Tony's Takes Photography

Tony's Takes Photography Tony's Takes is a showcase for wildlife, landscape and weather photography from bald eagles to mountain vistas and tornadoes. All images © Tony’s Takes.

Humpback whales in Kenai Fjords. While I didn’t get any extraordinary pictures of them, seeing multiple once-endangered ...
08/13/2026

Humpback whales in Kenai Fjords. While I didn’t get any extraordinary pictures of them, seeing multiple once-endangered humpback whales was pretty exciting. Even with only seeing their backs and flukes, you get a feel for just how massive these creatures are. Once hunted to the brink of extinction, conservation efforts including bans on commercial whaling have allowed most of the species’ populations to rebound considerably. Interesting fact… The humpback whale’s fluke (tail) is distinctive to each individual with differing pigmentation patterns, shapes, sizes and scars. These allow them to be used essentially as ‘fingerprints ‘ to identify individual animals.

The Great American Eclipse of 2017. Seeing all of the pictures coming in from Europe of the solar eclipse they experienc...
08/12/2026

The Great American Eclipse of 2017. Seeing all of the pictures coming in from Europe of the solar eclipse they experienced today, I can’t help but think back to this amazing celestial event almost exactly 9 years ago today. My family and I headed to Wyoming to ensure we were in the path of totality and it was an experience I will never forget and one that is hard to describe. The quasi-darkness and the silence were awe inspiring as the moon eclipsed the sun. I don’t know if I will be around when the next one crosses the entire contiguous United States (August 12, 2045) but if I am, you can bet I won’t miss it.

Mama says: “Stay away from my cubs!” A brown bear sow lets a juvenile bear know she doesn’t want it anywhere near her cu...
08/12/2026

Mama says: “Stay away from my cubs!” A brown bear sow lets a juvenile bear know she doesn’t want it anywhere near her cubs. This beautiful sow and her two little ones were hanging out at Wolverine Creek in the Redoubt Bay Critical Habitat Area, Alaska. All was peaceful until two juvenile bears showed up. Looking to be two years old, the young ones likely were recently chased off by their mother and forced into the world on their own. They are still trying to figure things out and clearly, they don’t understand not to go anywhere near a mama bear and her cubs. She had to chase them off multiple times, this is one such sequence. Thanks to Redoubt Bay Lodge for the experience!

Otters in Kenai Fjords National Park. An otterly amazing encounter with these cute critters! The great state of Alaska i...
08/11/2026

Otters in Kenai Fjords National Park. An otterly amazing encounter with these cute critters! The great state of Alaska is home to the vast majority of the northern sea otter population in the world (90%). Living most of their lives at sea in shallow waters, hunting by humans resulted in a large decline in their numbers during the 1700s and 1800s. Then, in the 1990s, predation by orcas took a toll on the population. Thankfully, conservation efforts have turned the tide and the animals’ numbers have rebounded but they are still considered a threatened species. I was able to photograph many of them on our boat excursion but, unfortunately, at a pretty long distance so the pics aren’t as nice as I had hoped. Still fun to see these guys thanks to Northern Latitude Adventures.

The Alaska Range by air for . Certainly seeing Denali on our flightseeing trip in Alaska was awesome but the mountains ...
08/10/2026

The Alaska Range by air for . Certainly seeing Denali on our flightseeing trip in Alaska was awesome but the mountains surrounding the Great One were just as impressive. It was so incredibly clear at altitude and the snow and ice were brilliant white, the mountains imposing and forbidding, looking almost otherworldly.

The famed Mount Redoubt from across the Cook Inlet. While I didn’t get any great pics of it this year, this active strat...
08/09/2026

The famed Mount Redoubt from across the Cook Inlet. While I didn’t get any great pics of it this year, this active stratovolcano absolutely fascinates me. I mean, heck, it is an active volcano! When we last saw it in 2019, it was actually spewing smoke. This time, unfortunately, it was quieter with no visible activity. Located in Lake Clark National Park, it has erupted four times in the past 125 years, most recently in 2009. A six-month long eruption that began on December 14, 1989, was most impressive and caused damage estimated at $160 million, the second most costly volcano eruption in U.S. history. A KLM Airlines operated 747 flew into the ash plume, causing all four of its engines to shut down. It plunged 13,000 feet before the pilot was able to get them restarted and safely land.

Black bears on the prowl along Alaska’s Turnagain Arm. A fun, random encounter when we were relocating camp to the Denal...
08/08/2026

Black bears on the prowl along Alaska’s Turnagain Arm. A fun, random encounter when we were relocating camp to the Denali area. Driving along, I spotted these two bears, lazily foraging not far off the road. That of course required us to stop and take a look. They paid us no attention, continuing to look for a meal without giving us so much as a glance. As they were about the same size, I have to think they were two-year old siblings, likely just chased off by their mother and now on their own. Fun fact… The Turnagain Arm south of Anchorage gets its name from British explorer James Cook. During his search for the fabled Northwest Passage in 1778, he was forced to “turn again” when the arm of the Cook Inlet failed to be the passage he was seeking.

Bald eagle chooses not to share, departs with its meal. A fun evening visit from this pair near our campsite on the shor...
08/07/2026

Bald eagle chooses not to share, departs with its meal. A fun evening visit from this pair near our campsite on the shoreline of Resurrection Bay in Seward, Alaska. We routinely heard and saw them during our three days in the area. In the evenings, when the fishing boats returned, the eagles would head out into the harbor and follow the boats, hoping to catch anything the anglers might be throwing over. On this evening, the male snagged himself a nice fish and landed on an old pier piling nearby. The female soon arrived, raising a ruckus, seemingly annoyed she had no meal of her own. Not having much sympathy, the male departed, taking his meal with him, presumably to enjoy it in quiet.

Tufted puffins show off their head plumes. I had one type of bird on my wish list for our Alaska trip and that was puffi...
08/06/2026

Tufted puffins show off their head plumes. I had one type of bird on my wish list for our Alaska trip and that was puffins. Thankfully, our excursion to Kenai Fjords National Park with Northern Latitude Adventures granted that wish. Last time we were there, I got some ‘okay’ pics of them but not worthy of sharing. This time was different. Tufted puffins are appropriately named for the tufts of feathers that crown their heads during mating season. They have a range from the northwestern United States up along the Canada and Alaskan coasts over to Russia and Japan. During winters, they leave land and winter in the open waters of the central north Pacific. I actually photographed two species of these cool birds; you will have to wait for pics of the other. 😉

“You forgot MY day?” A burrowing owl seems a bit displeased that I forgot yesterday was International Owl Awareness Day....
08/05/2026

“You forgot MY day?” A burrowing owl seems a bit displeased that I forgot yesterday was International Owl Awareness Day. Taking a break from Alaska pics, just for the day, to satisfy this grumpy owl dad. I do still have a ton of awesome pics from him and his family to share but just haven’t had time to pose them. Tomorrow, back to pics from our 49th state.

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