Photo Shop / The story behind the image
Paddleboarder in the lagoon at Bear Glacier in Kenai National Fjords, Alaska. Photo © Robert Zaleski / rzcreative.com
Rapid Media / Paddling Buyer’s Guide
Weather changes quickly in the northern, frozen frontier and this day proved to be no exception. It was my second trip to Alaska; after the first, I was hooked on the landscape and endless opportunity for adventure.
This time around, I would be exploring the area outside the Kenai Fjords National Park with a group of friends, two of whom own and operate Liquid Adventures, an outfitting and guiding service specializing in sea kayaking, kayak fishing and paddleboard trips out of the small coastal town of Seward. To get to this location, which would be our basecamp for the next week, we motored out of the harbor and headed an hour south through Resurrection Bay.
The majority of this particular day was warm and filled with clear skies and direct sunlight, but by mid-afternoon an eerie fog began to roll in from the nearby open ocean to the protected bay where we were paddling. I paddled ahead of the group to set up this photo and quickly got far enough that I couldn’t spot them through the increasingly dense fog.
Positioning my paddleboard near a small chunk of ice, I removed my camera from its drybag, carefully balancing my body while lying on my chest and propping myself up on my elbows. Holding a telephoto lens, I anticipated the composition of my photo while patiently waiting for my subjects to emerge from the grey abyss. It was surreal to be completely alone, engulfed in the thick fog and unable to see anything other than the ice floating nearby. After waiting several minutes in a peaceful silence, I shot this image as the paddlers slowly materialized in the distance.
This piece was recently published along with a few other images in the Annual Paddling Buyer’s Guide. See more here.
To view more and license images from this trip, click here.
SUP surfer Sean Poynter paddles over a wave while surfing Vancouver Island’s west coast as seen in Rapid Media’s annual Buyer’s Guide issue. Photo © Robert Zaleski / rzcreative.com
“In addition to Robert’s extensive skills as a photographer, his personable nature, passion and style make other people want to become a photographer, including me.”
Paddle athlete Laura Birse paddles during a rainstorm in the British Virgin Islands as seen in Rapid Media’s annual Buyer’s Guide. Photo © Robert Zaleski / rzcreative.com