These pictures are from Matanuska Glacier Hike. It is an interesting experience walking on the Glacier wearing those crimpons under your shoes.
I did not realize how hard the surface is on a glacier and even the dirt around it is not terra firma but permafrost. Yest, these glaciers can be fragile
enough that a big chunk can fall off at a whisper. Glacier is a solid mass of compressed snow that feeds fresh water streams as layers below melt.
One of my memorable experience on the Alaskan trip.

[url][url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigsur/7553937832/][/url]
DSC29301-239 by BigSury, on Flickr[/url]

The rocks, stones and pebbles, they all carry the striations as the snow melts around them. What you see as dirt is permafrost.
[url][url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigsur/7550413052/][/url]
DSC29153-91 by BigSury, on Flickr[/url]

Matanuska Glacier. I am told Matanuska is a combination of Russion and local Eskimo language.
[url][url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigsur/7550389376/][/url]
DSC29146-84 by BigSury, on Flickr[/url]

A panorama of the Glacier Site:
[url][url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigsur/7554629524/][/url]
DSC29392406-15_stitch by BigSury, on Flickr[/url]

More wonderful shots Sury - are you working for the Alaskan tourist board ? .

I really like that shot with the people in as it gives a great sense of scale. (Short trousers on a glacier?!)

Birma,
I am trying but they (The Alaska tourism board) are not buying.
Kidding aside, I am trying to add a bit of story to the photos to enhance the viewing experience.
I sound like a used car salesman, don't I?
The weather was quite nice with longest day being couple of days ahead. I would not stay in shorts for
too long though.

With best regards,
Sury

Awesome place Sury, I like em all, I would have liked the people shot to perhaps have had a portrait aspect so as to include the tops of the mountains in the background as well, or even with landscape aspect but still include the mountains as well...but no great biggie, I still like it anyway.
Greg

Greg,
You mean something like these?

My daughter being "silly", as only a 17 yr. old can be....

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DSC29232-170 by BigSury, on Flickr[/url]

The boss lady, daughter and son...

[url][url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigsur/7603468924/][/url]
DSC29139-77 by BigSury, on Flickr[/url]

The hike...
[url][url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigsur/7603534044/][/url]
DSC29407-1 by BigSury, on Flickr[/url]

Ah that’s nice Sury the mountain tops are in view. I don’t know what lens you had on at that time but if you had say, the beercan with you, you could have stepped back from your daughter and zoomed back in to get her back up to somewhere near the same size in the photo, what would happen then is the mountains in the background would get much bigger and more dramatic in the photo, but then it might have become more difficult to get the tops in view also, it becomes a question of balancing how far back and how much zoom, of course I realize it would not be easy to concentrate on such matters when one is making sure not to accidentally step into a crevasse, I have heard that walking on glaciers can be dangerous.
Greg

Greg,
I had Tamron 28-200 lens on at that time. My intention was to minimize lens changes. In fact, I was tempted to rent a Bigma before I went on a trip.
Is this close to what you had in mind? I have few more that I can upload tonight to come closer to what you have in mind so that I can learn from
your vision (pun intended). Thank you for taking time. The hike we took did not have too many deep crevasses to worry about but slippage was a concern
though we had crampons on our shoes as you can see. Also, the guides were very strict in not letting us wander as we please both from the preservation
and safety point of view. I believe ice climbing would have enabled you to go down a crevasse or two and also hop across as you see in movies.

Sury

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DSC29138-76 by BigSury, on Flickr[/url]

I’m not sure it’s all that different Sury the mountains could be further away than I thought so it might not have worked anyway, what focal length was that last one?
Greg
Ps 50mm on the A900 makes everything in the photo look close to how the eye sees it perspective wise, so anything longer than that will have the effect I was mentioning, the longer you use the more effect it has.

Greg,
Now I get it. You are looking for a shot that has person or people and yet the background at around 50mm so that you see as if you are there.
The last one was at 28mm.

At 40mm

[url][url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigsur/7603534044/][/url]
DSC29407-1 by BigSury, on Flickr[/url]

At 45mm

[url][url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigsur/7607230150/][/url]
DSC29185-123 by BigSury, on Flickr[/url]

At 50mm

[url][url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigsur/7607215064/][/url]
DSC29131-69 by BigSury, on Flickr[/url]

Sury

Yeah wow Sury you begin too see the true scale and majesty of the place at around normal perspective in those 45-50mm shots, I like those the best, the wider angles diminish the more distant parts too much (for my taste anyway, but who am I too say, plenty of people like that effect).
Greg
Ps was there a haze in the air? There seems to be a bit of haze of lens flare or foggy filter in quite a few photos, even the subjects seem to be affected by either haze or flare to some degree.

Greg,
Thank you. Though I read about the 50mm perspective, I did not see the significance. As much as it is a matter of personal choice,
it certainly opened up another choice for me in terms of choosing a focal length while composing a shot.

I have a sinking feeling it may be my copy. It typically appears on the right half between 40% and 80% of the photo.
It does not show up all the time.
You can see this clearly in this shot.

[url][url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigsur/7607761814/][/url]
DSC14042 by BigSury, on Flickr[/url]

Sury old chap that’s no good, it looks like a partial delam in the rear element group or something equally horrible, it needs to be sent in for attention for sure. Do you have another lens to be getting on with in the meantime?
Greg

I have lenses that overlap. I was keen on that lens primarily to minimize changeovers on the trip.
I did not realize the problem till I saw the issue on this trip and went back to check others and found
the issue. If I need something, I can always recall my Sony 18-200 that my brother took with the
A100 body on a "permanent loan" basis. Younger ones tend to "borrow permanently".
I had Sigma 28-200 that became a MF only lens after the dreaded stripped gear incident that are
bane of Sigma lenses.

Sury

The first one is amazing! Sometimes I think that traveling is one of the most beautiful activities in the world

Anne,
Thank you. Indeed. It is great a vocation. You meet such wonderful people and places to see.
At the least travel increases one's faith in humanity. I am building up a collection
on Flickr. If you are interested you can see them at http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigsur/

With best regards,
Sury