High in the Arctic !! Eskimo .. .. !

How do I post. ?? do we have high speed internet.. ha ha ha.. Ok..

we have HIGH priced turtle slow internet $70 a month for dial up @ 2.8k on a good day.

We have adsl for $ 70 per month plus the additional cost of the phone so about $150 per month for 4.5K at times.. ..

and we have this new thing they call wireless.. ha ha ha.! I call it "ridiculous"

tons of problems with this, especially when it is sunny out, it works half way decent when it is cloudy out.

but the big pain is that it often takes 3 hours sometimes just to make a click in a forum such as this. This wireless always times out.

The Postmaster of Point Hope has slowly been going insane over this issue.

I know only twwooo well.. I hear it constantly.. she just happens to live in this house!

Elizabeth Elizabeth!! life is different allright up here in the Arctic and I would not trade this for 10,000,000 or any figure.. The Magnificent Awesome Majestic Gorgous Beauty of Alaska is beyond describing and it has so many different faces of varying eye-poping beauty/ spelndor, and magnificence!

Behold the "Hand' of the Lord,... .. .. His creation, WowoW !!

Thank you and thanks for sharing your pictures and thoughts! Incredibly enlightening and inspiring for someone like myself who has seriously considered moving to "the last frontier" but doesn't have the guts (yet) to do it.

Best Wishes,
KAC

Well Kenny... you ONLY LIVE...... "once" !

How many times? did I fly from Boston to Alaska. trying to "make it" in this state?

too many times.. .. .. no work was always the reason I had to go back to Boston, but in each case.. when I arrived in Alaska and got off that plane, I did not have one thin dime in my pocket..

I was determined to move / live here.

YOU CAN'T FAIL.. not in this state.. there is way so much work now. not at all like it was 35 years ago..

It depends on what you do for work or what your willing to do for work..!!

I wanted to "retire" from being an IBEW wireman. I wanted more of a "challenge"

Melting snow to develop color film.. CORRECTLY was the biggest photographic challenge of my 40 years in photography.

Alaska is over run with photographers.. and it doesn't matter where you go, your going to see the same images, from every photographer up here.

The northern lights, Mt McKinnley, Caribou, bears, Eagles, etc.

I do know.. they sure need some "dishwashers" here in the Arctic.. ha ha ha..

Washing cups is a tough job up here. The only pay.. you get..... to EAT.

that is all..!!

Wonderful series and interesting too, "Too much cool here ha"

incredible series! thanks for sharing!

ebondanes wrote in post #3044150
Fantastic images. That boat is so very thin!! #1 is beautiful and I bet it would look super in a sepia (maybe a high key sepia). I bet you could sell these to some type of natural history magazine or the like. Very very interesting.

Yes National Geographic wanted these images, they have tried many times to gain access to this village and others and they were told NO.

National Geographic offered me 5,000 for the rights to ALL of the images,

I told them in no uncertain terms, NO! I have been selling photographs for decades, I knew what I had here, ( A fortune)! I wasn't giving it away.

5,000 ?? ha ha ha. I make that on a "good" day with these images!

My images have been sold in over 33 countries when we had our gallery @ 420 W. Fourth Ave, Anchorage Ak.

zacker wrote in post #3056815
wow... dont care too much for the dead Polar Bear shots ( I hate seeing dead animals, esp. as majestic as a Bear..Any Bear) but your Images and text are amazing.. to think, people out there, living as they have, undisturbed for thousands of years..its amazing!! Keep posting...please!

Well sometimes when bears enter town, we have no choice but to take them down,

About 3 - 5 bears a year enter the village, usually we get them out, back safelly on the ocean ice.

There is so much about whaling that can not be put into words, especially the feeling of being out there on the vast ocean ice pack.

At the present moment (begining of any May) The ice is our home. We are rapidly gaining 20 minutes more sunlight each day, in a few more days, it will not get dark at all, until the end of August.

Whales are migrating, and they know the hunters are out there, ssshhh! but once a whale has been landed, and the quota is reached through missed strikes or landed whales, the whales know this also & then they will begin to take their tails out of the water as they migrate past the point.

Wonderful images and story, a real joy so see and read..........

Still loving this post. Perhaps the most educational post around here when it comes to pictures and story.

mark

TODAY !!! 4 - 8 -07

No photos yet ... ... ha ha ha.!!

Two different polar bear attacks, each with "good " endings.. well almost,

Unfortunately, there are no images, yet ! soon to come on Gus Kowanna's condition w/ documentary photo ! You will not believe this, but first.

This morning 4-8 07 - 8:30 a.m. We hear over the VHF, dogs barking and the radio sounds, There is a polar bear at the snow fence in the middle of town, ( I am t he closest house to this location) we are in bed, just begining to wake up.
My son Jesse jumps up into his pants/shoes and grabs a rifle and heads out the door, he was so disapointed when I called him back. NO !
Let someone else take the bear down, IF IT PROVES TO BE NECESSARY.

Our first priority is to get that bear out of town, if possible.. .. if not, then that bear MUST BE TAKEN DOWN, the bear is trying to enter a house, we tried scaring it away, that would not work, there are too many people out and about in the village including young children, This bear has to be stopped and it was. Mario Cassados got his very first polar bear.

Out on the ocean ice, Gus Kowwanna is coming out of the tent, and much to his surprise, there is a huge polar bear just standing there.

Gus ran over and grabbed his new rifle, (he was warned about buying this rifle) He didn't listen. )

A brand new Wetherbe 300 Magum ? He was also told, this is way too powerful a rifle Gus.. it is too much, I want to put a new scope on it, everyone told him NO! Gus didn't listen.. .. .. .

Gus is 16 years young @ about 140 pounds !!

He raised that rifle and took the shot, He got A HUGE PUNCH IN THE EYE from that scope and the bear is coming after him, he is hurting bad, but he can't think about the pain, he uses the bolt action and loads a bullet, takes careful aim and holds the rifle as tight as he can and wham, he gets socked in the same eye again, and he sees that .. .. the bear is still coming after him, he has NO CHOICE. he loads another bullet in the chamber, cool, calm, and INTENSE PAIN, he braced himself and took that third shot,.. .. he did not get hit in the eye this time, .. .. the bear is down and dead! But we hope to have a picture of his "face" here soon!
you will not believe this one bit ! ANYTHING can happen here in the Arctic, @ anytime,.. .. just by walking out of a tent.!

Just amazing! Got to respect your caring about the people and the environment! Not many would do what you have done, and the documentation you have made will perhaps help these native people retain their way of life. (I think we could all do without Walmart)
Karen

WOW. these are absolutley spectacular. i could never imagine the work and effort that goes into your daily lives. I thank you very much for just posting and letting us see a culture and life that most of us would never have seen or know about if it wasnt for this thread. All the best to you all, and im sure we all hope you have a great season. cant wait to see more of these pics.

Brett

Whoops! A snow-owl accidently stepped into a "trap" which is set for "foxes" the four legged kind.