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Lena Shafer | Photography

@lena.seas

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to be a sailor of the world bound for all ports
Expedition Leader, Mariner, Storyteller

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Hello! I’m pleased to be writing to you upon my return from a 6 week backpacking expedition across the Gates of the Arctic National Park of the Brooks Range, North America’s northern most mountains, where there are no roads or trails. I fulfilled my longest standing dream of guiding @campmanitowish Outpost’s Alaskan Backpacking Expedition, a 2 month leadership course for high school senior women, one that I completed myself 10 years ago. This program and the Arctic changed my life then, and undeniably so once more. It’s the privilege of a lifetime to have experienced these landscapes of such ancient scale. It’s even more of a gift to have shared it with the world’s most compassionate, silly, thoughtful and whimsical women ever. Our weeks together were filled with so much laughter, water coloring, plant identification, ukelele serenades, burrito crafting, rap battling, mountain climbing, route finding, and most of all friendship building. There’s so much to say about this trip so this is simply a hello society, I can’t wait to share the stories with you! taken in Gates of the Arctic National Park by @lena.seas

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2 months ago

I knew I peaked in that last clip 🤭
A sea lion played next to our vessel for nearly half an hour this past March in Mexico, diving in and out of the shadows in search of fish, each time surfacing for breath they gave me a little wave 🥺. Here’s a very brief window in some of the highlights of this past year working as an expeditionary mariner specializing in conservation and photography! It’s been so special to live so intimately with such magical maritime landscapes and move into deeper connection with the abundance of life and wonder that is offered by our oceans and those who revere them. I’m so grateful for these travels and the opportunity to learn from them!

#NGSeabird #NatGeoExpeditions #oceanconservation #seasisters #maritimephotography #expeditiontravel #2024recap by @lena.seas

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2 years ago

The Pacific: Expedition Edition. This summer I had the honor of instructing a capstone youth leadership sea kayaking course in Alaska’s Inside Passage. 2 months of trying to animorph into an orca, 6 weeks of paddling towards humpbacks and away from sea lions. Each day and hour of our lives was ruled by the cycles of the moon and tide. It’s hard to put an experience of this magnitude into words, much to say much to share! taken in Inside Passage, Alaska by @lena.seas

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3 years ago

It’s often the glaciers themselves that get all the glory when visiting their fjords, but in examining the ice itself we begin to understand the story of the landscape. While the carving of these U-shaped valleys took a millennia of erosion, we can witness in a day how the texture of icebergs mirrors that of the walls of granite and stone, getting a glimpse of the interconnectedness of these forces that reach beyond our scope of time. taken in Inside Passage, Alaska by @lena.seas

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Watching a family of orcas amongst the glacial fjord of the Endicott Arm was a superbly rare experience. With how silty glacial waters are and the incessant crackling of ice, an orca’s ability to hunt effectively is impacted. Their tendency to avoid the glacial fjords also lends itself to be a sanctuary to harbor seals and their pups, who are often spotted hauled out on ice. The great drama of nature’s cycles continues with the convergence of these behaviors, and wonder for all who get to witness it. taken in Inside Passage, Alaska by @lena.seas

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4 days ago

Harbor seals hauled out on the icebergs of the Dawes Glacier, one of my favorite corners of the world. taken in Alaska's Inside Passage by @lena.seas

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5 days ago

Docking with an all woman deck team 💞💅🏼👯‍♀️>>> by @lena.seas

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12 days ago

One last port call in Alaska before heading south into British Columbia. I always love being amongst the working marina of seiners and trawlers, hauling in the freshest fish and crab imaginable.
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#southeastalaska #womeninmaritime #expeditioncruise #natgeoexpeditions #lindbladexpeditions taken in Petersburg, Alaska by @lena.seas

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14 days ago

I’m wrapping up the last couple of days of the Alaska season on board before starting to voyage south towards Central America. It’s quieting down up here, the salmon ran, humpbacks are migrating south, bear cubs are weaned, and the rain won’t quit. We’re blessed with more rainbows and orcas than I can count or film, and am overwhelmingly grateful to be finishing out another season out here.
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#natgeoexpeditions #lindbladexpeditions #womeninmaritime #southeastalaska #boatlife taken in Inside Passage, Alaska by @lena.seas

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18 days ago

Cutie harbor seal amongst the icebergs taken in Inside Passage, Alaska by @lena.seas

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19 days ago

Orca families off Baranof Island taken in Inside Passage, Alaska by @lena.seas

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20 days ago

🦭👋🏻 Oregon Coast Sun Club taken in Oregon Coast by @lena.seas

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24 days ago