Scott Dickerson

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Surfing photos in Alaska Magazine

Hot off the press. This post will be quick since my bags are packed and I’m heading out the door for a week long photography and surfing trip to Yakutat, Alaska. But, I wanted to share this exciting news for Scott Dickerson Photography – The October issue of Alaska Magazine just hit the racks with a cover photo of Mike McCune surfing our local break and inside are two double page spreads, a full page, and a couple smaller photos of our surf scene. The story was written by freelance writer Jody Ellis-Knapp.

Most of the photos are from last year when the temps were unusually low and the surf was good. Lots of ice chunks and slush in the breaks. Yakutat will be warm by comparison this week so we are all planning on making the most of that before the winter surf season really gets started at home in Homer.

If you missed it, earlier this year the ‘Surfer’s Path’ ran AlaskaFolio -Alaska surf portfolio.

A big thank you to my Alaskan surfing buddies who not only endure the cold, but also put up with this photographer, all with a smile.

September 26, 2008
Alaska surf season has begun

Finally! After several months without a single surf session, I woke this morning to a strong west wind that put some messy, but precious, swells on the beach in my hometown. The weather patterns in the summer here prevent waves from building where we need them, so despite the allure of surfing when the air is above freezing we rarely get the chance in my hometown. Come fall, the weather patterns change and out come the surfboards.

The photo above is actually from a couple years ago. Move the snow line up the mountains a thousand feet and that’s what it was like at the surf break today.Â I can’t show you exactly because I left the camera in the car. The waves weren’t particularly photogenic and the potential images are not nearly as exciting as the mid-winter shots. Don’t get me wrong, the scenery is still stunning with 4,000ft mountains rising out of the ocean and fresh snow on their peaks. But, I have to work this balance between surfing and photographing. When the waves are poor and the weather not extreme I figure surfing has a bigger reward than taking some mediocre photos.

If you want the real winter surfing see this post and photos of winter surfing in Alaska. Or you can go straight to an online gallery of Alaska surf photos.

UPDATE 11/27/08: I’ve launched a little hobby blog for sharing more session reports, location info, photos and stories about surfing in Alaska. Check it out here – www.SurfAlaska.net

September 20, 2008
CoastWalk beach cleanup

One of my favorite things about Alaska is the endless miles of uninhabited and mostly undisturbed coastline. With nearly 34,000 miles (54,720 km) of tidal shoreline, Alaska has more beaches to collect trash than all the other states in the U.S. combined! This week I’ve been helping the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies inspire Alaskans to take care of our beaches by taking part in CoastWalk. Here is a snippet from the press release:

“The Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies celebrates the 24th year of the Kachemak Bay CoastWalk, an annual community event, that will run from September 11-30. The focus on this yearâ€™s event will be to encourage personal commitments to a coastal CODE developed by the Alaska Brewing Company to promote the health of the Pacific Ocean and its coastline. The CODE stands for â€œA Clean Ocean Depends on Everyone.â€”

And this explains what the CoastWalks are about:

“CoastWalk is a unique community science and stewardship project with a three part mission to: build community awareness of the importance of our local marine habitats, gather data to detect long-term trends in biodiversity, and to observe the effects of human impacts on our shore. CoastWalk volunteers select a stretch of the shoreline to walk, collect survey information about natural changes and human impacts, and clean up trash.”

The Kachemak CoastWalk program is possible with support from NOAA Community-based
Marine Debris Clean-up and Prevention Grant Program and the Ocean Foundation’s Coastal CODE Fund created in partnership with the Alaskan Brewing Company.

The Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies gave me the opportunity to present with them in local schools and at the CoastWalk kickoff event. The images I showed from Alaska’s coastlines highlighted the rugged beauty and diversity, as well as the wildlife and people that depend on them. I discussed the importance of the coastal environment to wildlife and our tourism and fishing economy. But that’s not all, a clean beach is also the place to go for some great recreation – surfing, kitesurfing, kayaking, sailing, fishing, horseback riding, running, yoga, etc..

The local newspapers printed articles prior to CoastWalk and my presentations if you’re interested in reading more.

Homer News: Surfer-photographer to speak at CoastWalk kick-of
Homer Tribune: CoastWalk 2008 – Mother ocean calls to all who care

Today the McNeil Canyon Elementary School was out in the rain picking up trash and taking notes on what they saw. Walking around in the rain doing schoolwork and picking up trash might not sound very fun, but judging from all the smiles I saw, everyone was having a great time and feeling proud of the work they were doing. It’s very encouraging to see kids learning to be stewards of our environment. I think this willingness to cleanup another person’s mess with a smile is very significant.

Here are a few photos from today’s CoastWalk:

Thanks to everyone who has, and will, do their part to clean up our beaches and keep them that way, I appreciate your efforts.

September 12, 2008
Paragliding maneuvers weekend

In my pursuit of the ideal aerial photography platform I’m selling my ultralight and moving to a paramotor. As a first step in this transition I was grateful for an opportunity to observe a maneuvers training workshop led by the amazing paraglider/paramotorer/instructor Chris Santacroce. Phil Smith of Midnight sun paragliding has been hosting Chris in Alaska for several years to teach workshops to eager Alaskan paraglider pilots.

From an outsiders view the weekend basically went like this: The student lays out his paraglider on the beach of a lake and hooks himself in between the wing and a boat that takes off across the lake away from shore. The student starts running as he’s drug towards the water, the paraglider wing inflates and flys up over his head and viola! the paraglider starts climbing and lifts the smiling pilot up over the lake. As the boat circles the lake letting out more and more line the paraglider keeps going higher and higher until roughly 2,000ft when the pilot releases the tow line and the real fun begins.

Chris is layed back in a lawn chair squinting up at two little spots in the sky representing a paraglider wing and a person. The student has a walkie-talkie taped to his helmet so Chris can give directions. It was admittedly a little disconcerting to watch at first. Chris would say something like “OK, now pull on your left brake hard and lean into the turn, hold it, hold it, hold it . . . ” meanwhile the two little spots of a wing and body start spiraling towards the ground at a rapidly increasing speed. I could see that everyone was enjoying testing the limits of their paragliders with an expert eye and calm voice of experience ready to coach them out of any flailing, falling, twisting messes they might get into.

Before this weekend I had no idea that a paraglider could recover from such dire looking situations. It similtaneously made me more confident in this form of flight and made me hope I never find myself in an uncontrollable weather situation where the paragliders recovering abilities are required.

I’d like to put out a thank you to Phil Smith, Chris Santacroce and the rest of the paragliders for letting me hang out and learn about paragliding from some real experts. That wasn’t the last time you’ll see me.

Below are a few photos from the weekend. If you were involved in this weekend and have been waiting to see the photos a healthy selection is now online here.

If this subject interests you there is a bunch more photos online here.

September 7, 2008
Bear hunt in Alaska’s Katmai National Preserve

After feeding on salmon near the shores of Narrow Cove in Kukaklek Lake for several hours the small female brown bear walked up the bank past the hunters and was shot, first by the hunter/client’s arrow, then by the guide’s high power rifle.

This was not the first brown bear I’ve seen killed by a trophy hunter, but certainly the strangest ‘hunt’ I’ve experienced. It was late in the fall of 2007 and I was standing with several friends near our tent camp, we had been dropped off in Narrow Cove by floatplane the day before. The goal of our trip was to document a legally permitted bear hunt that takes place in the Katmai National Preserve in Alaska.

This particular bear hunt has become controversial primarily because the bears being killed are often the very same bears that for many summers have been enjoyed by hundreds, if not thousands, of bear viewers that flock to Katmai. The bears grow comfortable with the presence of both bear viewers and sports fishermen and treat visiting humans with a surprising level of respect. It’s not uncommon to have a brown bear in this area wander within 50ft of a non-disruptive group of visitors. With opening day of the hunting season in Katmai Preserve things are different. Bear viewers with guns. As I personally witnessed, the bears don’t know the difference between bear viewers and bear hunters. This bear walked out of the lake and proceeded to climb up the bank well within 100 yards of the hunters who were moving towards the bear to intersect its path.

Do the bear hunters in Katmai Preserve practice fair chase? That is a question that our documentation efforts were to answer. For some, the issue of fair chase in this hunt is good reason to discontinue it. There is also an argument that the bear population in the surrounding areas are being compromised by the hunt. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game claims the latter is untrue and state that they believe the number of bears killed is sustainable. Some don’t agree with the ADF&G’s claim and point out that the bears migrate long distances to this spot because it is one of (if not the) last places for bears to fatten up on salmon before their winter hibernation

The above photo appeared on the cover of the Anchorage Daily News, and the July issue of National Geographic Magazine contained a short article with the photograph as well. The hunt was was covered by video on KTUU in Alaska as well as a popular YouTube video.

Speaking for myself only, I would like to make it clear that I do not have contempt for the hunters I photographed. The photographs were not taken to demean anyone involved. The discussions and consideration that the video and photos have prompted is good, and will hopefully foster wise decision making.

Below are a few photos from the two days I spent on the shores of Narrow Cove on Kukaklek Lake, Katmai National Preserve, Alaska.

The slideshow / gallery below features more images from the hunt. Click on the images to visit my online image archive.

Please type your intelligent opinion or comment below. Angry comments will be moderated.

August 8, 2008