy and awesome Vampire Spider!

The December/January issue of Birds and Blooms will feature my piece about the mysteries of Irruptive Migrations in birds. This one was enlightening to write, so keep your eyes open for it.

Interviews and Mentions

I was interviewed for an article at Audubon about the Gray-headed Chickadee. The piece, written by Gary Langham, chief scientist at National Audubon, features the story of a trip I guided to chase these elusive birds in the Arctic Refuge. It’s a great piece, give it a read.

I was also interviewed by WTIP Radio about an article I wrote for Ensia back in the spring about how villages in Alaska are adopting renewable sources of power. You can listen to the archived interview on the WTIP website. 

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

On the first of October I’ll be making a quick trip to Washington D.C. to lobby congress for protection of the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. This spectacular place is once again under threat, and I’m not about to sit silently while another wilderness treasure gets sacrificed in the name of industrial development. If you haven’t reached out to your members of congress to advocate for the Refuge, please do so. In fact, I’m asking, for me, for the caribou, birds, and for that spectacular Arctic wilderness, please call, email, write, or all three. You can find the contact information for your congressional members HERE.

Upcoming Travels

In late October, Amy and I will be heading to South Africa and Botswana for a safari with the rest of the Shaw clan. This will be a new destination for me, an entirely new continent actually, and I’m extremely excited to make some images of Okavango wildlife. You can expect an update from that journey in the next newsletter.