Photos and Life in Kodiak, Alaska

Kodiak Alaska visitor travel guide
Cover photo by Marion Owen
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(All photos on this site are by Marion Owen unless specified otherwise)

Photos and life on the Island...

We love Kodiak and we love living here. Best of all, we get to share this love with our guests. Here's a sampling of "snapshots of life on the island" to give you an idea of what it is like to live on an island in the North Pacific. Of course, to really understand what it's like here, you have to come visit!

The photos are taken by yours truly, Marion. I have close to 35,000 images, many of which have been used by National Geographic Traveler, Patagonia, TIME, Business Week, Pillsbury, Alaska magazine, National Wildlife Federation, Nature Conservancy, to name a few. Through my photography workshops and classes, I enjoy helping people develop their own artistic "eye." And Kodiak is a wonderful place to practice...

Coastal sunrise
To answer your initial question: No, I didn't use a filter or adjust the colors in Photoshop. The brilliant sky was the result of forest fires on the mainland, near Homer, pumping smoke into the atmosphere. For several days the sunrises and sunsets developed into exquisite colors.

bald eagle, Audubon bird count

Is this eagle grumpy?
Actually, he (she?) isn't really in a bad mood. More than likely he's just peering down at the beach, looking for a morsel to pounce on.

Kodiak has one of the largest resident populations of bald eagles in the world. In fact, during the annual Audubon Christmas bird count, where Kodiak ranks first or second in the State, the number of bald eagles is in the hundreds. "They are as plentiful as crows," many locals say.

Kodiak, firewood, woodstove, sustainable
How to feed the woodstove
During the fall, we use the Sea Breeze to cruise the beaches for logs. When we find one, we use the boat to pull it off and tow it home. This photo was taken from our house as Marty heads into the harbor. Later, we saw up, bring the rounds home and split them up for the woodstove. From October to spring, the woodstove heats the main house and provides a wonderful source of warmth for heating soups and proofing (rising) bread.

500 salads (but who's counting)
When we moved into our new house on the ocean we wasted no time in getting a new garden established. These raised beds face south, which provides excellent exposure and heat gain during the day.

Our goal is to grow as much of our own food as possible, which presents challenges when you live at 57 degrees north latitude. The hoops you see in the photo are covered with a perforated plastic which protects seedlings from weather extremes. During a typical dinner cruise season we grow greens for 400 to 500 salads!

sea lion, Kodiak, Alaska, marine mammal

What the...?
What looks like an alien hand from a Star Wars movie is actually a sea lion's flipper as he attempts to scratch an itch. To get to an itch, they bend their flippers which causes a fingernail-like extension to poke out from each "finger."

humpback whale, dinner cruise, Kodiak, Alaska
After dessert...
After serving dessert, a humpback whale surfaced and dove near the boat as we headed back to town.

Hope you enjoyed the views of Kodiak!

Cheers and blessings,