Spot News: Mobile-Home Fire

Alaska, Photography

While stopped for gas a few weeks ago I noticed a stream of firetrucks head north out of Fairbanks. Being the direction I was headed I kept an eye out, spot news relies largely on chance, and I had a feeling I would find some. Sure enough about 3 miles up the road a column of smoke was rising high above the tree line.

A mobile home in a residential neighborhood had caught fire. Luckily no one was injured.

The sun is obscured by smoke rising from a fire in a residential neighborhood.

Firefighters battle flames from a mobile home April 30, 2013.

Smoke spews out of a mobile home off Rainbow Drive, north of Fairbanks.

Music Monday: Steve Brown and the Bailers, Howling Dog performance

Alaska, Music, Photography, Portraits

Any regular followers may have noticed a lack of posts the last seven days. It was my final week of undergrad, and wanted to make sure I finished everything I needed to graduate. Now that school’s over, it’s time to get back in the postings. Today will be a brief post of my favorite local band, Steve Brown and the Bailers, who were recently featured in UAF’s bi-yearly publication Aurora. The Spring 2013 printing also features a good article about the state of journalism in Alaska, a fun info sheet about the Equinox Marathon, and a two-page spread with my photo of UAF’s Research Vessel Sikuliaq.

The article about Steve Brown and the Bailers highlights their national successes, and offers a little insight into how their name came about. Hint: it had to do with unreliable band members.

The following photos are from a performance they gave July 28, 2012, at the uniquely-Alaskan Howling Dog Saloon. Photographically, one of the best things about the Howling Dog is the plethora of memorabilia plastered on walls.

Low-flying planes be damned, this band will play on.

Enthusiastic dancers always enjoy the Bailers.

Guest artist Caitlin Warbelow, left, joined a few songs with some impressively-frantic fiddle.

Bicycle Beat: Welcome to Winter, Spring.

Alaska, Black & White, Landscapes, Photography, Street

Crazy Fairbanks weather continues. That didn’t deter some friends and I from doing an art-show bike on Friday, May 3.

Such an important part of photography is taking pictures of everything. I find it an important way to sharpen the eye and make sure my camera’s settings will give me a well-rendered file. The green fence caught my eye, and the complementary color of the red for-sale sign was enough reason for a quick stop.

Green Fence with for-sale sign, May 3, 2013.

Wind and cold soon swept in snow, which fell in large, heavy clumps. Truly spring with a twist.

Snow falls May 3, 2013 in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Spring is also a chance to see what winter left behind. This is most evident in the trash that manifests on roadsides after being forgotten under a blanket of snow all winter. Fairbanks has a community clean-up day, when scores of volunteers take to the streets with bright yellow trash bags helping make the Golden Heart of Alaska clean again. Not uncommon, clean-up day 2013 had to be postponed, and is now scheduled for May 11.

I don’t know what happened for this bike beside the path to become utterly destroyed, but it must not have been enjoyable for the rider.

A beat-up, rusty bike lays along side a bike path in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Bicycle Beat: Munching Moose and a May Day Sun Dog

Alaska, Landscapes, Photography, Street, Wildlife

“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.

Music Monday: More Mountain Stage, Mostly Monochrome

Alaska, Black & White, Music, Portraits

A long-while back I posted a few images from Mountain Stage, when, “Live performance radio from the mountain state of West Virginia,” visited UAF. I also did a feature story for my student paper, The Sun Star. Here’s another selection of photographs in black & white, which is commonly referred to as monochromatic. Though monochromatic means one shade of color, such as varying hues of red, it expanded to include images in black & white.

Tim Easton, center, plays at the Davis Concert Hall, accompanied by Megan Palmer and Kliff Hopson for NPR’s production of Mountain Stage.

Tim Easton, accompanied by Megan Palmer.

Pat Fitzgerald and Robin Dale Ford, accompanied by the Mountain Stage band, play at the Davis Concert Hall. August 17th, 2012.

Backstage Davis Concert Hall for West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Mountain Stage.

And the single color image for today.

Very-Temporary Fossils

Alaska, architecture, Photography, Street, Wildlife

While nothing in Interior Alaska can be considered typical, Fairbanks – typically – isn’t very windy. This winter has brought no shortage of windy days. While occasionally bone-chilling cold, wind also creates exciting conditions. Ravens seem to have fun when currents whip up.

Ravens play in high winds above UAF’s Fine Art Complex. April 17, 2013.

The next day, slowly picking my way down a steep, slippery hill, my preferred route between car and classroom, I found evidence some ravens had been using strong winds and currents to their advantage.

Spiraling strike marks decorated the snow’s surface. A raven had been hunting, likely a small rodent. My friend accurately described it as a “very-temporary fossil.” Indeed unlikely the imprint would be preserved more then a day or two.

A hunting raven leaves evidence in the snow, April 18, 2013.

At the time I was en route to grab class materials, happy just to spot the strike, I didn’t linger. Deciding to court a safer path back up the hill, my attention was once more drawn toward patterns in the snow. I couldn’t pass the opportunity to photograph another strike mark. Even if it meant going back to my car to swap tennis shoes for boots.

A pedestrian walks up a path at UAF, near a imprint a raven left in the snow, akin to a temporary fossil.

A pedestrian walks up a path at UAF, near a raven imprint in the snow, akin to a temporary fossil.

Close-up of an imprint left by a hunting raven.

Music Monday: Eel House and St. Animal.

Alaska, Music, Photography

I had few gigs to juggle Saturday, April 20, 2013. I had a brief, but necessary, walk on part in The Firebird at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Between those was load-in and sound check for St. Animal, headliner at The Pub that night. After sound check a brief trip over to KUAC’s studio to help out with Alaska Live, feature Eel House. Immediately after the second performance of Firebird it was back to The Pub to soundcheck the opening band and start the show.

Eel House is a four-piece with vocals, their music is a mix of contra dance, bluegrass and indie-rock. I didn’t have to time to stick around and get all their names.

Keys, drums and vocals comprise part of Eel House, who performed on Alaska Live with Lori Neufeld.

Bass and fiddle make up the two-remaining members of Eel House.

St. Animal has six members who at any point in time play a variation of drums, bass, electric guitar, mandolin, fiddle, banjo, trumpet or trombone.

St. Animals plays an energetic set at UAF’s Pub, Saturday April 20, 2013.

Fine Art Friday: North Star Ballet’s “The Firebird.”

Alaska, Music, Photography, Portraits

A few weeks ago I mentioned a new posting theme: Fine Art Friday. That has been the first, and only, installment. Until now.

North Star Ballet School, in Fairbanks, Alaska, will premier The Firebird this weekend, a ballet based on a Russian fairy tale, and set to music by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. A full article about the local production with dancer, director and seamstress interviews can be found at the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

It’s a standard fairy-tale plot, a prince battles evil to free a damsel in distress, in this case calling on the Firebird to help him defeat the evil Kotschei. Dancers adorn bold, bright and colorful costumes, especially Kotschei’s cape and a group of monsters under his control. Continuing with vivid colors, the second act includes three short pieces, Red Arc/Blue Veil, Suite With Hats, and Der Rosenkavalier Waltzes.

Firebird has performances at UAF’s Salisbury Theatre, Friday April 19 at 8 p.m., Saturday April 20 at 2 and 8 p.m., and Sunday April 21 at 2 p.m.

Kotschie (Jarrin Overholt,) is banished by the Firebird (Wendy Langton,) as Prince Ivan (Ian Ziesel,) looks on

Monsters capture and torment Prince Ivan

The Firebird and Prince Ivan dance together in the forest.

Red Arc/Blue Veil is not a dance with a narrative. Instead it is a study in movement and music. Composed by Fairbanks-based, but internationally-renowned composer John Luther Adams, Red Arc/Blue Veil is metaphorical piece about the Aurora Borealis, exploring the geometry of time and color. Fluid successions of movement rise and fall, crisscrossing the stage. Lighting – green, red, blue, and purple – strengthen enhance the ethereal feel.

Movement and form is repeated in a canonical form, meaning the same steps but at different times.

Movement and form are repeated in a canonical form, meaning the same steps, but at different times.

A fitting, and fantastic, lens flare for a piece symbolizing the northern lights.

Sporting Thursday: Rattlesnake Ridge in Snoqualmie, Washington.

Landscapes, Photography, Travel

On a beautiful, sunny, Easter Sunday, people thronged to Rattlesnake Mountain Scenic Area so they could relax, sun, and ascend Rattlesnake Ridge. Nestled in the foothills of Washington’s Cascades, just outside Snoqualmie, Rattlesnake Ridge is a is a solid hike, gaining roughly 2000 ft. of elevation in 2 miles.

The trail was packed. Without any attempt at counting adventurers, the number easily surpassed 100. I would estimate closer to 300, over a small portion of the day. A few larger groups appeared to be in double digits. After a long, rainy winter in Washington, people want to play.

For those interested the climb includes some slightly harrowing overlooks. Deaths are not unheard of, one as recently as 2012, according to the Issaquah Reporter.

Thankfully there were no reports of accidents on my trip.

Hikers enjoy the view, share photos, and make a mess and dogs roam at Rattlesnake Ridge.

Hikers enjoy the view, share photos, and make a mess while dogs roam at Rattlesnake Ridge.

Were it not for bright-red shorts, this hiker would completely vanish into the landscape.

Long ways down: The parking lot and trailhead descend into the distance, with the slight stature of hikers visible in the upper-right corner.

Three illuminated pieces of Old Man’s Beard.

Northern Lights: Long exposures, a Satellite and a Satellite-Receiving Dish

Alaska, Landscapes, Photography

The Northern Lights visited last weekend, thanks to a solar flare that sent charged particles towards Earth. In a news brief, alerting northern residents to the likely lights display, The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner quoted a NASA scientist saying “This is the strongest flare seen so far in 2013.” It will likely be the last significant show of 2012-2013 winter, Fairbanks already has over 15 hours of sunlight, with dusk and dawn expanding far on either end.

I work late on the weekends, Friday night I had my tripod, but the lights weren’t very dramatic. Saturday night the lights were much stronger, but I foolishly was without tripod. I tried to find adequate surfaces to rest my camera and relied on the 2-second self timer, effective, but far from ideal.

2-second self timer, camera on the ground. A 40-second exposure allows the photographer to step back and enjoy the show, even while photographing.

Although April 10 recorded the strongest solar flare of the year, it did not produce the most dramatic lights I have seen this winter. Those came over the nights of March 16 and 17. I went out with a tripod that night.

Earth’s original satellite – the moon, a satellite receiving dish and radio tower, all visible on top of Ski Boot Hill as northern lights streak overhead.