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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
Feb092011

On my way to Kivgiq: beautician Leah Frankson trims the beast; my laptop monitor completely flips out

DateWednesday, February 9, 2011 at 7:45AM

Not long ago, Leah Frankson, Iñupiaq of Point Hope, now living in Anchorage, posted a facebook message that she had just opened her own beauty salon business (907.720.9848). First, I admit that the idea of a beast like me ever going into a beauty shop is ludicrous indeed, but then good beauticians are also known for their skill at trimming unkempt beasts.

So I decided that henchforth when my hair needed cutting and my beard a trim, I would take both to Leah Frankson and let her do the job.

As it was now time for me to step back into the public eye, it was time to get a haircut and beard trim.

So I called Leah, made an appointment and then stopped in at her Anchorage Salon on my way to the airport. So here we are, Beauty and the Beast, for the obligatory "before" shot.

And here she is, cutting my hair.

Now she trims my beard.

Now for the obligatory "after" shot.

Now I am in Barrow, it is the night before Kivgiq and I have many neat pictures that I took on the way and after I got here. I had decided that I would go ahead, stay up late and make a good post.

As those who have been with me on my more recent travels know, the monitor on my laptop computer has been acting up

I had not turned this laptop on since early December. Tonight, when I first turned it on, it performed perfectly - for about two minutes and then it went completely nuts. Worse than ever.

Now, all I see is posterized pictures, impossible to edit and analyze, images appear and disappear, fade and brighten, change colors, go negative. I cannot really edit them, and I cannot even begin to process them.

So what I have decided to do is to give up any pretense of blogging Kivgiq as it happens at all. 

Instead, next week, when I am back home and back at my desktop, I will blog Kivgiq day by day as if it is just happening. For most of you, it will be as new as if I was doing it right now.

For those of you who know and love Kivgiq, you will be all danced out and will actually have time to sit down and take a look.

I will still post something every day - probably just one image of any thing - because it is too exasperating to try to do anything on this monitor.

I can barely even make out the words that I  am writing. At least half the time, I can't make them out at all.

My proof-reading will be even worse than normal.

So, excuses right now - Kivgiq next week.

In fact, next week I will start with an image of Leah again, after I have actually looked at all the pictures that I took of her, including these four, and I will write just a bit more about her.

AuthorWasilla, Alaska, by 300 | Comment10 Comments |

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Reader Comments (10)

WOW! She did an amazing job of turning a grizzled old man into quite the dashing fellow! I do believe she took 10 years off your age!

February 9, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterMarg

She didn't really tame the beast, just hid him in plain sight. Great pics.

When my laptop monitor tripped out last month showing stripes and plaids, always moving,
w/a special swirl in magenta, I was able to plug in my dead desktop's flat screen....so, if necessary, maybe you can plug someone's monitor in as needed. It's not so portable now.

Be safe..

February 9, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterNhrtuvdxi

YAY Kivgiq!! I loved all the posts from last year! As always your work is BEAUTIFUL form it..

And Leah did great.. Handsome!

February 9, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterRocksee

great taming

February 9, 2011 | Unregistered Commentertwain12

Great job! Riana says "NICE!" We both look forward to your dancing photos.

February 9, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterGrandma Nancy

aye to all of the above.

February 9, 2011 | Unregistered Commenterruth deming

Good job Leah! You've transformed "the Beast" into a handsome Prince.

Have a great time Bill!

February 9, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterKat

I can recognize you now!!! This is how you looked when we first met!!! :):):)

February 9, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterSuji

Love the distinguished silver, and she did a lovely job!

February 10, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterD

Amazing transformation........What a handsome man Leah found underneath the beard, although you may be a bit cold since you've lost your outer layer of fur. Maybe you should consider showing this man a little more often. I bet Marge approves of your trim.
Wonder if the cats will recognize you?


♥*From the dog's point of view, his master is an elongated and abnormally cunning dog.*♥

February 12, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterRebecca

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