Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Ptarmigan Hunting and some strange weather

Well, its spring time in Alaska, and while its not 40 below, its been cold and off and on snowing alot. On Tuesday we had a dismal day in town with gray skies and light sleetish rain, but when a friend and I headed west of town up to Murphy Dome (a really big hill, REALLY big hill that goes above the timber line and has one of those weird looking early warning missle defense thigns on top of it) check it out we found awesome weather. Sunny, about 55 degrees and no wind. We were determined to see and bring home some of the elusive ptarmigan that live on this hill. The ptarmigan for those who don't know is apparently not that hard of a bird to hunt if you can figure out where they are hanging around, but up to this point I have not found that place. They are solid white in the winter and blend in with the snow pretty well. In the meantime, you end up trudging through snow and ice trying to find that place. We hiked around for a couple of hours, up and down, through big wide stands of willows that harbored 3 and 4 foot deep snow that was way to soft to be walking on. Most all of that snow on the hill has gotten mushy by this time of year, just too much sun. So we're falling through here and there. Sinking up to the waist.
Well, I saw one bird. It was around that point where you mentally give up on the goal you set out for and just start walking, not really paying any attention to the surroundings. Thats when it always seems to happen for me. I am loping along, trying to stay on top of the snow and then there he is, about 10 feet from me, just looking up. I shot and thought I had him, but a second later he flew off and left me searching for the next hour. No luck.
Ooh well, hes either another predators free meal or somehow my tired shot was so off that it blew right past him. In the end, I was just glad to have seen a ptarmigan this year and to have gotten out and seen the beautiful mountains this time of year. Can you find the ptarmigan in this photo? This morning we had some freak snow storm move through that is still dumping snow as I write. Its supposed to turn to rain later this afternoon, so it'll probably all be gone in a few hours, but its weird how we keep drying up, losing all the snow and then get it back a day later.
Back to work for me...
-Justin

Sunday, April 27, 2008

more babies




The dogs have become quite fond of the chickies. They've gone from incessantly licking their lips to just calmly staring. The two blonds (Kentucky and Miss Ohio) are White Rocks and the light orange two (Marita and Buffy) are Buff Orpingtons. Precious huh?

Thursday, April 24, 2008

More new chickens!

Just talked to the feed store and we'll be picking up our other 4 chicks tonight. 2 White Rock's and 2 Buff Orpingtons.
I will do what I can to get Chrissy to take some more photos and get them up here.
-Justin

Thursday, April 10, 2008

our new arrivals




Justin and I both work for very cool people. We were able to leave work early today so that we could pick up 2 of the six chickies. The other 4 wont be here for another two weeks. Meet Nubbins and Cupcake. There will be a ton more photos to come.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

getting inspired


Okay, so I don't usually post about things super personal to me, but in this case it's sort of necessary and I guess appropriate. For the past while I've had an overabundance of creative energy that I haven't been able to figure out how to channel. This morning gave me new hope and by writing about it, I thought it might help me gather my thoughts and send me down a new path. There's been a common thread throughout my photography and that is to construct things at some point during the process- whether it's an environment to photograph within or arranging the photos themselves. Lately I've been more interested in the creating side of things. The photograph has become secondary and is merely a documentation of an idea. The question isn't what should I photograph, but what should I create? I like to collect things. I find myself picking things up like twigs or dead insects that evoke something inside of me. I guess what they evoke is a sense of wonder... how can something so simple be so flawlessly beautiful? How can a leaf falling from a tree leave me so inspired and what do I do with this inspiration? I've recently started working for a local greenhouse. I'm pretty sure that it's saved my 'creative' life. It has brought me home and helped to ground me. I more or less grew up in a greenhouse, so I'm treading on very familiar territory. Touching the dirt, watching a seed grow, smelling the leaves of a tomato plant make me feel alive and feel connected to a cycle. My collection has begun growing again since I've started working there and this photo is a result of that. My new creative path is to take things we overlook or take for granted on a daily basis and to put them into a different context where they can be stopped and viewed with intent. I'm not sure where this path will take me, but I'm interested in finding out.