Alaska’s Bald Eagle Festival

by Neil Woodburn on

If only bald eagles were as plentiful as pigeons.

Well, for a few weeks during this time of the year they are. But you have to travel to Alaska to witness it.

Today kicks off the 12th Annual Alaska Bald Eagle Festival in Haines, Alaska. The festival focuses on a local phenomenon in which some 3,000 bald eagles converge on a four-mile section of the Chilkat River to feed on a late season salmon run. According to the festival’s website, it is “the largest gathering of eagles in the world.”

Eagles from as far away as the Pacific Northwest visit the river every year at this time due to a natural warming of the waters which keeps the Chilkat free of ice much longer than surrounding bodies of water, and full of tasty salmon.

Guided tours during the festival provide a wonderful opportunity to witness this marvelous bird in such high numbers. In addition, the festival will also feature musical entertainment, wildlife and photo workshops, guest speakers, and a touching release of rehabilitated bald eagles back into their natural habitat.

Sounds like a great time for everyone but the salmon!

Loi Krathong in Thailand

by Erik Olsen on

Years ago I lived for a little bit in Bangkok and it just so happened I was lucky enough to be there during a November. Why lucky? Because one of the country’s great holidays takes place this month, a holiday that I got to experience first hand and that I thoroughly enjoyed.

The event is called Loi Krathong and this year it takes place on November 5. Loi Krathong is an fascinating festival of lights, and takes place throughout Thailand, but particularly in Bangkok. The tradition is to set hundreds of thousands of flower-shaped finely-decorated, candles on the klongs or canals throughout the city. The candles are placed on banana leaves, making them little boats called krathongs. And in the meantime, everyone and their mother sister and aunt sings a catchy little song about the krathong that rises over the cit and makes the whole event magical. So if you are heading to Thailand, definitely find yourself a great spot to watch this great little event.

Painting the Town Ted

by Erik Olsen on

OK, not Ted, but how about Momo? I have got to hand it to the guy, this is a very clever stunt. The guy, an artist named Momo, painted a line across Manhattan, using the city’s well-known grid layout to spell his name (literally) across the city.

What a superb idea! But is it art? Sure, I suppose so. Better than a blank canvas posing as a masterpiece. But more than that it’s just plain creative. The video is shot relatively well…lots of cuts and shots around the city, with an emphasis on the West Village Chelsea it seems.

A neat idea. Of course, the guy is lucky, he could be named Agamemnon or something. You can see the video in quicktime here.


Worldwide Panos 2006 Best Of

by Erik Olsen on

Some folks here know I’m a big fan of panoramic photography. One of the organizations/Web sites that I often visit and have occasionally contributed to is the World Wide Panoramic project. This project comes out of the geoimages group at Berkeley and has provided some of the best panoramic photography on the Web today. Every three months (each quarter) they hold a…well, it’s not a contest exactly…it’s more just an opportunity for pano photographers around the world to contribute according to a particular theme.

The previous eleven events have created a showcase of VR photography, with over 2500 panoramas by over 750 photographers from more than 70 countries. It’s very cool. Trust me. And at the end of this year the are holding their annual Best of – A World Wide Panorama event. All you have to do is contribute and you have a chance to, well, not win a lot of money but to get the admiration of lots of other pano photographers. I’m gong to do my best to contribute this year, as I have been lax in contributing to some of the other events. So, if you shoot panos, go over and upload your best shot .

Vacation Volunteer

by Erik Olsen on

I’ve yet to do one, but I have to tell you I am a big fan of the whole volunteer vacation thing. I particularly like the Earthwatch folks, for example. Or you can take a look over at Global Volunteers, another purveyor of volunteer vacations. But take a look at this piece from CNN about the whole “volunteer vacation” thing. You have to pay sometimes, but it’s worth it because you’re not just hanging on the beach like some daiquiri-sipping tourist. You’re fully engaged.

But sadly, these trips aren’t cheap. Costs for one- to three-week Global Volunteers projects range from $650 to $2,595. In 2004, the average price for a one-to-three week Earthwatch project was $1,850, with projects ranging in price from $800 to $3,500. Travel expenses to the group meeting point are not included for either organization. Still, do it if you can. What a way to travel.