EXHIBITION: Lewis Point Goes to Juneau

Lewis Point: A Yup'ik Summer Fishing Camp opens at the Silverbow Inn in Juneau, Alaska tomorrow (Friday 5th March) at 4.30pm. Sadly I won't be able to make for the "First Friday" opening but I will be up there on the 18th for a reception with the supermen and ladies from Trout Unlimited.

Massive thank you to Tim, Lindsey and Elizabeth for being so generous and supportive with this project. For more info be sure to check out my new website dedicated to Seasons of Subsistence a new personal project of mine documenting Native Life in Bristol Bay, season by season.

Seasons of Subsistence Online

What better way to start the week than by launching a new website: www.seasonsofsubsistence.com



Seasons of Subsistence is a new project in which I am documenting the lives of Native Alaskans living in Bristol Bay. The project all started in the summer of 2009 when I was invited to photograph a group of Yup'ik Eskimos at their summer fishing camp on the banks of the Nushagak River. Every summer five families migrate 160 miles down river to a place called Lewis Point where they set up camp and wait for the returning king salmon. Three generations work side-by-side, catching and smoking fish in much the same way as their ancestors hundreds of years before.

Over the course of my time at Lewis Point I learned more about Yup'ik life and the subsistence lifestyle they lead. Living season to season, the families of Lewis Point hunt and gather up to 80% of their calories from the land. Inspired by these families and their ability to lead a subsistence lifestyle in North America despite mounting social and environmental shifts, I committed myself to telling their story of life on the tundra.

So, a new website and the beginning of a two year initiative to document Native Life in Bristol Bay through a series of multimedia stories. From the king salmon harvest at Lewis Point to the last walrus hunters of Togiak Village, Seasons of Subsistence captures a remarkable culture and a disappearing way of life. Please join me here on my blog or over at seasonsosubsistence.com for up to date info and to follow my adventures in Bristol Bay.

Fishin's Hot in Bristol Bay

Two helicopter rides, a big processing ship and 24 hours on a driftboat catching wild sockeye salmon. A little snapshot below.

Upcoming shootings while I'm in Alaska include a sportfishing lodge, hiking into the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes including an attempt to summit Mount Katmai and then the usual kayak trip along the Savanoski Loop.

Alaska Magazine

The gals over at Alaska Magazine called me a few weeks back to let me know that they had used one of my recent Bristol Bay salmon fishing images for the cover. They also decided to use another picture to open the feature article for their 2009 fishing issue. Exciting stuff! Its fantastic to see this image being put to great use when it comes from such an important fishery - long live salmon, not Pebble Mine!

Exhibition: Alaska's Red Gold

I'm currently working with the wonderful folks over at Trout Unlimited to put together an exhibition of my images from this summers assignment in Bristol Bay, Alaska. If you are in the Seattle area in November then be sure to drop by the Tashiro Kaplan Center, 312 South Washington Street.

Tell a friend or ten and lets get some more momentum to stop Pebble Mine.

RED GOLD MOVIE - Trailer

The amazing Soul Felt Media team made this movie coming out soon! It won two awards at the Telluride Film Festival and is hopefully going on to win more in the coming year. Its a must see for anyone interested in the Pebble Mine issue. But, its also a must see for anyone interested in protecting this worlds few remaining wilderness areas. The movie captures the essence of Alaska and the emotion of the people who have been so captivated by the last frontier state. Its full of rich and powerful character profiles and laced with inspirational wildlife and nature footage.

Smashing job gents! Smashing!

The Alaskan Summer Assignment

I am currently in Dillingham, Alaska on my way to King Salmon, Alaska. I'll be on assignment until early August for one of my conservation NGO clients. The assignment is a long one but its going to be fascinating. We are photographing the Bristol Bay Salmon fishery, the largest wild salmon resource in the world and all of the fishermen and processors who fish up here. Like the salmon many of these folks migrate each summer from various places around the USA, united in one common cause - fish'in for salmon.

However, there is one other common cause which unites many of the fishermen and why I have been commissioned to photograph this particular fishery and thats the proposed Pebble Mine Project. Just like Bristol Bay has the largest salmon resource in the world, Pebble Mine could, potentially, be the largest open pit mine in the world. My client, along with many other organisations, is working hard to prevent this mine from going ahead, not least because it threatens the future viability of the Bristol Bay Salmon fishery.

I'll be writing regularly over the next two months about my time up here so check back for updates and some introductions to interesting characters. In the meantime here is some background reading on the issues if your interested:

1. The Renewable Resources Coalition

2. The Pebble Partnership

3. Journeys Into the Pebble Mine Region

4. Truth About pebble

5. Save Bristol Bay

I have tried to give a balanced overview of attitudes towards the mine, if you take a look at all of these you'll notice that there are very mixed feelings.

More to come.......