Farmers Loop, just north of Fairbanks, still lives up to it’s name. Multiple residences have horses right along the road. There’s still a hayfield and the occasional garden visible. This photo shows a horse, at what must be a common spot for him to stand, watching people and traffic pass by. Shot at 9:26 p.m., June 16, the low sun illuminates his mane nicely.
A horse looks longin
I recently took a short, part-time job for UAF Summer Sessions photographing classes and events. Included in those events was concert in the garden, a weekly, outdoor concert held in UAF’s Georgeson Botanical Gardens. The lovely settings, typically great weather and lively music drew large, energetic crowds. On June 20, 2013, Will Putnam and Trudy Heffernen delighted the audience with their country-bluegrass rock.
Alaska Railroad trains may make music harder to hear, but add fun picture elements.
Playing and laying.
Always working: Josh Bennett, of Sound Reinforcement Systems, mixes the music.
Roses in the foreground, musicians in the background.
More excited exploration.
I recently wrapped up my professional media internship for my undergraduate degree at UAF. I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity then working with Lori Neufeld and KUAC. I got to help with the live-radio program Alaska Live, be an on-air host for all the fantastic NPR shows, and even host my own music programs. My audio skill set has grown dramatically.
One of the last projects I worked on was an Alaska Live with Fairbanks-raised cellist Patrick Hopkins, who recently graduated from Juilliard Music School. Check out the podcast with music and conversation on KUAC’s website.
One of my favorite music images came form this shoot. It has more layers then a standard shot, and includes my work station.
Recording levels, wavelengths and board lights in the foreground, cello playing in the background.
Patrick Hopkins concentrates on the music.
My passion for photography began when I took a darkroom class in high school. To this day I continue to shoot film and make fiber prints, admittedly, not as much I would like.
I have long been working on a portfolio titled Creamers Field on Film. Creamers Field is an old dairy farm turned migratory waterfowl refuge. The criteria for the portfolio is simple: shot on film, at Creamers Field. Right on the northern edge of Fairbanks, with beautiful historic buildings and an incredible range of landscapes, I highly recommend a trip there for anyone visiting Fairbanks.
The three images today were shot on B&W 35mm Illford Delta 100, the digital files are scans from 8×10 fiber prints.
Shot just one day before the first snowfall, the moss was all but dead, resembling skin draped over bones.
It’s a subject I’ve talked about before, long Alaskan summer light. Dusk and dawn, referred to as “golden light” in photography, are but a few short hours apart. A fishing trip to the Copper River Valley early June gave me a prime opportunity to photograph both ends.
In the first image: Alpenglow illuminates Mount Drum, left, and Mount Sanford, right. Shot at 11:10 p.m., June 11, 2013.
Alpenglow highlights mountains along the Richardson Highway,11:10 p.m., June 11, 2013.
Before getting on the boat the next morning I walked down to the Copper River to photograph a gorgeous sunrise, At 4:30 in the morning, just over five hours later.
Sunrise over the Copper River at 4:30 a.m., June 11, 2013.
Between performances of The Firebird Wendy did a quick photo shoot in the graffiti hall, right outside the Salisbury Theatre.
With only time for a short shoot, and unsure the aesthetic I was going for, I decided just to experiment with the lively and colorful background. The difference between color images and black and white is stark. Even with slight desaturation, there is a color discord which emphasizes certain forms and elements. Black and white images seem to be more about mood and design.
I think I like the black and white. I’m sure I’m biased.
Russle Walker, foreground, and Nick Konefal work back up the hill, May 9, 2013.
A dog watches the road
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: raw files are superior to jpeg. It is rather disappointing to be photographing and realize the camera is only recoding jpegs. That is what happened during this shoot. Enough on that.
Perhaps best known for his weekly Pianno Puzzlers segment on NPR’s Performance Today, Bruce Adolphe recently played in Fairbanks. Piano Puzzlers, as his website describe, “…Adolphe at the piano, playing folk tunes and popular songs in the styles of famous Classical composers,” was played with live contestants in the studio for the first time ever on Alaska Live, at KUAC.
All three contestants got the answers right, check out the puzzlers, fun conversations, and great piano playing in a series of two podcasts.
Bruce Adolphe, host of Piano Puzzler, warms up before playing for conetestants.
Bruce Adolphe plays a Piano Puzzler for contestant April Jaillet.
Green Fence with for-sale sign, May 3, 2013.
Snow falls May 3, 2013 in Fairbanks, Alaska.
A beat-up, rusty bike lays along side a bike path in Fairbanks, Alaska.
“Bicycle Beat” is an idea I have wanted to start for some time. And until recently was hindered by winter. Bicycle Beat is my reporting from a bicycle. I have often felt bike riding is the ultimate way to capture great photos. Unlike driving, stopping and turning around is almost instantaneous, and it’s much easier to spot interesting subjects traveling 10 mph rather then 50. Consequently, also much faster then walking, greatly expanding the range of your photographic canvas. Also important is inconspicuous. You draw a lot more attention stopping a car then a bicycle.
I went for a very brief 3-mile bike ride last night and in the short time happened upon two photo-worthy subjects. It’s been a very testy spring in Fairbanks, with multiple inches of snow the last week of May. Greenhouses are opening despite unavailable exterior space. One of them is Plant Kingdom.
Mayday! A sundog is visible on May Day. A sundog is an atmospheric reaction when light deflects off ice crystals in the air, producing a halo effect. They are common to cold weather.
The snow and cold on May 1, producing a sundog, mixed with the open Plant Kingdom sign, is a significant juxtaposition.
A sundog is frames the Plant Kingdom sign on May 1, 2013. It has been one of the coldest springs on record in Interior Alaska.
I slung my camera around my neck and hopped on my bike, only to travel another half-mile before finding another photo.
While I may have stopped a car to take the sundog picture, I never would have seen this young moose right off the bike path. Maybe 15 yards away, it would have been a great opportunity to get a wide-angle shot of a moose. Having a zoom lens however, my first instinct was to zoom in as close as possible. Probably 2 or 3 years old, I did make sure no mother moose was visible before shooting.
A moose munches off Farmers Loop Rd.
Far North Light 