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A blog by Bill Hess

Running Dog Publications

P.O. Box 872383 Wasilla, Alaska 99687

 

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Wasilla

Wasilla is the place where I have lived for the past 29 years - sort of. The house in which my wife and I raised our family sits here, but I have made my rather odd career as a different sort of photojournalist by continually wandering off to other places to photograph people and gather information, which I have then put together in various publications that have served the Alaska Native Eskimo, Indian and Aleut communities.

Although I did not have a great of free time to devote to this rather strange community, named after a Tanaina Athabascan Indian chief who knew Wasilla in the way that I so impossibly long to, I have still documented it regularly over the past quarter-century plus. In the early days, my Wasilla photographs focused mostly upon my children and the events they participated in - baseball, football, figure skating, hockey, frog catching, fire cracker detonation, Fourth of July parade - that sort of thing. 

In 2002, I purchased my first digital camera and then, whenever I was home, I began to photograph Wasilla upon a daily basis, but not in a conventional way. These were grab shots - whatever caught my eye as I took my many long walks or drove through the town, shooting through the car window at people and scenes that appeared and disappeared before I could even focus and compose in the traditional photographic way.

Thus, the Wasilla portion of this blog will be devoted both to the images that I take as I wander about and those that I have taken in the past. Despite the odd, random, nature of the images, I believe they communicate something powerful about this town that I have never seen expressed anywhere else. 

Wasilla is a sprawling community that has been slapped down hodge-podge upon what was so recently wilderness of the most exquisite beauty. In its design, it is deliberately anti-zoned, anti-planned. In the building of Wasilla, the desire to make a buck has trumped aesthetics and all other considerations. This town, built in the midst of exquisite beauty, has largely become an unsightly, unattractive, mess of urban sprawl. Largely because of this, it often seems to me that Wasilla is a community with no sense of community, a town devoid of town soul.

Yet - Wasilla is my home and if I am lucky it will be until I grow old and die. Despite its horrific failings, it is still made of the stuff of any small city: people; moms and dads, grammas and grampas, teens, children, churches, bars, professionals, laborers, soldiers, missionaries, artists, athletes, geniuses, do-gooders, hoodlums, the wealthy, the homeless, the rational and logical, the slightly insane and the wholly insane - and, yes, as is now obvious to the whole world, politicians, too.

So perhaps, if one were to search hard enough, it might just be possible to find a sense of community here, and a town soul. So, using my skills as a photojournalist and a writer, I hope to do just that. If this place has a sense of community, I will find it. If there is a town soul to Wasilla, I will document it. I won't compete with the newspapers. Hell no! But as time and income allow, it will be fun to wander into the places where the folks described above gather, and then put what I find on this blog.

 

by 300...

Anywhere within a 300 mile radius of Wasilla. This encompasses perhaps the most wild, dramatic, gorgeous, beautiful section of land and sea to be found in any comparable space anywhere on Earth. I can never explore it all, but I will do the best that I can, and will here share what I find and experience with you.  

and then some...

Anywhere else in the world that I happen to get to, such as Point Lay, Alaska; Missoula, Montana; Serenki, Chukotka, Russia; or Bangalore, India. Perhaps even Lagos, Nigeria. I have both a desire and scheme to get me there. It is a long shot. We shall see if I succeed.

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Wednesday
Jun092010

Bird's nest in Charlie's beard, he takes 3rd in US Beard Championships - see it in the Anchorage Daily News and The Oregonian

DateWednesday, June 9, 2010 at 6:54PM

I don't usually post twice in one day, but this is big news - I have to do it. At some point after I left Arizona, Charlie and Melanie did, too - but they did not come straight back to Alaska. They went to Bend, Oregonian, so that Charlie could compete in the National Beard and Moustache Championships, amongst a total field of 189.

Today, I received an email from Charlie's mom and dad informing me that Charlie won 3rd place in the Freestyle category. Some birds helped him make this stunning achievement by nesting in his beard.

The Anchorage Daily News ran a blurb today, and you can find the partial full story, complete with a picture of Charlie and the birds that nested in his beard, in the Oregonian.

Congratulations, Charlie - we always knew that you have talent and would go far in this life!

I do not want to violate the Oregonian's photo copyright, so I have only posted an extreme crop from one of the photos in my Cibecue Creek series, but, please, if you haven't already, go look at the real thing!

Update (10:25 PM): Charlie's mom just informed me that Melanie was his stylist. Melanie took some pictures of her own and she is going to email an image or two or three. When she does, I will add it, or them, to this post.

Update (7:03 PM Thursday, 6/10/10): MgSoCal has left a comment informing me that Charlie's picture is on the front page of today's L.A. Times online. I don't know how long it will stay there, but here it is:

http://www.latimes.com/

AuthorWasilla, Alaska, by 300 | Comment16 Comments |
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Reader Comments (16)

Much praise to Melanie, his stylist supreme!!!! It sounds like they've had so much fun!

June 9, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterCyndy E

I posted a comment over at ADN. I was second comment, first one was not very nice.

June 9, 2010 | Unregistered Commenterjustafarmer

Congratulations Charlie! Way to go Melanie! Thanks Bill!

June 9, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterKat

Congrats to the Charlie and Melanie team!! Thanks for sharing!

June 10, 2010 | Unregistered Commentergloria

congratulations, very impressive

June 10, 2010 | Unregistered Commentertwain12

Wow that is just the coolest thing! Congratulations Charlie and Great Styling work by Melanie. What fun.

June 10, 2010 | Unregistered Commentermocha

Looks like great fun, thanks for sharing.

June 10, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterPat in MA

That Charlie! I knew he was a "winner" all along! lol

June 10, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterWhiteStone

That is so cool! WTG Charlie and good work Melanie!

June 10, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterLisaJ

Excellent!......Charlie's picture made the front page of the L.A. Times online.......thats how good it is!

June 10, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterMGSoCal

That is absolutely wonderful! Congrats to Charlie and his awesome stylist!!

June 10, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterAlicia Greene

Thanks, everybody, for all the comments for Charlie!

Charlie, you're a big hit! And Melanie styled!

June 10, 2010 | Registered CommenterWasilla, Alaska, by 300

Woot! Congrats to Charlie and Melanie! What a fun beard--and what a fun time!

June 11, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterOmegaMom

Thanks to everyone for the congrats! It was a very fun time! Melanie really did an awesome job helping me out on the styling!

June 11, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterCharlie

Try this link from June 5, 2010 ~

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/alltherage/2010/06/bearded-tschorn-pogonophilia-on-parade.html

Also;

http://www.latimes.com/features/image/la-ig-beard-and-mustache-competition-pictures,0,6042421.photogallery

~ Where he is # 14 in a gallery.

June 11, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterCyndy E

What is absolutely wonderful! Congratulations to Charlie and his stunning design!


software testing software

December 23, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterZubair

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