A YEAR LONG PHOTOGRAPHIC SURVEY OF ALASKA FOR WILDLIFE CONSERVATION & CULTURAL PRESERVATION
Join as I embark on a journey across Alaska.
The Great Alaska Project is a year long documentary and fine art photography project undertaken to create a visual record of Alaska at a critical moment of its ecological and cultural history. Over the next year, I will be crisscrossing Alaska while photographing the landscape, wildlife, and people.
The project’s goal is the creation of a museum quality exhibition, a large format book, and a public digital archive for educational & research purposes.
“Having photographed Africa and across the American West, I am now committed to photograph our Great Northern Frontier. Prompted by the recent decision to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling and the accelerating effects of climate change, I am convinced of the importance of this project for both conservation and education. ”
A CALL TO ACTION
While we imagine Alaska to be rugged and infinite, in reality it is the canary in the coal mine for our planet. Climate change is affecting Alaska faster than the rest of the country due to the Arctic amplification effect. Glaciers are receding, permafrost melting, animal habitats threatened, and Indigenous people are already being forced to retreat from their ancestral homes due to rising seas. Of pressing urgency is the recent announcement that the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is being opened for oil exploration despite decades of effort to preserve this last great jewel of pristine wilderness. This is my call to action.
THE JOURNEY
The project will be carried out over four consecutive month-long field phases in Alaska beginning in June 2026. The four phases are designed to capture the full cycle of the Alaskan seasons as well as provide the time to gain familiarity & build trust in remote communities.
By bush plane, backroad & ferry, I will be traveling to some of the most remote areas of the country. The subjects will include the Inuit communities of the Inupiat & Gwich’In people whose culture is tied to the caribou of the North Slope, the fisheries of Bristol Bay, the glaciers of the Inside Passage and Denali “the great one”.
CONTRIBUTE TO THIS JOURNEY
Be part of the project as it grows from concept to a journey through Alaska to the showcasing of the work as an exhibition & book.
Donations will be used towards travel expenses (flights, helicopters, boat service, truck rental), wilderness guides & Indigenous consultants, and operational expenses (equipment, permits, insurance).
For full details of the project including budget, please inquire at klein@joshuatreestudio.com.
ABOUT JOSHUA KLEIN
Before Paris, New York and California …. before my years photographing for Ralph Lauren and putting my touch on the Malibu Pier, I was a kid growing up in woods of Connecticut with a deep appreciation for nature. Now, all these learned experiences - artist, director, manager & adventurer - will unite for this all encompassing endeavor.