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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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Friday
Sep242010

Five studies of Jobe

DateFriday, September 24, 2010 at 12:32PM

Jobe showed up unexpectedly yesterday. So did Margie, who had been in town babysitting him. Jobe forced me to shoot a series of five studies of him. Today, I had planned to feature a house on the Arctic shore that is said to be haunted, but I must leave for a short trip to Barrow in less than half-an-hour.

I have not packed even one item. There is not time for me to do the haunted house right now.

I have five studies of Jobe, already processed, so, instead, here they are:

Jobe Study #1: In his grandmother's hands

Jobe Study, #2: He smiles at me.

Jobe Study, # 3: He sits in a basket.

Jobe Study, # 4: He observes his grandmother's dinner

Jobe Study, #5: He studies the world beyond.

 

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AuthorWasilla, Alaska, by 300 | Comment11 Comments |

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Reader Comments (11)

That's my boy :)

September 24, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterJfH

oh my god! tooooo fantastic! btw, i'm writing a blog post now and will post one of your polar bears.

September 24, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterRuth Z Deming

From scary polar bears looking in to sweet Jobe looking out! It looks like he's almost outgrown the cradleboard! Have a good trip to Barrow.

September 24, 2010 | Unregistered Commentermocha

Geez, he's growing up fast. You must see developments in his personality and character every 20 minutes or so!

September 24, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterAlbert Lewis

Absolutely adorable, love #2 and #5. The cradleboard fascinates me, I'm amazed that Jobe seems so comfortable in it when awake and doesn't try to struggle out of it, just calmly watches grandmother have diinner. He seems to have the sweetest disposition. Thanks for sharing the photos!

September 24, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterPat in MA

oh that is just too cute.

September 24, 2010 | Unregistered Commenterdahli22

I like Jobes smiley face.

September 25, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterRocksee

i love ghost stories but looking at sweet Jobe is just as good

September 25, 2010 | Unregistered Commentertwain12

I wonder what he is thinking about while looking out the window? And is that a football on the grass outside the window or maybe a ........panda?

September 25, 2010 | Unregistered Commenterroshan

Smiling just for Grandpa!

September 25, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterMichelle

Don't you love it when they force you? Thanks for keeping us entertained in this stormy snowy day.

September 26, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterQimmiksaq

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