Study of the young writer, Shoshana; my first bike ride of spring; whales spotted off Barrow - Kivgiq whaling dance
Wednesday, March 23, 2011 at 10:59AM 
Study of the young writer Shoshana, # 3 Million even: After an anonymous blog reader bought me an Americano and pastry at Metro Cafe, Shoshana finds a chocolate frosted biscotti.
If Metro Cafe runs out of fresh cinnamon rolls, then I will sometimes go for a biscotti. And the fact is, the chocolate-covered almond biscotis are damn good.
Last week, I shot a few studies of the young writer that I have not yet had a chance to post. I still will. And when I do, I fear the posting will make some readers feel very sad.
A little after 8:00 PM in the evening, I took my first bike ride of this spring. I don't know what the temperature was, but the puddles that had formed earlier in the 37 degree heat of the day had refrozen. Still, it was warm enough that I had no need for gloves and was fine in a light jacket.
I enjoyed the ride, but it also caused me to feel very sad. I could not help but think of Soundarya, and how she had looked forward to visiting us here in Alaska, to riding a bike, and to experience snow for the first time.
Naturally, a dog came after me. I wasn't scared of the dog, but I was a little scared for the dog. This is Seldon Road and Seldon Road is a busy road.
I have been hearing reports of bowhead whales being spotted in the lead offshore from Barrow. Pretty early. Every year, a little earlier, it seems. When I was first hanging around on the Arctic Slope, the first sightings usually seemed to come in the last half of April. So maybe it won't be long until whaling starts - depending on what the wind does, what the currents do, what the ice conditions are.
One never actually can predict until it happens.
So here is a "pre-whaling" shot, taken in February at Kivgiq: youth of the Tagiugmiut Dancers of Barrow, performing a whale hunting dance.
No, I did not shoot it in black and white, I shot in color. But I wanted to match it up with some of my old black and white whaling work and so I converted it. When I put it in Uiñiq, it will be color. Truth is, although I do everything in color these days, I still like black and white the best.
Not everybody understands this.
I can never make digital black and white look as good as film black and white, though.
Maybe this is not quite true. I shot this picture with a slow, 5.6 telephoto lens and to do it I had to push my ISO to 6400. There was no film that held together this well when pushed to ISO 6400.
Circumstances have pulled me away from my Kivgiq work for awhile, but I am going to open it back up today and so I intend to finally post a final (for now) set of Kivgiq 2011 pictures tomorrow.
Reader Comments (6)
Dearly Missed...
I also prefer black and white photos.
I am an occasional viewer of your blog, and I truly love your photo essays of your family life and life in Alaska. However, I'm getting uncomfortable with your continuing attention that you pay to "the young writer, Shoshana". It's starting to be borderline stalking, in my opinion, and if I was that young lady's parents, I would be concerned.
I would think that you wish her no harm at all, but the more you expose her, the more you leave her open to persons who might not be so kind in their intentions with her.
Andrea
Suji.. yes, dearly missed.
Shoshana - it does not surprise me. Many artistic people like black and white. Not all, but many.
Andrea - I assure you, it is not stalking and her mom does know about it and recently sent some chicken soup with Shana for her to give to me to take to Margie when Margie was ill. I am a bit stunned that you would liken this to stalking in any way. I go to Metro just about everyday when I am home and she is there and she is photogenic and when I see her, I see a photograph and so I take it.
I also do many studies on Carmen, the owner, and it is all in fun.
I think when you see the next young writer study, which is already done, it should lay to rest any notion that this is stalking!
I am not certain if you know Wasilla, but Wasilla is filled with coffee kiosks. I have no stats to back me up, but I am quite certain that, per-capita, Wasilla has more coffee kiosks than any other community in the US. Seriously. I do not exaggerate. These kiosks all tend to be staffed with young women, some of whom dress provocatively and stand on elevated floors that make the experience even more provocative. At some shops with some baristas, I don't even know what to do with my eyes. I hardly dare to let them go to the barista, except to look straight into her face and not allow my eyes to wander at all.
This is not the case with Shoshana, who is always dressed modestly.
Some kiosks are right by or near to the highway and open for long hours - even all night. And everyone in these parts knows about all these shops and if a person were to be of the mindset you fear, he would be much more inclined to go to one of these others.
Metro cafe is in as safe a location as could be found in Wasilla, is open only for a limited number of daytime hours and is frequented by people who go there all the time and who have become part of the Metro family, kind of like the people in Cheers were part of a family.
I just hope that your comment does not generate unnecessary fear in anyone - especially Shoshana, a talented young writer who rightfully feels quite safe at Metro Cafe.
The thing that I like about black and white is this: a picture is worth a thousand words. But sometimes it is easier to pick up the story line in a black and white picture, where your eyes are not dazzled by the colors and details. A black and white photo is stark and the story is plain for all to see. You are not dazzled...you are a part of a story you have never heard before, and you are enthralled. Thank you.
Debby, thank you. I have been thinking that maybe sometime I will try an experiment and post nothing but black and white for a week. It would have to be a week when I have significant extra time available, as it generally takes at least four times as long to render decent black and white from a digital file than it does for color.