Welcome!

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ABOUT THE BLOGGER

I’m glad you’ve stopped by my little corner of the internet. Here you’ll find a swathe of photos from across North America. My primary goal is to tie together nature through photography and writing. Photos are worth a thousand words, but I like to tack a few extra thoughts onto a photo to help set it location, the feel of the day, or just clarification on what’s happening. I hope you enjoy!

I am a current graduate student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks studying through the Resilience and Adaptation Program (RAP)  to achieve my M.S. degree in Wildlife Biology and Conservation with intended graduation in the spring of 2015. I am an avid outdoors-man who hunts, fishes, backpacks, canoes, goes birding, and kayaks; aside from that I am an amateur photographer who dabbles in guitar playing and fiddling/violin. I grew up in rural Minnesota and lived in Maine for several years before coming to Alaska. My different adventures and pursuits outside bring me up close to a lot of cool stuff, and I enjoy documenting nature and all those other pieces of my life. My primary goal in this blog is to interweave pictures and text to bring you closer to nature.

Have you reached this page because you are researching using a Micro Four-thirds (M 4/3) system for wildlife? You’ve come to the right place! I pretty exclusively shoot the Olympus OMD Em5 which I picked up when it came on the market a few years ago. Many of the lenses I shoot are adapted manual lenses which provide a ton of flexiblity to the the overall System. If you have any questions on the equipment just leave a message. Thanks!

Of note : although I’m very open with my pictures,  please respect the copyright status of these images, and feel free to contact me if you would like a copy of an image.

Thanks for Checking In!

Ian (Griz) Johnson

 

16 thoughts on “Welcome!”

  2. This is the strangest thing. I was online looking for a good recipe for ptarmigan when I stumbled upon your website. When I saw the web address and the subject matter of the page I thought I was the victim of some kind of tracking cookie or something. I live in Minnesota now but lived in Alaska before this. Can’t believe this website is real! I’ll explore it eagerly!
    -Ian Andrew Johnson

    P.S. Like your name.

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    1. In this combinations of coincidences this certainly is a strange one! Glad that you stopped by, and I hope you enjoy. Just curious, living in MN now… where are you getting the Ptarmigan??

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      1. Haha. I don’t have any. I was watching one of these Survive Alaska tv shows that are so popular now and they were hunting ptarmigan. It got me wondering how they should be cooked. I got to hunt them a bit in Nome with a friend but he kept the birds. I have yet to eat them myself. It’s a shame. Someday I’ll go back prepared with a good recipe.
        Cool website! You’re a good photographer (amongst other talents).
        -IJ

    1. Hey! Thanks for checking in! Great to meet you too! I’ll definitely keep you posted, Certainly when I’m done there will be a big “celebration” post coming on this website. Safe travels!

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  4. Thanks Ian. Pleased to have found your blog. I had a long trip through Alaska many moons ago .. Reading here makes me feel like packing again! Regards from Thom at the immortal jukebox (drop a nickel!).

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  5. Hi Ian, my wife and I were on the same tour past August to the Northwestern Fjord and enjoyed your videos posted here. Brings back many fond memories of our trip to Alaska. Keep up the good work!

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  6. Hi Ian, Lovely blog. I grew up in Fairbanks and got my B.S. in Wildlife Mgmt from UAF. I’m in Portland now but miss Alaska, so thanks for the great reminders. I took my daughter to the Brooks Range this year to show her the beauty I first saw in 1984. Took lots of pics, but may have to develop video skills after watching yours. The time lapse stuff is awesome. I’ll be back for more. Thanks

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    1. Hi Marianne, that’s great! The Brooks Range is really an amazing place! So glad you stopped by and thanks for the kind words! Just curious, that’s Portland, OR you are in now? I lived for a few years in the Portland, ME region – so just checking 🙂

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  8. Hi Ian-

    What a great website! WONDERFUL images!! I will be shooting the Aurora outside of Fairbanks this coming March….any tips you could give me on camera settings?

    Thanks! Yvonne

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    1. Hi Yvonne, thanks so much! In regards to camera setting that is going to be very dependent on the camera body you have, and the lens strapped to it. However, I shoot the OMD Em5 usually starting at ISO 800 and may go all the way to 5000 (although that’s pretty rare). The advantage of high ISO is the quick shutter speeds for timelapse imagery. If you are shooting a camera with a larger sensor than my Micro-four Thirds, you will be able to get great quality out of ISO 800 – 1600 or higher! In regards to shutter times, I will usually fire my first image of the night at 13 seconds. If it’s under exposed you can increase and over exposed decrease it. There are many photographers who like to shoot on bulb mode and watch their histogram. If your camera has that option you’ll be able to take some very nicely exposed shots. Last but not least, a fast lens is critical to all of the things I’ve said above. If you can get a lens with f/2.8 that will help you take faster, and cleaner shots. Any of this gear is available to rent at very reasonable prices right here in town. Check out : http://fairbanksfastfoto.com/services-rentals.html . Hope that helps!

      Reply

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