Oh, as for equipment everything and anything! I think the setup you describe their is ideal for backpacking .. it covers everything from reasonably wide to a good telephoto. You definitely can use a lens out to 300mm, for sure, for both landscapes and wildlife. Personally, I’d want something a little wider than 18mm on a D200. I use a D2x, so we have the same size sensor. An 18mm on a Dx body is a 26mm lens in 35mm format, and I think in a grand landscape like the Alaskan alpine, you can go wider quite easily. I’d suggest something like the Tokina 12-24mm, which is what I bring. Nikon just released a 14-24mm, which is supposed to be an incredibly sharp lens, but I haven’t tested it myself. The Tokina works fine for me, is well built, and not too pricey.

In general, since switching to adigital set up, I bring:

A D2x
12-24mmDX lens
18-70mm or a Tamron 28-85mm f2.8 (I think thats what it is .. Id have to look it up .. something in that range, anyway.
70-200mm f2.8 (I SO wish Nikon made this lens in an f4 version as well. I might look into getting the 70-300mm you have)
1.4 teleconverter.

Sometimes I’ll bring my 500mm if I think wildlife will be around. That affects which tripod and ballhead I bring too. I’m trying to get the weight down as much as possible, so I bring a real lightweight tripod when possible – though that reminds me I need to get it fixed!

I’m not a real “gear” type of photographer, which sometimes hinders my shooting – I wish I knew more about all that stuff.

Great that you came here from Guy’s site. Guy Tal is someone I have utmost respect and admiration for: his images are consistently ridiculous. He’s a huge inspiration, and one of my favorite people on the planet!

Thanks again.

Cheers

Carl

Thanks for posting a reply in spite of your travel schedule …Always good to see a response. Just out of curiosity, what equipment do you use when you are leading one of these trips?

When I visited Alaska I had just got my Nikon D200 with a 18-70mm lens. I sorely missed a telephoto lens as I did not have enough time to go through the reviews and order one. Since my visit however I have started shooting with a 70-300mm VR in tandem with the 18-70mm Nikkor.

I hope to read more of your blog posts on here. I’m just getting started at the moment . I came across your site recently from a link on Guy Tal’s website and it sure looks like you have a lot of information here.

Regards,
Sai

Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to post.

That’s a bummer you didn’t get to see the mountain when you were in the park, but wow, sure sounds like you saw a lot of wildlife. Very cool.

Yeah, I think anyone visiting a place like Denali should factor in at least a few days for their time there. I took my parents up this this past fall, and we spent 3 days in the park, in all. They got to see the mountain, which they loved, but they didn’t get to see any wolves, which I know they would have also would’ve loved. Maybe next time.

I sure hope to be running these trips for quite some time, and would be glad to show you around a place like Denali or Wrangell – St. Elias. It’s a treat indeed to get to spend time in these places! And I’l try to heep posts on here a little more frequently than I have over the last 3 months, it’s just been one thing after another!

Thanks again.

Cheers

Carl

This is a good collection of some of the basic tasks that people should do when they are outdoors! I wish I had known about your hiking trips when I visited Denali in 2006 August-September. It was truly an amazing experience and Denali was visible, head to toe, from Anchorage for 2 straight days! However, when we took the bus ride into the park, it was all cloudy and murky. But I guess that brought the wildlife out and we pretty much saw everything possible in terms of wildlife, moose, grizzlies, wolves, ptarmigans, caribou and dall sheep.

Like you mention, since we did not spend anytime other than the bus ride inside the park, we missed seeing Denali in all its glory and splendor and up close and personal. Its a decision I will rue for I can’t think of anything more magnificent than getting a good picture of the mountain with the alpine glow. Next time I make a trip to Alaska I am definitely going to factor in a hiking trip and hope you will continue to offer these trips in future. I’m sure that will be an experience which will last a lifetime!

Thanks for sharing your experience and adventures. I hope you will continue to post regularly on here.

Regards,
Sai