ALASKAN WILDLIFE AND WILDERNESS PHOTOGRAPHY

I was born in Northern California in 1962, with a love for the outdoors and all things wild.  From an early age I was fascinated by bald eagles, which I only saw in photos or on television.  After receiving a book titled The Trumpet of the Swan, my interest grew to include swans; but this was during the time when only a few hundred Trumpeter Swans remained in the wild, and I didn't think my dream of seeing one could ever come true.  Around this same time, a massive holdout of Trumpeter Swans was discovered in the Copper River Basin in Alaska, and a focused repopulation effort was taking place in the lower 48.  Through a series of events Trumpeter Swans successfully rebounded from the very edge of extinction in my lifetime, and I became keenly aware of our effects on the wildlife around us.

I was just 10, my family moved to Alaska. We settled some 30 miles outside of Fairbanks, into the small community of Two Rivers where I attended school in a one-room schoolhouse.  5th and 6th grades were together, with a total of 18 students.   Socially I felt incredibly foreign, but outdoors, I found myself suddenly immersed in a world that appealed to all of my senses. I learned that wilderness produces a deep feeling of peace for me; even then, I was smitten by romantic ideas of Nature.  In 51 years of living here, the beauty of Alaska has never become commonplace or boring. Capturing what I experience through Photography and Storytelling, my goal is to grasp the ever-fleeting beauty that surrounds me and record it, before it fades away.  This is my journey., and I welcome you to followalong.