Clouds can obscure and taint or clouds can bring to life any location. I crossed my fingers for no rain. Thanks universe. and Thanks Jackie! This was the shortest but one of the most beautiful weddings Iv had the priviledge of photographing. Certainly, big love needs little ceremony. A cool, lonely breeze and mountain silence was only interrupted by the scuffling of innapropriate footwear and spoken vows.
This shindig was all over the place. Dressing up and putting the finishing touches on flowers, cakes, and custom embroidered ball caps (which obviously nobody wore) took place at a lovely home harboring a tree that seemed strangely in place.
From there it was to the park for some photos with the whole fam. Lots of them. I think I got a sunburn.
Then to the church for the ceremony and some older gentlemen falling asleep. (or praying). I dont miss anything.
A short stop in the parking garage.
Then off to the museum for the reception. This was a neat place turned spectacular. Its alot of fun being loud in a placed usually reserved for hushed oooohs and aaaahs in quiet exhibit corners. It got really interesting when kids started dancing barefoot in the fountain…they were stopped after a pretty good run.
The obligatory shakin’ it face.
Conga line through the halls of hundreds of years of history, knowledge, and human expression. Nothing broke.
I love my job.
Im not completely positive but Id wager my pinky that Alaska has more abandoned, old, creepy shit then most anywhere. Luckily one of my favorite pastimes is crawling around in said places. People just seem to come and go quite a bit here…currently and historically. Talking with my friend/AK resident/ and model for the day, I realized how new this place really is. Iv never met anyone who’s grandparents lived here…I guess its a pretty obvious observation…but given how modern and populated Anchorage is, its a more loaded statement then youd think. The young people my age that live around here often have very interesting parents. They didnt manage a Best Buy department or design housing. It was shabby town still built on railroad industry and buzzing military bases left over from the war. Many were sailors, loggers, Lieutenants, or ex hippies that actually stuck it out after migrating and realizing its cold here. Then it just exploded…and now we are here: Goosebay Military Installation. It smelled bad. Then we saw why. There were several charred remains of what I can only guess were dogs. At first I wrote it off as sick puppies…then I realized there was more then one…maybe four…all terminally ill at once? Doubtful. They were also skinned and burned. Travis didnt skin Old Yeller goddamnit! This was gross and ominous. Maybe a cult…maybe some kids with matches and gasoline and a baker’s dozen of dog bodies…I dont ever want to know. Either way its awful…my friend said she was scared, then proceeded to flip the dog over with her foot to investigate (Alaskan girls). Moving along we found some men firing high caliber rifles, more dead animals, enough budweiser logoed cardboard for a lifesize paper Guggenheim Museum, and some bullet riddled cars. It was as if some silly bastard compressed Texas into a square mile just to see the madness. Im really glad I have tetanus shots…I think I have tetanus shots. “Someone would like…tell you right? If you havnt gotten a shot?”, my friend pondered this aloud I photographed the dead animals and wondered why I was photographing dead animals. Warning: these are sort of gross and really cool if your weird…I am.
The air was toxic feeling and there wasnt a whole lot to see after the main structures… Personally, Id felt we’d started off too big with the mysterious bodies…it had to be all downhill from here. That is until my friend started smiling…what a wonderful session. For a long time, the light just seemed to get better and better through the trees. I normally touch up eyes a bit but those are honestly her own…not much eye-editing at all. They are like a couple of Hubble telescope photos stuffed inside someone’s head….but more beautiful and correctly shaped.
My goal is always to try and keep my person on the other side of the lens occupied…sometimes with laughter but often just conversation…without question people take better photos when they forget they are in them. But this seemed to be leaning the opposite way…absolutely out of control for sure. It turned out well anyhow because Im savvy AND lucky.
There was a bear on the path a few dozen yards from our little cliff..but we kept shooting…for a little while. Lorena and Kyle were resolute despite the magnificent danger that faced us. Later that evening Buck would be swept into the inlet’s powerful current and carried into oblivion…it was really sad (I nicknamed him after the late Jeff Buckley). Even though the weather wasnt cooperative, the couple was awesome and I had alot of fun…but sunsets can be so damn fickle. It was sort of a challenge timing the jet planes and wildlife encounters but they were so patient and dare I say we all had a good time. They wanted these for their invitations but it sounded like there was a bit of an issue picking out a favorite…which is always my favorite thing hear.
Godspeed Buck. Hes the tiny dot on the left.
