The weather in South Central Alaska was perfect, it rained lightly nearly every day, all day. Admittedly, not everyone visiting the Kenai Peninsula would consider this perfect weather, but if you want to experience Alaska's rainforests and unbelievably magnificent flowers, you have to be willing to get a little wet and work hard (the best views are not from the visitor centers). While preparing for the trip, I read a quote that rang very true - In Alaska, there is no bad weather, only bad attitude and bad gear.
It was difficult planning what photo and/or video gear to take. Had been playing around with our Fuji Finepix F30 for about six months. Highly rated 6mp, 3x optical point and shoot (P&S), with a "larger than normal" sensor and a "stronger than normal" flash and image stabilization.
My wife bought the camera for me for Christmas and quite frankly we were much happier with the pictures from the digital P&S Fuji, than we were with the photos, from my trusty and large, but aging Konica 35mm with an integrated zoom lens. I don't blame the Konica, which has taken fabulous photos over the years, but rather the anemic Kodak film we purchased and/or the developing by CVS. Have always preferred the more saturated colors of Fuji film, but it's getting pretty tough to find. After this experience, we made the final jump to all digital and gave away both the Konica and a great little Fuji pocket 35mm with a 28-103mm zoom (we have some awesome pictures on two European vacations with this camera).
Given the wildlife and whales we hoped to see, I was worried the 3x was not going to be enough magnification and the lower end of the zoom range was not really not wide enough for those dramatic vista shots. I also was just not convinced lugging a full size 35mm camera around was the answer either. Finally, literally a week before we left, I ordered a Panasonic TZ3 for rush delivery. The TZ3 is a 7mp P&S with a "standard sized" sensor and weak flash. Panasonic's P&S cameras have so-so reputations when it comes to noise and picture detail for shots in low light, but the 10x optical zoom range, starting at 28mm would be ideal for our trip. We had purchased the TZ1 (one of the first P&S cameras with a 10x zoom) for my Wife's son last Christmas and he carries it everywhere. I have been very impressed with the outdoor pictures and the movies he shot - the ability for him to zoom from 35mm to 350mm was truly stunning and made me a little jealous. I didn't realize, until after my purchase, the TZ3 is actually a total different camera from the TZ1, but the good news is they really improved the camera and only gave up a few benefits of the TZ1 (e.g. the ability to zoom while recording video).
We headed to Alaska with both the Panasonic and the Fuji. I spent the 11 hours in the air reading manuals for both cameras. We took nearly 1,200 photos, of which about 150 are really great photos. The quality of the photos was truly phenomenal and it has rekindled my passion for photography.
I believe there are four "goods" to a great photo:
- Good subject - Family member, interesting event, a beautiful vista, etc.
- Good composition - The rule of thids, using contrasting colors, etc.
- Good understanding of your camera - How to control depth of field, adjust exposure, etc.
- Good glass - Very tough to capture great moments with a cheap lens or filters.
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