I have to admit, this was the most intimidating post of all the trip posts I wanted to write. Why? Because Ketchikan was so wonderful, so expansive, that I’m struggling to put it into words. Jason and I took a small-group tour in Ketchikan, a photo safari led by a photographer named Mark. There were five of us in the group, and Mark took us to four very different locations for photos, teaching us about the city’s history along the way. Of the five attendees, two of us had cameras (mine, a DSLR, and another woman’s, a mirrorless), and the other three had phone cameras. Mark was able to show us all tips for both kinds, and after he found out that I’m a photographer, he often called on me to answer questions he normally poses to everyone. He also took our cameras from us at times so that we could get photos of ourselves from him, and he was able to adapt to each of our setups, whether automatic or fully manual. As a guide, he was knowledgeable and enthusiastic. The tour itself was perfect except that I wish we’d had more time in each location!

When I planned for this trip, I kept checking the weather in each of the locations we would be stopping at. Every single day called for about 25-40% chance of rain. I bought rain gear for myself and my camera just in case, but as it turned out, we had great weather at every single stop. In Ketchikan, it was about 50 degrees and cloudy, a perfect setup for taking photos in the middle of the day. There were actually two times available for this tour and I chose the early morning one on purpose, thinking it would provide better light. I forgot that being so far north, sunrise wouldn’t be in the 6-7am hour, but closer to 4-5am. I could have taken the later tour and slept in without a problem. I’m glad I chose this one, though, because it gave Jason and me several hours post-tour to explore Ketchikan before returning to the ship for lunch.

Did I learn a lot of new photography things on this tour? Tbh, I didn’t. I did learn how to make blurred-water photos on my iphone, which was neat. I’d hoped we’d play around with the multiple-exposure shots, which were advertised on the tour website but we didn’t get around to in actuality. On the other hand, in reading about them, I did some research beforehand and found where in the settings of my camera that I can do this, so I learned something obliquely (despite not trying it out yet).

So I didn’t learn a lot on the tour, but also, I didn’t take it for learning – I took it for the “safari” part, going to all the best places to get the best photos. We started in the Creek Street area, little shops along the boardwalks and Ketchikan Creek. Next up were the docks, where I saw my favorite wildlife of the trip, giant purple and orange starfish!! Then we went up to the library, where there were really good views of the mountains, and lastly to Potlatch Totem Park and Museum. If I’d taken another excursion, or just explored on my own, I couldn’t have seen nearly so many different places. Mark really took us do see and do so many things!

In total on our trip, I couldn’t tell you exactly how many photos I took. I know that before uploading to my computer, there were 500 or so that I hadn’t deleted, and after sorting through them and whittling them down, there were about 250 remaining. Almost half of those are from Ketchikan. It was before I got sick, so I had energy and drive and absolutely no exhaustion pushing me to return to the boat, and as I said, Mark took us to so many unique and beautiful places. Afterwards, he dropped us off downtown because we all wanted to spend more time in the city. Ketchikan was walkable and friendly and honestly just perfect. I couldn’t have wished for a better day!

For more/better photos, see my Instagram: @pookasluagh