Quick Photo Tip!

Quick Photo Tip:

Circular reflectors are excellent for improving the lighting in your outdoor portraits. By holding them to reflect the sun’s light, you can fill in shadows and put beautiful highlights on the face of the person you’re shooting. However, most circular reflectors only work for a head-and-shoulders shot and only for one person. You can purchase a large full-body reflector, but they usually cost around $70.

Simply purchase insulation board for $5 and then cover the back and edges with white duct tape. You’ll find insulation board with reflective silver backing at any home improvement store. It comes in several sizes. I chose one that is 4 feet (1.2 meters) in height.

This simple solution gives you a very large reflector that is lightweight, and you can use one side to reflect silver and the other side to reflect white. Awesome!

(for more tips, visit the Improve Photography article "9 Weird Photography Tips That Actually Work")

What Does The Fox Say?

The fox has a reputation as a smart and wiley creature. Its skills are so sharp that the fox has become a part of the English language with such phrases "sly as a fox," "outfoxed," and "crazy as a fox." However, it is believed that the fox is not necessarily so much smarter than other animals but its senses of sight, hearing, and smell are highly developed and contribute greatly to the fox's success.

The Red Fox is native to Alaska and found throughout much of the state with a few exceptions. Some islands in the Southeast and Alaska have foxes that were "introduced" during the early 1900's when fox farming was a popular means of income. During the 1920's, a fox pelt would sell for as high as $500. The fox prefers broken country, extensive lowland marshes, and crisscrossed hills and draws. The fox population is mostly south of the arctic tundra. The Red Fox will share territory with the Arctic Fox, but the Red Fox is dominant and can be territorial. In areas where the two overlap and conflict, Red Foxes have been observed digging Arctic Foxes from their dens and killing them.

The Red Fox is part of the dog family and measures between 22 and 32 inches (body length) with an additional 14-16 inch tail. Males are referred to as "dogs" and females as "vixens." Foxes breed in early spring, generally February or March. Their den is often a burrow that is left behind by small animals such as a marmot. When the fox moves in, it generally expands the size to approximate 15-22 feet and adds additional exits. The female fox lines its den with grass and after a gestation period of 53 days, gives birth to a litter of four to ten "kits" which are born blind. After about a month, the kits are old enough to leave the den and by three months they are learning to hunt. Both the male and female care for the kits for the length of the summer, but by autumn the parents and kits go their own separate way.

The fox is omnivorous which includes everything from plants and berries, to hares, squirrels, birds, eggs, and voles (their favorite). Fox will cache their excess food when hunting is good and return to the cache to either consume it or simply dig it up to make sure it is still where the fox left it.

In places where the fox is not often around humans, they show a cautious curiosity. However, where interaction is common, the fox shows little fear and can easily live in close proximity with humans. Foxes are quite vocal and have a large variety of howls, barks, and whines. The red fox has several natural enemies: man (principally as trappers), wolves, coyotes, lynx, wolverines, and perhaps bears. Eagles are the major predators of young foxes in some areas.

View more Red Fox photos at Alaska Stock.

Limited Time Promotion from Alaska Stock - Canoeist on Mendenhall Lake Canvas Print

Limited Time Promotion from Alaska Stock - Canoeist on Mendenhall Lake Canvas Print. This is a short term offer at significant savings. Visit us on Fine Art America to learn more.

Limited Time Promotion

Alaska encompasses more than a half million square miles of land which includes glaciers, mountains, and tundra...and a large majority of it is inaccessible by vehicle or boat. To see some of the best parts of Alaska, you must take to the air!

One out of every 64 residents of Alaska has a pilots' license. Whether it is from the need to carry supplies to the far corners of Alaska or simply for the thrill of flying wild over a majestic land, Alaska has garnered six times as many pilots per capita than any other place in the US. The term "Bush Plane" is naturally derived from the phrase "The Bush" usually referring to the remote and most inaccessible areas of Alaska. These small planes are typically Navajos, Otters, Widgeons, Beavers, or Cessnas. Each plane type has its own personality and specialization. For example, the Dehavilland Beaver, often referred to as "The Beaver," is the workhorse of the bush planes. The Dehavilland Otter is known for its capacity and room to haul people and still be able to maneuver and land on small remote landing strips.

Some bush planes sport wheels to land on small airstrips. Others have floats to alight on the state's many small lakes and rivers. In winter, skis can be strapped to the bottom of the plane. Anchorage's Lake Hood is said to be the busiest seaplane base on earth. Similarly, Anchorage's Merrill Field claims to have more takeoffs and landings than any other small aircraft airfield. In many parts of Alaska, seeing or traveling by a small plane is almost as common as traveling by car.

Anchorage is sometimes referred to as the "Air Crossroads of the World." Anchorage's Ted Stevens International Airport sees hundreds of flights a day and has become a major gateway for incoming tourists headed to many of Alaska's destinations and a stopover or re-fueling point for international flights.

The two main jobs of bush planes are typically to act as either a taxi service or to haul supplies and gear to remote regions. Many air taxi's provide services to visitors for flight seeing or simply to get to a promising fishing hole or hunting camp. One of the more popular flight seeing opportunities is to view Mt. Mckinley. Thousands of tourists each year enjoy the majestic view of "The Great One" by taking off from nearby Talkeetna. Air taxis offer trips all around the mountain or even the opportunity to land on glaciers or at the popular "Base Camp" where tourists and climbers alike enjoy a magnificent view. The bush pilots job to haul gear can range from the mundane to the unusual. During the Iditarod, the "Iditarod Airforce" volunteers haul food, supplies, and even dogs to and from the various villages along the trail.

The job of a bush pilot has often been characterized as dangerous and fool hardy in the ever changing climate and oftentimes dangerous environment of Alaska. However, Alaska has recently adopted the "Medallion Foundation" which aims at reducing crashes and improving overall air safety. The biggest challenge is often fighting the "Bush Pilot Syndrome" which is the image of the adventure seeking, risk taking, flamboyant pilot that seems to always just barely escape catastrophe. Through rigorous training and education, the Medallion Foundation aims to reduce air incidents and keep Alaska skies safe.

To view more photos of Alaska bush planes and pilots, visit Alaska Bush Planes at www.AlaskaStock.com: http://bit.ly/1gyz9Rb

Alaska Stock Images Extends Reach to South America – Hotter Regions get Cooler Images

Anchorage, AK. - In South America, Durga Archivo Digital de Imágenes, S.A. de C.V. in Mexico http://www.archivodigital.com.mx/ and Imageplus Produções Fotográficas Ltda. www.imageplus.com.br in Brazil have become Alaska Stock’s recent new non-exclusive representatives for its content.

Maybe these aren't the first countries in the world you would think of where Alaska imagery has a wide appeal, but it seems there is a market and requirement for this content from both creative and editorial clients. Alaska Stock owner, Jeff Schultz noted, “Having Durga Archivo handling our image representation in Mexico is a wonderful addition to our overall global distribution plan. We look forward to a long relationship there.”

Gianfranco Coppola, Managing Director of Image Plus, Brazil says on representing this collection: “Alaska Stock has many great images and with an amazing quality. Their website is rich in content, stories, galleries, etc … Imageplus is proud to have such great content available for our customers. We do believe these images will enhance their work.” Mr. Schultz responded by commenting, “I am excited to see our images represented by ImagePlus in Brazil and feel they will have a unique market for our Alaska images.”

With the breadth of specialist material, Alaska Stock’s wildlife, landscape, seasonal and cultural images are internationally relevant and appeal to image buyers worldwide. Around 16,000 Rights Managed images have been carefully selected for their global significance and are now made available by Alaska Stock to its expanding distribution network. All images are available as single images and include a good variety of ready made features.

About Alaska Stock:Alaska Stock Images, founded in 1990 by Jeff Schultz, is a specialty photo agency with an offering of over 400,000 Rights-Managed and Royalty-Free images of Alaska tourism, summer and winter lifestyles, outdoor recreation, adventure, historic, wildlife, global warming and climate change, majestic landscapes, and photos from Antarctica and Canada. This collection continues to grow on a regular basis with over 50,000 images available online at www.alaskastock.com with in excess of 150 contributing photographers of the highest calibre. The full collection is available for sale directly from Alaska Stock’s sales team and around 15,000 Rights Managed images have been especially selected for their Alaskan speciality and international relevance and are sold worldwide via its international distribution network.

For further information, please contact:

Gina Bringman, International Distribution Coordinator

www.AlaskaStock.com toll free: 800.487.4285 email: gina@alaskastock.com

New iPhone Travel App Features Alaska Stock Images

Anchorage, AK. - Alaska’s premier photo agency, Alaska Stock Images, has paired with Alaska HDTV, Alaska’s best network for video travel stories, to provide exclusive wallpaper photos for the first Alaska Travel iPhone app to include mobile video of Alaska destinations and Alaska travel discounts and promotions. Alaska Stock owner, Jeff Schultz, remarked, “We are thrilled to have our Alaska images included in this new iPhone app and to provide a great selection of wallpapers for iPhone users.” The Alaska Travel iPhone App is designed to provide a visual sampling of what to see and where to go with short video episodes from regions around the state of Alaska. Attached to each of these video episodes are related wallpaper images of great Alaska scenery for users to decorate their iPhone or iPod touch and the ability to order photo prints at AlaskaStockPrints.com.

Alaska Travel iPhone App includes:
* Great videos from around Alaska

* Exclusive Alaska wallpaper images from Alaska Stock Images

* Travel discounts and promotions for the current season
* Monthly addition of new videos, discounts and exclusive bonus content

Pricing & Availability: The iPhone app is available now for $2.99 in the popular Apple iPhone App Store: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=334673504&mt=8

Additional information:
* Short link to iTunes App Store: http://clicky.me/fortheapp * Video screencast: http://www.alaskahdtv.com/screencast/ * Description of the app: http://www.alaskahdtv.com/2009/alaska-hdtv-travel-iphone-app

About Alaska HDTV: Alaska HDTV Productions, an Alaska company, is based in Anchorage, Alaska. Alaska HDTV is a network of High-Definition productions including television, podcasts and unique applications like our new iPhone app. Website: http://www.alaskahdtv.com/

About Alaska Stock: Alaska Stock Images, founded in 1990 by Jeff Schultz, is a specialty photo agency with an offering of over 400,000 Rights-Managed and Royalty-Free images of Alaska tourism, summer and winter lifestyles, outdoor recreation, adventure, historic, wildlife, global warming and climate change, majestic landscapes, and photos from Antarctica and Canada. This collection continues to grow on a regular basis with over 50,000 images available online at www.alaskastock.com with in excess of 150 contributing photographers of the highest calibre. The full collection is available for sale directly from Alaska Stock’s sales team and around 15,000 Rights Managed images have been especially selected for their Alaskan speciality and international relevance and are sold worldwide via its international distribution network. Photo prints and gift items can be purchased at AlaskaStock's consumer site http://www.alaskastockprints.com/.

For further information, please contact:

Laurie Campbell, Director of Sales & Marketing

laurie@alaskastock.com

http://www.alaskastock.com/

toll free: 800.487.4285

Alaska Stock Salute to Anchorage

Alaska Stock is pleased to share with you our new video Salute to Anchorage. Anchorage has a reputation as being basically vanilla Alaska, and tourists have a tendency to skip past Anchorage as fast as they can in search of the wild side of the state. Now Denali National Park, has its charms, but we Alaskans also know what a magical place the city of Anchorage can be. From the start of the Iditarod to Fur Rondy, and moose in your front yard. Anchorage is like no other city on earth.