Dream with me: Alaska cruise, money is no object

[peety3]

Wow, what a trip! Thanks for sharing. I imagine you get "vista fatigue" after awhile, "oh yea just another fantastic vista..." around every corner.

Not really - only a brief time on the small boat as we transited from Tracy Arm up to Juneau to rejoin the ship, but then the whale popped up. I ended up parking in the back left (port stern) corner, and every now and then there'd be this FLOOD of passengers running up to see something (I couldn't hear the guide with the engine noise and wind), so I'd just put my head on a swivel and figure out what we had.

The river adventure did end up being a bit fatiguing, so I put the two smaller cameras at my feet and shot a few things with the 200-400, reaching for something else as needed.

Really like the photos of the salmon in the river w/ the gulls. wondering where the bears were.......

Nowhere around. We were on the west side of the intersection of Egan Dr & Channel Dr in Juneau AK (the red roofed building is the radio station, and we parked there then walked out to the channel). Pretty much zero ability for the bears to get there. I think the salmon were farm-raised in that creek, and they were netted off to prevent them from mixing with the native species.

RE: Gear, rather have too much than not enough. Enjoyed your comments on having consistent bodies and leaving the dominant lens attached. I am going to the Dalmatian Coast on a tall ship cruise in October and trying to configure my set up.

I have mixed feelings on having too much gear. I weighed myself loaded & empty so I could tell the floatplane operator what I weighed (since the usual "add 10 for clothes" wouldn't apply); the full kit added 40 pounds. It was extremely comfortable (all on my waist or shoulders, essentially, as I'd carry the 200-400 on my shoulder while still on the monopod), but it was a noticeable burden nonetheless. I definitely would have struggled with the 200-400 AND 600 had I rented both - it'd be VERY hard to open doors with a bazooka on each shoulder. Now, I'm all OK with taking an assortment of gear and picking/choosing based on the day's agenda, but when some of the gear is rented and therefore unfamiliar, there's a comfort factor in at least having the same unfamiliar gear each day and in the same place.