Haines, Alaska
Sunday, November 15, 2009

    This was another travel day. We were up and going early; left the hotel at 5:30 am in the dark on snowy roads to get to the ferry. There are only nine of us, but the amount of equipment we are hauling around is staggering. The ferry left Juneau at about 7:30 am, just a half hour late. The cruise up to Haines took just about four hours and was very smooth – no winds today.

    Arriving in Haines, it took a couple of trips in the surprisingly large hotel shuttle van to get all the people and equipment for our group and the other two photo groups that were on the ferry to the hotel. I believe that the “Captain’s Choice Motel” is the only one open in Haines at this time of year. There’s snow on the ground and more coming down intermittently. If we are lucky, there will be a little fresh snow each day to keep everything pristine for the next day’s worth of photography.

    After getting everyone’s luggage and gear schlepped to their rooms, we all walked down the street to one of the few restaurants still open for the season so that we could eat a late lunch around 2:30 pm. The restaurant closes at 8 pm, so we will be back there at seven for dinner. At lunch, they asked what we might like them to fix us for dinner. I believe we suggested halibut and meat loaf, so that’s probably what the menu will be. Guess what, we’ll be there at 6:30 am tomorrow morning for breakfast, too. They said that they open the doors at 5:30 to start getting ready, so if we were up early, just come on over – they’ll have a pot a coffee going.

    We had a lot of time today for interactions and discussions. It has been a lot of fun getting to know each other and share stories, but we are all anxious to get out into the field and start photographing the eagles. We’ll combine a “techniques” tutorial with dinner tonight. We plan to be the first of the three or four photo workshop groups out tomorrow so that we are sure to get first crack at the prime locations.

    I took a few photos from the ferry, today, but the lighting wasn’t spectacular. I hope to have some interesting shots to share soon, however.