Greetings my friends,

There’s 586,412 square miles of Alaska, how are you going to spend your summer?  In my ongoing journey to experience and capture the best of America’s Last Frontier – June 18-24th, Cordova and the Eastern Prince William Sound will kickoff of my summer travels.

Why Cordova? I’ve seen Cordova and its surrounding wilderness by air plenty, and it’s incredible! So when good friend David Taylor of Sixtyone North presented a slideshow featuring this incredible area of Alaska… the words “YES, I’M IN!” blurted out almost involuntarily!

David Taylor is an accomplished wildlife and wildlands photographer, here in Alaska. He also owns Sixtyone North, which guides avid and professional photographers to some of the most remote and epic locations around Alaska. I’ll be joining Dave and several other photo adventurers on this trip to Cordova, and I’d like you to come along with me!

Since there is only one Spot left – Dave said he’d make it two spots open for Cordova… I figured you must have a friend right? So if you know someone who’d like to come along with you, feel free to invite them along as well!

This is an adventure of a lifetime my friends, and I hope you’ll consider coming along. If you decide to reserve your spot, mention “ALASKA HDTV” and I’ll donate $200 to the Alaska Conservation Foundation.

Complete write-up and trip details!

Cordova & the Eastern Prince William Sound Photo Tour | by Sixtyone North

I had the honor of being on the Alaska Travelgram Show today with good friend Scott McMurren and Erin Kirkland from AKontheGo. In today’s show I talked about capturing your travels with video and digital stills and how to share them.

Listen to the Alaska Travelgram Show I come in at 18:15.

As promised in today’s show here are the links and video below:

Flickr: www.flickr.com
My personal favorite website for photo sharing website, which offers a variety of tools to share and manage your photos.

Instagram: www.instagr.am
Great on the go picture sharing from your Apple mobile device. Offers a variety of image filters and sharing options e.g. instantly share your images with Flickr, facebook, twitter and email list on the go!

iPhone Apps for Photographers
Good friend and professional photographer David Taylor of Sixtyone North put together this great list of apps that help everyone get that fantastic shot.
http://sixtyonenorth.com/2009/11/iphone-apps-for-photographers/

Sixtyone North, Alaska Photo Tours
http://sixtyonenorth.com/
Note: There is still one spot available for the Cordova Photo Tour and Adventure this June, get information at http://bit.ly/fBqMLv

Aurora & Winter Landscapes Photo Tour
A quick look from our Aurora & Winter Landscapes Photo Tour.

Photo Tips from the field:

Join us Fall 2011
Professional and Avid Photographers, here’s a special invitation for Fall 2011 – hope you’ll join us!

Thanks for listening!
Scott

Greetings my friends,

A quick update to share a bit of exciting news.  I was recently invited to join TripFilms as a featured show within their website, and without pause I jumped at the opportunity.  While TripFilms and Alaska HDTV share a similar story, the more exciting piece is their catalog of some 2000 plus destination videos I’ve yet to explore. – Yes my friends, I’m in good company!

TripFilms was founded in 2007 by a group of friends celebrating their passion for travel by producing videos from the perspective of real travelers. Today the contributing authors and producers at TripFilms carry on that mission keeping videos authentic, informative, and inspiring.  - Sounds familiar right?

What excites me about having Alaska HDTV content over on TripFilms – - This is an opportunity for me to further my mission of sharing Alaska, my home, with a worldwide audience.  Alaska offers more to see and do than any travel destinations in the entire United States combined!  It’s a rich and wild frontier, which much still remains unexplored. I’ve witnessed the profound impact Alaska has on people my whole life, and to inspire people to experience their own Alaska. . . well, that’s what drives me as an Alaskan Filmmaker!

Whether Alaska is your destination or you’re looking to explore other corners of the world, TripFilms is a great place to scout out your next vacation!

Visit our home on TripFilms
http://www.tripfilms.com/shows/Alaska_HDTV

Cheers,
Scott

LANCE MACKEY INTERVIEW
Special Canada Goose interview with 4 time Iditarod champion Lance Mackey. Lance talks strategy for Iditarod 39 and team performance, will this be 5 in a row?

HUGH NEFF INTERVIEW

CEREMONIAL START AND OFFICIAL RESTART Join us as we kick off the 2011 Iditarod Sled Dog Race from Anchorage, then to the official re-start of Iditarod 39 in Willow, Alaska. Visit the official website of Iditarod at www.iditarod.com for live coverage up the trail!

Alaska’s own Emerging Warrior Studios, produced L. Cohen’s “Hallelujah” – performed by Jodi, Alana, & Morgan in North Pole, Alaska. I really liked the music video they produced for this song, if that wasn’t enough wait until you hear the quality of track now available on iTunes!

I’m pretty excited about the music coming out of Alaska, and these girls have set the bar.  I’ve heard this song from various music artists before, but the delivery by Jodi, Alana, & Morgan is moving to say the least. The female trios delivers the lyrics clearly, anchored to a folk-pop driven vibe that leaves me wanting more.

Featured local music artist:
L. Cohen’s “Hallelujah”
Jodi, Alana, & Morgan
Emerging Warrior Studios
Buy the Track on iTunes

It’s been at least 6 months since I first tried on this (then new) pair of boots. The V-Lite Altitude Ultra WPi boots are classified by Hi-Tec as a light hiking boot. I would agree they are lightweight, but they have managed to hold together through many productions in Alaska including the sea, the mountains, rivers and the snow.

First off, let me say that the comfort of these boots was immediate and has been great since the day I first put them on. Secondly, the durability has been impressive and their new ion-mask technology has really impressed me. My feet stay extremely dry regardless of conditions and the boots have generally retained most of their “new” looks as a result of this previously British military only technology. Find out more about ion mask at Hi-Tec’s Wet is Dry website: http://www.wetisdry.com/

The short story here is that I really like these boots and have been wearing them almost daily for 6 months. For all practical purposes these boots are lightweight, durable, good looking and really waterproof. Having said all of that, I do have one nit to pick. The shoelaces break prematurely.

I have been through three (3) sets of shoelaces with this pair of boots. It’s not a flaw of the laces that come with the boots, it’s the metal eyelet (third from the top of the boot) that is the culprit. Apparently the design of this eyelet lacks the smooth edge that would keep from cutting into the laces. Unfortunately it’s not an isolated incident with just one boot…it happens on both boots.

Pros:

• Lightweight
• Truly waterproof
• Durable
• Comfortable
• Affordable (compare to the other fancy outdoors names)

Cons:

• The need for a shoelace budget

Despite my laces experience, I do like these boots. An excellent balance of weight, performance and durability. Just be sure to pack a few spare laces in your backpack! I would definitely buy another pair to replace these…

A special thanks to Hi-Tec for providing these boots. Find out more about Hi-Tec at: http://www.hi-tec.com

What’s new in this version

• Star Tab - You can now mark with a star, your favorite videos or those you want to quickly reference for viewing later. The starred episodes are quickly accessible from the new third tab of the app.



• Offline Mode - There is now the option to download starred video episodes and play them back later when you are not connected via WiFi (or have a slower connection). Getting on the plane to visit Alaska? Download a few videos from the app and watch them later!



• Bug Fixes – Several overall app usability updates and graphical tweaks were made.

Thanks again for your support and we hope you are enjoying the incremental improvements to the Alaska iPhone app! If you haven’t already downloaded the app, get it here in the iTunes store: http://clicky.me/fortheapp

Finding quality videos can be tough sometimes. You have better things to do with your time! So we did the work for you! Here we have compiled a short list of 10 great videos we found that show off Alaska.

This list is in no particular order.

Alaska HD

This great video by Mark Mostad has it all: eagles, whales, sea otters, great mountain shots, airplanes and more.

Tailgate Alaska | Episode 6

Tailgate Alaska is an awesome concept: set up camp once a year and get pros, beginners, and anybody who wants to join in, together to enjoy some of the worlds best snowboarding! Just as amazing are Media Knievel’s well produced videos of the event. I chose to highlight episode 6, but you should definitely check out the rest, as they are all great!

Also available on: YouTube

Ravencroft Lodge

This video, by Boone Hodgin, is produced piece to showcase Ravencroft Lodge. It’s not your typical promotional video though. There is no talking, just a music track set to some great shots of: fish, bears, whales, eagles, sea otters, seals, mountains and more. Any person longing for Alaska would be remiss in not watching this one.

Also available on: YouTube

The Magnificent Moose

Title says it all. This video, by Dennis Zaki, has some incredible shots of moose in Autumn. Magnificent Moose is a must watch!

Although you can find Dennis on YouTube, it doesn’t look as though he posts his nature videos there.

Falls Creek, Alaska in Autumn

I don’t think I could ever get enough of Alaska in Autumn. Maybe that is attributed to how short it is? Regardless, it’s a beautiful season for Alaska and Dennis Zaki does an wonderful job of capturing it.

Although you can find Dennis on YouTube, it doesn’t look as though he posts his nature videos there.

Alaska Brown Bear Cubs

No music in this video, just great footage of two cubs doing what cubs do best, play! Video by Melissa Miller.

Aurora Near Fairbanks

This is an absolutely amazing time lapse of an Aurora Borealis up by Fairbanks. Kudos to Poul Jensen who captured this amazing shot.

Turnagain Ice Tide

Turnagain Ice Tide, by Chris Flynn, is combination of some really great time lapse shots, music and sound bites from weather reports. The sound bites give you a little insight into what it can be like living in Alaska sometimes (-65°F). It makes you happy you can watch it without having to weather the cold (unless, of course, you want to).

Solomon Gulch (Valdez, Alaska)

Brad Kelone shows us the scenery of a beautiful hike up Solomon Gulch in Valdez.

Also available on: YouTube (much lower quality)

Denali National Park Flightseeing

Medical Staff Recruiter Bradford Clark gives us a glimpse of some of the amazing views you can have by coming to Alaska. Regardless of how effective this is as a recruiting tool, it’s enjoyable to watch.

Also available on: YouTube

Did you like the videos we found? Know of any other great videos we didn’t post? Leave a comment, let us know.

We’re enjoying the additional attention and exposure iTunes is giving our production, and it’s an honor to be featured next to other great outdoor podcasts. It’s great being featured, but hearing from you all is always the best!  So why not take a moment and share what it is you like about Alaska HDTV – Please write a review on our iTunes profile.

Thanks all for your ongoing support and comments!
Cheers,
Scott

We’re truly excited to have Alaska Airlines as a premiere advertiser and want to publicly thank all those who got behind us. There are quite a few people that helped bring this deal together, but a special thanks to Alaska TravelGram, Explore Tours, Wong Doody and of course the marketing folks at Alaska Airlines for giving the thumbs up to Alaska HDTV.

Speaking of Alaska Airlines, did you know you can watch episodes from Alaska HDTV on the Alaska Airlines digEplayer?

More about the campaign
To learn more about North of Expected, be sure to visit http://www.northofexpected.com to win instant vacation packages, share your own Alaska experiences and explore more about Alaska Airlines.