A YEAR LONG PHOTOGRAPHIC SURVEY OF ALASKA FOR WILDLIFE CONSERVATION & CULTURAL PRESERVATION
“I am going to Alaska to photograph what is being lost to climate change.”
The Great Alaska Project is a year long documentary and fine art photography project I am undertaking to create a visual record of Alaska at a critical moment of its ecological and cultural history. Spurred by the accelerating effects of climate change and the recent opening of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration, this project will create a large body of photographs that will function both as a work of fine art and as a catalyst for wilderness conservation & cultural preservation.
My mission is the creation of a museum quality exhibition, a large format book, and a public digital archive for educational & research purposes that will underscore the need to protect a fragile and far removed corner of our country. By providing broad access to Alaska’s landscape in its current state through my photographs, I hope to inspire continued action to protect a fragile and far-removed corner of our country.
POSITIVE ACTION
“We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there “is” such a thing as being too late. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action.”
Martin Luther King, jr April 4th, 1967, Riverside Church, New York
At the height of the Vietnam War, Dr. King argued for the urgency of taking positive action. With him that day was his friend, the Civil Rights photographer Benedict Fernandez. As a young photographer I met Ben, and he mentored me through my studies at Parsons imparting the power of photography to effect change. At graduation, in the same New York church where he witnessed his friend speak those impassioned words years before, he gave me a hug, a diploma, and a responsibility to take action.
Today climate change is the existential threat, and I am called to take positive action.
CLIMATE CHANGE IN ALASKA
Alaska is at the front line of climate change. An effect known as Arctic amplification is warming Alaska at rates up to four times the global average resulting in permafrost melting, coastal villages eroding into the sea, glaciers retreating mile by mile, and the seasonal rhythms upon which both animal habitat and human community depend to shift in ways that are already irreversible.
Adding to the urgency is the recent federal authorization to open the ecologically sensitive coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration, despite decades of hard fought protection, placing one of the last pristine wilderness ecosystems in the Western Hemisphere at risk.
PHOTOGRAPHY AS A FORCE FOR CHANGE
We describe climate change in degrees of warmth, of acres of ice loss, and inches of sea level rise. Photography has the power to create a human, emotional bond to the lands & people of Alaska being affected by the consequences of a warming planet.
Photography has a long history of moving minds to protect our natural world. Carlton Watkins took images of waterfalls & sequoia trees inspiring Abraham Lincoln to preserve Yosemite. Ansel Adams followed creating photographs that were at once works of art and appeals for conservation. Recently, Sebastião Salgado, after decades photographing war & human tragedy, turned his camera to the natural world, begging us to ask: how do we heal as a people, if we first do not heal our planet?
This project will continue the tradition of using photography to inspire conservation.
THE PROJECT
Seasonal structure: The project employs an immersive, seasonal approach with four phases of field work in Alaska over the course of one year. Each phase will last a minimum of four weeks, allowing for deep engagement with locations and communities. The structure is designed to allow familiarity with the terrain in addition to granting the time to build trust & understanding necessary for in-depth documentary work.
Tranportation: Travel to remote regions will conducted through a hybrid of intra-Alaska flights, bush flights, ferries, and fishing boats. Wilderness guides and Indigenous consultants will be employed.
Landscape photography: This project will capture the shear scale, breadth, and stunning beauty of the state ... from the mountains of the Brooks Range to the glacial bays to the tundra of the North Slope. The photography will not shy away to show industrial development and mineral extraction as both a detriment to the natural environment but also a necessity of modern life & an economic life line.
Portrait Photography: Subjects to include the Inuit communities such as the Inupiat & Gwich’In people whose culture is tied to the caribou of the North Slope as well as the fishing industry of Bristol Bay; both groups whose survival will be impacted by a warming climate. Photography of Indigenous subjects will be conducted with explicit permission and cultural sensitivity.
Phase One Achromatic camera system: To enable images of the highest visual impact, a specialized medium-format monochromatic camera will be used. The sensor captures luminosity, texture, and tonal range beyond the capacity of any conventional camera system large scale allowing highly detailed images that engage viewers on an emotional level.
HOW TO SUPPORT THE PROJECT
Your contributions will support the project from pre-production to the final showcasing of the work as an exhibit, a digital educational tool, and a monograph.
Regular dispatches from the field will keep supporters of the project up to date with stories & images from Alaska. For full details of the project, including the budget, please email klein@joshuatreestudio.com.
ONE TIME or MONTHLY contributions can be made directly through the link above.
If you are interested in more information about the project, please inquire at klein@joshuatreestudio.com