I am truly blessed to call Alaska my home state. But I didn't always feel this way. When I graduated high school in 1997 I left Alaska, and headed for Nashville Tennessee swearing to never return. I was done with living out in rural Alaska with its long, cold, dark winters. I was eager to live in a metropolis in the south were temperatures rarely dipped below 20 degrees. The big city was certainly a culture shock, but I stayed there for over 6 years, until I went back in 2004 to visit my family with the entend on only staying a summer, then returning to Nashville. Things certainly have changed. I never returned to live in Nashville but stayed in Alaska and eventually married, had children, and discovered photography as a means to express my artistic vision. I guess Alaska was in my blood. What a stunning place to live, with it's towering mountains, massive forests, incredible wildlife, and vast habitats. I can't imagine living anywhere else.
What started out as a desire to photograph birds so that I could have reference material to draw and paint them, turned into a full on obsession photographing the wild critters and places that make Alaska so amazing. My landscape photography has improved over the years, as I have traveled to various locations around the state, always inspired by the breathtaking scenic beauty sprawling out before me. It fills me with a sense of awe that all this order and beauty was designed by a loving creator. This earth is filled with the most incredible places, designed with care and purpose, and our job is to take care of it. To tend the garden. One of the goals of my photography is to share the beauty I see in creation, and to bring honor and glory to the one who created it. The God of the Bible. The God of Israel. You see, I owe Him my life, therefore my desire is to honor Him and make Him known. He took my shame, and gave me joy. So when I look out there, into His creation, I see His fingerprints, and I can take a deep breath, and say "Thank you". "Thank you my King for this beautiful earth you created, thank you for breath, thank you for joy, for peace, and for life". I am grateful.
The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness Psalm 24:1
Below is a collection of landscape photos that shows off some of the beauty I have encountered in my travels around Alaska. They pale in comparison to being there, but perhaps they will inspire you to go see them for yourself.
