Fishing in Valdez: The people, the fish and the boat.

Alaska, Landscapes, Photography, Portraits, Travel

Here are two images of life on the water in Valdez. The first image I believe is a combination of family and friends that work together commercial fishing Silver Salmon. Trollers go out in smaller skiffs deploying nets before they are winched back in. It’s hard work, and despite the apparent calm in the fishermen there is noticeable tension in their postures.

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Next, a fishing boat sits in the shade as the light falls on the hill behind. The boat had overnighted in Sawmill Bay, sometimes it’s easier to find calm water to sleep on then sail back to the harbor. Even though in this case Sawmill Bay is only 15 miles outside Valdez.

Raindrops and Spirits. One of the spirits.

Alaska, architecture, Arts, Black & White, Film, Landscapes, Photography, Portraits, Travel

It’s only four days until my first solo show, I’m excited and busy, but feel it should come together nicely. There are already things I wish I had done differently, but it’s not in my nature to worry, so I’m chalking it up to lack of experience.

As I said previously, my show is to deal heavily with the role of people within place. Even when people take a a large portion of subject matter they are meant to complement the surroundings. Such is the case with today’s image “David in Kennicott,” A large, strong figure in a commanding environment. Also worth noting is location, most of the images are paired, some in multiple ways. This is at the same location as my title piece “Rain Apparition,” Kennicott in the Wrangell St. Elias National Park. With pairings the viewer is allowed to view locations with many more meanings; the ability to step back, taking in the scene, then moving in closer for detail.

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David in Kennicott

A first, first Friday. “Raindrops and Spirits.”

Alaska, Arts, Black & White, Film, Landscapes, Photography, Travel

After a few years of persuasion from local photographers, April 6, 2012 I will be holding my first solo show at Frank’s Menswear, downtown Fairbanks, on 2nd Ave. The show, titled “Raindrops and Spirits” will be around 15, 8×10 in. silver-gelatin darkroom prints, taken at various locations around Alaska including Fairbanks, Homer and Kennicott. It’s very exciting to know my work will hang on the walls of a business for a month, and hopefully it will lead many more shows at many venues, as well as a few print sales.

People play an important role in the theme of my show, the absence of people equally important as the inclusion. The title is derived from the following image, which features a blur in the lower left-hand corner. People often ask me what caused it, and I reply with “A raindrop on the lens.” But having a vivid imagination I often like to think it’s something more, in this case the apparition of a forgotten worker from the mine, wandering the grounds he calls home.

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Rain Apparition

Valdez Harbor and Trans-Alaska Pipeline Storage Tanks

Alaska, Black & White, Film, Landscapes, Photography, Travel

While doing some back editing I realized I have a fair amount of work from a few trips to Valdez last summer. Valdez is the northern-most ice free harbor in the U.S. and is home to the terminus of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.

Seen here from across the bay, on a rare sunny day in Valdez, are the storage tanks for the oil that continues to flow through the pipeline 35 years after it was first pumped. According to valdezalaska.org there are 18 crude-oil tanks, each capable of holding 510,000 barrels of crude, for a total of 9.18 million barrels. While not nearly at peak production the pipeline still proves to be a vital portion of Alaska’s economy. Watch where you’re boating, if you enter the restricted area around the storage tanks you can be fined up to $32,500 and lose your boat.

This next image is simply Valdez harbor with mountains in the background.

Lake Washington, panoramic and a spider.

Landscapes, Photography, Travel, Wildlife

My parents are currently visiting my grandma on the shores of Lake Washington. Since I wasn’t able to make it down on this trip I figured I should post some pictures from last time I was in the area. Maybe they will find their way to my relatives.

Lake Washington and spider

I was only in town for a few days, but caught gorgeous fall weather, allowing me to take this picture of a large orb weaver silhouetted by the setting suns reflection.

Lake Washington panorama

I also took the opportunity to take a panorama. These are very easy to create, simply shoot multiple images, select them all in a viewing application such as Bridge, and choose photo merge. It’s amazing how good the program is at combining images. Unfortunately I didn’t overlap a few images enough and lost a few frames, so overlap significantly.

Denali at dusk

Alaska, Landscapes, Photography

After one of the coldest winters I can remember, including the 5th coldest January on record, February has started off with temperatures hovering around the freezing mark. Needless to say a wonderful change. Not only is it warmer but the light is coming back, making it all around a much more enjoyable place to call home. One can not forget that it is still winter, and temperatures could easily plunge far below zero. Here is a picture I took November 18, 2011, a day we set a record at 41 below zero. The foreground of Fairbanks city lights are back-dropped by Denali, the tallest peak in North America. Cheers to summer.

Denali background and city lights, November 18, 2011.

Alaska Highway Diptych

Alaska, Black & White, Landscapes, Travel

Alaska’s highways are often beautiful. And often terrifying. A diptych is two photos that attempt to tell a more complete story then just one. These two were taken just outside of anchorage on the Glenn Highway in early January, I wanted to capture a classic Alaskan view, and the feeling of impending death that often accompanies winter driving.