Bristol Bay Set Netting
Bristol Bay is synonymous with salmon and is one of the world’s best sources for wild salmon. Each June and July, southwest Alaska hosts local and seasonal commercial and subsistence set net fishermen as they head out to the banks of the Nushagak River to set their nets with hopes of intercepting red, silver, pink and king salmon headed to the spawning grounds in the upper Nushagak and Mulchatna Rivers. These men and women work long hours around the clock while sneaking in only a few hours sleep between sets. “Bed head” takes on a whole new meaning as crew members often stretch out on the deck exposed to the wind, rain and chill. In a short six weeks, a crew member can take home between $3,000 and $6000. In a poor year the same fisherman can be lucky to break even. Still they come, year after year, in hopes of grabbing a small piece of the one of the most prolific fish bonanza’s on earth. -Clark
Anchorage Celebrates the Fourth of July!
Fourth of July in Anchorage has a particularly international flavor. But for Honolulu, Anchorage has more cultural diversity than any other city in America. The Fourth of July parade in Anchorage attracts new American citizens from every corner of the globe and creates a virtual gold mine for a photographer. I hope you enjoy this small slice of the new face of America. -Clark
Presenting Your Print
Presenting Your Print
A photographer, who has her first image in Alaska’s Rarefied Light show, asked my assistance in preparing her print. And, while there have been whole books written about the subject, I will try to offer my experience and opinion about the subject as briefly as possible. Just understand that I have some strong opinions about this subject that have formed over many years of preparing prints for myself and others. Please take this only as a general guide.
First, get a great print. For a bunch of reasons, I prefer archival digital prints on matte paper with about 2 inches of white paper on all sides of your image. The matte surface does not reflect light from the surface of the print and, while you may lose some amount of contrast, I find a matte print comes closer to my particular vision of an art print. Most importantly, however, is that the surface allows me to sign my print with a #2.5 pencil in the margin between the edge of the print and the mat. If you do not have a printer, I would suggest that you work with the experts at Norstar Color here in Anchorage. They do a terrific job and will come very close to your file and your vision.
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How did you spend your Solstice?
I have always tried to do something special on summer solstice, not wanting to have the day pass with nothing to show for it. After all, it is difficult to imagine spending the longest day catching up on darkroom work; not that there’s anything wrong with that! So, when my friend and Marx Brother Cafe owner, Van Hale, invited me to spend the day with him and first mate, Cliff Branum, at their set net site in Cook Inlet, I jumped on the opportunity.
As soon as we got on the water, a little after 6 AM, we noticed the m.s. Amsterdam heading into the port of Anchorage highlighted by the snow covered Alaska Range background. When I turned around and looked back at the city, I had a view of our city I had never seen before. The early morning light danced off the glass and steel buildings as the Chugach Mountains loomed behind. I was ecstatic!
Later that morning, and after we had set our net, the giant king salmon started coming aboard. The trick was to make photographs while trapped on a 15 foot boat!
Object/Runway
Object/Runway models have fun dressing up at the preliminary “run-through” Thursday night at the Anchor Pub. Don’t miss the big fashion/art event at the Anchor Pub, 6:30 – 9:30 PM, Saturday night, February 6. (These images were produced with available light with a 24-105 lens)
