It’s been an odd year here in Barrow, rather warm in fact. Still, a bit of snow did manage to stick to a wall or three, and in due time a few creative individuals took the time to do something clever with it. I don’t have a huge batch of snow-graffiti this time, but a few of these are really cool.
In related news, I actually took the time to tweak a couple of these photos, nothing special. just enhanced the contrast and shifted the color a bit in an effort to make the art come through better. I wouldn’t say that I accomplished anything brilliant, but at least you can read the writing. This is, I think, the first post where I have actually done any post-production on a photo. Sometime, I may have to go back through my old pics and see what I can do to improve a few of them.
Click to embiggen! …come on, all the cool kids are doin’ it!
Snow Shark. He pretends to bring you arctic cotton, then eats your Gilda Radner
Photojournalist Ruben Salvadori started out with the intention of filming riots in East Jerusalem. In time, he came to shift the focus of his own camera to include the photographers around him. The resulting shift in perspective can be quite startling. It’s an ongoing project for Salvadori, and one that certainly seems quite promising.
It isn’t entirely clear to me how Salvadori’s own intervention will play out in the Palestinian crisis. He seems to be suggesting a layer of collusion between the Palestinian protesters and the photographers who cover them, but it isn’t clear that Salvadori means to limit his critique to such a partisan angle. One can as easily address the questions he raises to photojournalists embedded in conventional forces.
The simple inclusion of photographers in the field of vision provides a stark reminder that the images of world conflict do not come to from on high, or even out-of-bounds, but from people who are very much a part of the events they are filming. The stories told in these images are in some sense reflexive, they are also part of the violence itself, but realization of this fact seems to require a little extra work, an effort to shift our attention to this fact. Joshua Oppenheimer’s film, The Act of Killing, helps to reveal that. Salvadori’s project does this as well.
We get a glimpse into the role that media plays on the scene of a conflict every once in awhile. I remember Gerald Vizenor‘s comments about the American Indian Movement helped to break the fourth wall in stories about Wounded Knee and similar events, at least for those who read his works. For many Americans, I suspect the most unexpected (and apparently unwelcome) peek behind the journalistic lens came with the landing of U.S. marines in Mogadishu. The image of combat-ready marines surrounded by photographers caused quite a stir back in the day. I recall quite a few folks lashed out at the photographers for endangering the landing forces with their presence. Few seemed to question the process by which a marine force had come to storm a beach guarded by scores of photographers in the first place.
It’s been some time since that shocking moment when Mogadishu queered the whole subject of war, and it’s good to see someone else tugging at the curtains again. The short clip Salvadori has presently made available (see below) raises more questions than it answers. It will be interesting to see where his project goes.
It was a good New Year here at the top of the world. It began at about Texas-Midnight when Maria Falvey posted one of my old Blackberry pictures to her blog. She cropped the picture perfectly and just generally made it much better. So, I was pretty psyched as I headed out at 11;30 to watch the fireworks. Course I didn’t realize the fireworks actually start before midnight, so I could see them going off as I walked down to the lagoon where the whole event took place. Luckily, there was plenty of bang to be had last night, so I still made it in time to see plenty of cool pyrotechnics.
I tried to get some videos of the fireworks, but my camera kept freezing up. It wasn’t working at all during the grand finale. Still, it was pretty cool standing just about directly under some of the blasts, but I have to admit the Aurora may have pwned the whole display shortly thereafter. Conditions (which include a bad photographer and a camera that wanted to hide in my pocket) were less than ideal, but I finally got some pics of the Northern Lights worth showing.
…I think.
So, I walked over to the elementary school to watch the last night of the Winter games. This is an annual event here in Barrow, the community spends a week on a variety of odd contests late at night, all of it ending with the New Year. Tonight, the contest was between singles men and married men, and the same for women. The women were neck-a-neck, but the single men were getting their asses kicked. If only I had the courage to go down there and join in, …then I guess I would have to say that WE got our asses kicked.
…and I guess we did anyway.
Suffice to say, I stayed in the stands last night, but I had fun just the same, as did most everyone I could see.
Things got started a little after 1:00am in the morning and they were still going strong when I wimped out at about 4:00am. Anyhow, the photo-gallery is just below, and I’ve included a few videos afterwards. You may click on a picture to embiggen it. I don’t know everyone featured below, so if anyone from Barrow sees themselves and prefers not to be featured here, speak up and I will be happy to take your picture down. In any event, it was a great evening, and I really enjoyed all the activities.
Happy New Year everybody!
Bang!
Bang Again
Multi-bangs!
The best part about this one is the light from the snow machine on the snow.
Moar bangs!
A purdy bang!
Boom!
Crackle and Pop
Whizz-bang!
By the time I got away from the bright lights the Aurora was gone.
But it was cool while it lasted.
I thought so anyway.
That narrow band didn’t last a full minute.
Off to the party!
Almost 1:00am, do you know where your kids are? At school of course!
Mid-Jump
The Neck Pull
Nuther Neck Pull
This really does look painful
A brief clip of fireworks.
Jumping!
Both the men and the women have moved on to new games.
If you’re curious about the counting in this one, it’s because no-one had stepped up to challenge the singles-guy on the neck-pull. A ten-count is essentially a way of saying step-up or it’s over.
I don’t recall what this men’s game is called, but the women’s challenge in this one looks especially tough.
Ship Creek Trail near downtown Anchorage is always good for a nice walk, even in the winter. It’s at least a little odd, because there are always factories and warehouses just beyond the trees, and of course downtown is never far away, but the trees and the water work their magic quite wonderfully.
In the summer a small shack sells fishing gear near the bottom of the trail, and a good day will see plenty of people hoping to catch something, or perhaps to just pass a little time with a rod in hand. Alongside the shack, one finds an upscale restaurant on a low bridge, all of this under an overpass. The end result is an oddly rustic (almost rural) scene nestled snug into a concrete frame. The restaurant is only open for 3-months of the year
I’ve wandered down this route a time or three now and managed to get a few decent pictures. So, let’s see…
I seriously wonder what the folks out on the Hopi Mesas must have thought of Star Wars. I’ll leave the commentary at that, because I think the photo here speaks for itself. This piece was produced by the artist Nicolas Galanin. It was part of an exhibit at the Anchorage Museum.
Just how hot was Vegas this June? Well, just ask the pigeons.
Seriously, ask the pigeons.
My Vegas vacation this year wasn’t entirely a story of hyper-heatitation (it’s a word now, dammit!). My Vegas Vegation was also a story of big-ass moons, …which I failed to capture, of my friend’s Pathfinder campaign, and my Sister’s new truck. Before that it was a story of her grand-daughter, and of course it was also a story of street-performers and odd museums. It was definitely a story of Mongolian grills, Korean BBQ, and of the Komol Kitchen, …which makes the best Tom Yum Ghai Soup in the fricking Milky Way. It was also a few stories best left untold.
Okay, the untold stories aren’t that exciting. No slot machines were hassled and no hangovers were harmed in the preparations for this post.
But, more to the point, it was also a story of street art. Of course, I had already covered much of the street art in Vegas here and here. I did manage to find a few pieces I hadn’t covered before, including a wonderful historical piece in Henderson by an artist named Giuseppe Abriu. Some of them even appear to be new. So, without further mumbly -gumbo…
House in Henderson.
The 50 Years of Henderson Mural by Giuseppe Abreu contains multiple bits of coolness
Abreu mural in close-up.
Nuther Abreu close-Up.
Girl behind bars!!!
Power Transformer 1)
Apparently power transformers are abstractions! …sort of.
Abstractions under the trees
What is this on Russell Road?
Oh!
Mural dedicated to mining in Henderson.
I’m really not sure what this means, but it’s in the arts district.
Flower Power!
This mural was hidden in plain sight.
Wild face.
Sensual Blues
Okay…
Aerosol deities
Odd Face
Good or bad, these guys are odd either way.
Somber portrait
Sexy girl with hair.
Obama, hm…
Other, hm…
the punch line is missing here, but a possible explanation seems to be at hand.
Lonely egg!
Best not to do that.
He’s a Ninja, run!!!
The bottom of this one appears to be new. Couple close-ups to follow).
Big flowers!
More abstract transformer painting goodness
You should never run this way.
Signatures on a grey.
Buncha faces
Four Faces
This girl is cool!
Sex-appeal is fading
8-ball
Looks like an angry Panda with mutant powers.
Wall, at least some of it looks new to me.
Something creepy in this corner lurks!
Bright-colored signature
Small eyes.
Most of the pieces in this pic you’ve seen before, but I just like the overall shot.
As I’m away from the North Slope at the moment, I find myself looking at photos and such. This afternoon, I am looking at pictures of pictures of the village of Wainwright. I have been there a couple times, in the late summers of 2011 and 2012.
Wainwright is located on the coast (of course). It has a population of a little over 500, but the first time I visited the place I could have sworn it was a ghost town. I literally couldn’t see anyone on the streets. I learned later that folks were probably out hunting, and in any event people began to show up on the streets that afternoon.
I always think it’s fun to just zoom out from these little maps one click at a time. If it doesn’t show, then hit refresh.
.
You may of course click on a pic to embiggen it.
Bush planes, you never know who or what will be in the next seat.
Wainwright from above.
Wainwright Street
Another Street Scne
Church
Old Boat
Driftwood in the rain.
I was looking for walruses, worried about bears, and this is what I actually found
Another Old Boat
Boats eye view
Old House
A Dew Liine defense station
Yep, that was my ride home.
Apparently, the school is a rug free zone.
Patriotic Dumpster
Edited Sign
Serpentine Dumpster
Dumpster Gotsa Tude!
Coast
Looking the other way up the coast.
Tundra from the flight in.
…and of course the flight out (not the best video, but it’s kinda neat to see the tundra from above).
As it happens Denver becomes Vegas and my mind is still on a few things. One of them was an angry squirrel (evidently I was supposed to donate peanuts or something). I really miss the mild temperatures, because Vegas has grown more cruel since I moved to Alaska. Denver was perfect; Vegas is sweltering. Seriously, could someone please turn down the sun?
In any event, I am not well away from the Rocky Mountains and looking over my cache of photos. I thought I’d post a few fun ones, mostly street art. The parks and the mountains were gorgeous. It’s also funny how fascinating trees become when you don’t see them for half the year, but I’ll spare the bulk of these photos. Mostly, you get the art.
Never did get a chance to order from Sexy Pizza.
…dammit!
Here we go… (Click to embiggen!)
Hello!
He was a bit angry as my Squirrel etiquette was lacking (no food)
Top of the World
3-Stories of Mural
Car Mural
Japanese Restaurant
Don’t drink and squid!
Gypsy Place
Sunlight, Trees, and Puddles
Street Art Taken to 11
Escher-Bumper!
Um…
The wacky guys at Whole Foods!
Vines on the front.
Patriotic Mural
School Mural
School Mural 2
School 3
Alley Art
Alley Art 2
Christmas theme?
Lovely Lady!
Diggin it!
er…
I call them Love and Peace
Long View
Happy Fellow
Everyone has critics!
Lotta pastels
Central Theme
Tree and a Mural
Earth Face
Purple Place at Twilight
Mountains
Some day I will get a good pic of this damned horse.
It’s been an odd year here in Barrow, rather warm in fact. Still, a bit of snow did manage to stick to a wall or three, and in due time a few creative individuals took the time to do something clever with it. I don’t have a huge batch of snow-graffiti this time, but a few of these are really cool.
northierthanthou 