Weekly Photo Challenge: Foreign. National Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week

Alaska, Photography, Portraits

Winter has arrived. Sparkly-white snow dominates the landscape, already scarce daylight will continue to diminish and temperatures hitting negative numbers will likely drop another 50 degrees. Though these are conditions I have enjoyed my entire life thanks to stable housing and adequate clothing, not all do. My weekly photo challenge of “foreign” will focus on the life of those who do not.

Every year UAF takes part in National Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week. Volunteers stand outside all day, even camping in tents if UAF deems it’s not too cold, to raise awareness for the homeless in Alaska. I’m used to cold weather, but these people are brave.

Alaska has scary homeless statistics. According to University Alaska Anchorage Justice Center Alaska ranks 10th nationally for estimates of homeless people based off total population, one-quarter of one percent, and it’s rising quickly. When including those people who stay in shelters, with friends or in temporary housing the number is estimated at 4,500.

These pictures do not illustrate actual homeless people, just those trying to raise awareness. Perhaps I will use this occasion to find some truly homeless people in Fairbanks and document their trails and tribulations.

Volunteers warm their hands around a barrel fire, November 16, 2011.

Volunteers during National Hunger and Homeless Awareness Month at University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Uniquely Alaskan towing expedition.

Alaska, Landscapes, Photography

I don’t like to be overly critical of people I don’t know. Don’t judge someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes. But multiple encounters with a failed towing operation has led me to conclude these people were largely unprepared, and should have more thoroughly thought out their chosen expedition.

En route to school last week I happened upon an interesting scene. An older-model Chevy dump truck was towing a trailer of some sort down Farmers Loop, a mostly two-lane road connecting east and west Fairbanks. According to the trooper the dump-truck’s engine blew. There are multiple violations I can determine: lack of appropriate flagging, reflectors, license plates or safety triangles. Though they did have bright-orange milk crates.

An Alaska State Trooper arrives on the scene of a dead vehicle to direct traffic.

Directing traffic on Farmers Loop Rd. in west Fairbanks.

I left right as a tow truck arrived on the scene, expecting never to see the uniquely Alaskan towing operating again. Wrong. Returning home late that night I found the truck and trailer sitting on the side of the road, having moved only a few-hundred yards.

Yellow streetlights and the moon illuminate a broken-down vehicle in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Finally, a full day after first encountering the operation, the truck was gone. Thinking never to see it again I was pleasantly surprised when five miles away I came upon a very slow-moving truck with hazard lights flashing. In front was the dump-truck and trailer combination, being pulled incredibly slowly by a John Deere loader.

Towing broken-down vehicles along Farmers Loop.

It’s anyone’s guess why this was being relocated in the first place. Maybe it’s a habitable trailer and someone needs it to live in. From a photography standpoint, any one of the situations – troopers directing traffic, night time or towing – would have made an interesting picture. But all three together tell a more complete story and provide a lovely sense of time passing.

Sikuliaq launch ceremony Soundslides.

Photography, Travel

Just as the title says. A brief, 1 minute, 21 second audio and picture movie. The goal was to impart the feel from the day’s event’s. It starts with the emcee’s introduction and crowd shots, continues with Vera Alexander blessing the ship and breaking the champagne bottle and concludes as the Sikuliaq slips into the Menominee River with the subsequent splash.

Critter Corner: Mt. Rainier and Georgeson Botanical Garder Frogs

Alaska, Landscapes, Photography, Travel, Wildlife

A few weeks ago I posted images of real bears in Denali National Park and a bear statue from UAF’s Georgeson Botanical Garden. Today I’m posting a similar diptych: A frog from Reflection Lake in Mt. Rainier National Park and a frog from the botanical gardens.

The first image the frog is the only subject, he was an itty-bitty frog, maybe half a deck of cards. The mostly brown hues were rather ugly, so I did a quick and dirty desaturation of the image, converting it to black and white. I think the the black and white does a better job accentuating the frog’s natural camouflage. The shadow provides a small amount of depth to the mostly flat image.

The second image I like a lot because of layers. Shooting through a fence, with more fence in the background. The frog is far from the main subject. What’s fun for me is comparing the two subjects, the real frog in nature and the artificial frog in a man-made environment. I enjoy both, though the statue was a little easier to shoot.

A frog floats in Reflection Lake, Mt. Rainier National Park

Georgeson Botanical Garden frog statue.

Soundslides: “Song of the Sikuliaq”

Alaska, Music, Photography

“Song of the Sikuliaq” is an eight-minute piece of music composed by UAF graduate student Emerson Eads. Performed by the Fairbanks Arctic Chamber Orchestra, audio and video recordings will be played during the launch of UAF’s new Research Vessel Sikuliaq, Saturday Oct. 13, 2012, in Marinette, Wis. Click on the above links to view articles published in UAF’s Sun Star, relating specifically to the musical composition and the capabilities of the research vessel.

Soundslides is a multimedia story tool combining still images with audio. The purpose is to tell a more complete story then audio or images could individually.

The full-length video of “Song of the Sikuliaq” can be viewed here.

Critter Corner: Three bears and Georgeson Botanical Garden.

Alaska, Photography, Wildlife

Bears, what needs to be said? Large, viscous, cute, curious, smart, omnivorous, powerful and today, wooden. Bears in Denali National Park got a lot of attention this year, when a hiker photographing a grizzly was mauled to death last August. Remarkably, this was the first fatality in the Park’s 95-year history. Bears are incredibly fast, and the estimated “50 yards” between the bear and his victim leaves little room for evasive measures. Keep your distance.

Keeping distance wasn’t a problem during the Denali Park Lottery last September. This Alaskan lottery allows 400 vehicles a day to drive all the way into the park, a trip usually reserved for tour buses. Park Rangers are fast to converge on eager photographers, keeping them safe distances from wildlife.

Please click images to view full size.

Bear gazing over riverbed.

A bear pauses while climbing a steep, rocky slope.

For some slightly different bear action, check out this statue of a bear at UAF’s Georgeson Botanical Garden, the northern-most botanical garden in North America. I hadn’t walked through in awhile, and found lots of lovely sculptures had been added. What originally caught my attention, though hard to see in the picture, was an ear of corn someone had placed in the bears paws, reminding me of the fall harvest.

Georgeson Botanical Garden Wooden Bear

Weekly photo challenge: Solitary

Alaska, Black & White, Film, Landscapes, Photography, Portraits, Travel, Weekly Photo Post

Solitary: being, living or going alone or without companions. The word instantly conjurs images of some distant wayfarer or contemplative individual. For this installment of the Weekly Photo Challenge, I will show you three of my interpretations of solitary, images I believe convey the mood through subject matter and compositional elements.

First: a very literal interpretation of solitary. In Denali National Park, a lone-grazing caribou is seen in vast tundra. I wont even begin to speculate on the distances, however it was shot with a 300MM telephoto lens on a Canon 7D. The importance of the 7D is the smaller APS-C sized sensor increases the 300MM lens to an effective focal length of 480MM! As focal length increases, the depth of a picture is flattened, making the relationships of everything seem closer.

In short, this caribou is very alone.

Please click on the images to view full size.

Lone caribou in Denali National Park, Sept. 16, 2012

My second image is more metaphorically solitary. The model and her shadow are all the viewer has to dwell on. I think her gaze off the edge of the frame, often deemed poor composition because the viewer wonders what the subject is looking at, gives the feeling that there is nothing besides more wall, adding to the solitary feeling. Also helping is the edge of the 4×5 film, terminating any curiosity about what else there may be.

Crystal at Creamers Field

Finally a somber event that would leave anyone feeling solitary. A woman walks past a cutout to honor a victim of domestic violence. The plaque reads,

“Nancy Tegoseak, Age 40, April, 2004. Nancy was born in Tanana and the loving mother of five children. She was beaten to death by her boyfriend. She leaves behind three children.”

Weekly photo challenge: Everyday life.

Alaska, Photography, Portraits, Weekly Photo Post

In Alaska, everyday life is a rather subjective term. Sure there are things done every day: eating, conversing and work. Then there are the things that are everyday life dependent on season. In winter skiing, outerwear, shoveling snow, even cars in the ditch are everyday life. In the summer biking, hiking, gardening and fishing are just a few everyday life sights. Not to say that these events can’t cross seasons, such as ice fishing or roller skiing.

Here are my two photos of everyday life from summer in Alaska. Please click on the images to view full size.

Fishing, farming and gardens are popular with the near 24-hour daylight received during Interior Alaska’s summer.

Digging potatoes in Fairbanks, September 12, 2012.

Fly fishing on the Chena River, downtown Fairbanks, June 16, 2012.

More music: Dr. Dog @ UAF Pub

Alaska, Arts, Music, Photography, Portraits

UAF’s fall concert series had a rocking start, complete with crowd surfing and beach balls. Pennsylvania based Dr. Dog made a big trip to a small venue, small when compared to some of their previous performances, such as Austin City Limits and Coachella. The indie-rock band played to a sold-out crowd that packed the dance floor. The band’s retro rock, modern sound-effects, almost-raspy vocals, smooth harmonies and meditative lyrics all blended seamlessly. Not to mention, they are incredibly friendly people. After viewing my pictures check out the playful music video to “Shadow People,” one of my favorite songs.

Please click on images to view full size.

Dr. Dog seen through wine glasses illuminated by stage lights at the UAF Pub.

Dr. Dog rocks out at the UAF Pub

Mountain Stage

Alaska, Arts, Music, Photography, Portraits

West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s show Mountain Stage recently made a trip to Fairbanks, Alaska. For those unfamiliar with this production, it’s live-concert recording with multiple bands, aired nationally after some post-production work. Here’s a link to an article I wrote which talks more about the event, “Mountain Stage unites Alaska with national music scene,” including pictures of the event, which took place at UAF’s Davis Concert Hall in the Fine Art Complex.

Here are a few teasers from the article I linked to above.

Tim Easton plays in the Davis Concert Hall

Fairbanks band Steve Brown and the Bailers open the second night of Mountain Stage

Shooting concerts can be difficult, when not dealing with lack of light it’s often harsh spotlights, causing highlights to blow out and shadows to be lost. I cranked up the ISO to 3200 or 6400 and just hoped for the best.