On Sunday, Ash and I were able to catch up with former Alaskan and music producer Erik Braund. Erik has been living in Brooklyn, NY for the last few years and recently graduated from the Clive Davis Dept. of Recorded Music at NYU’s Tisch School of The Arts. Erik will be starting his master’s at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program in the Fall 2010 term.

To read more about Erik and his undertakings, check out his website here.

This week, Ash and I had the pleasure of spending two days at the Alaska Native Heritage Center photographing the facility for their marketing department. I wanted to photograph the Center in a way I haven’t seen before. We kept it simple, taking just three lenses and one off-camera flash. Although it was cloudy on both days, I think the clouds added a great dramatic effect to the photos. Below is a small edit of our shoots.

While in NY, Ash and I were able to meet up with Newsweek’s photo editor Michelle Molloy. As soon as we walked into Newsweek’s offices, we could feel the excitement of the newsroom. It was wonderful to see Michelle again and introduce her to my fiance, and it was perfect timing: Michelle was in need of photos of a church in Wasilla, AK that Sarah Palin attends. After a little digging, we found the photos and the result is below. Then, after getting some work done, we all went out to a great little Italian restaurant, Ino, and celebrated our engagement, the industry we all love, and good food. A deep thanks goes out to Michelle and the Newsweek team for taking the time to meet with us and make our trip even more memorable.

Recently I had the pleasure of spending some time with Maggie Nylund, the owner of Magpie’s Bakery in Valdez. Besides the obvious appeal of her tasty baked goods, quiches and soup, she had a very interesting story to tell.

Maggie Nylund opened Magpie’s Bakery in November 2008. Prior to opening the bakery Nylund operated a wholesale business, working out of a friend’s kitchen. She expects to pay off her start-up business loan this summer.

Nylund, who holds a degree in biochemistry, wanted to settle back in her hometown of Valdez. She surveyed the town’s needs and discovered that people needed a bakery / cafe where people could feel at home and drink cup after cup of coffee all day long. She calls her bakery a “sanctuary.” The town also wanted a place to get “special” things, a wedding cake, for example. The only other option for that type of product in Valdez is the Safeway.

According to Nylund, the town of Valdez lost three very important retail / tourism businesses in the winter of 2009/2010, including a RV park. Overall, she says, tourism fluctuates but is down. Over the past four years she has also noticed a lot of cutting back by the charter fishing businesses.

Nylund attributes her success in this down business climate to the research she did prior to opening, to the support of the town, and to her ability to keep start-up costs low. Most of her kitchen equipment is used. In the near future she is looking forward to buying the building, which doubles as her home (she and her husband live in the 2nd floor), as well as doing more mobile vending in the summers.

 
  © 2010 Loren Holmes

Over the weekend, Ash and I checked out the new location of the Tap Root Cafe for the Anchorage Daily News. They will be moving into a space with four times the square footage of their previous location. The new venue will also have a much-needed full stage and 23 taps to begin with, with plans to extend to 31 within the first 6 months! More on the story here.

Yesterday, Ashley and I photographed the opening of the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center in the Anchorage Museum of History & Art. I went there knowing that I had two pieces in the new displays, but to my surprise I also had a 15×13 ft wall mural! The photo is a detail shot of ice fishing in Kivalina, Alaska taken in 2007. I am very honored to have three permanent photographs in Museum and I owe it all to Dawn Biddison for seeking me out and encouraging me to submit photos. Thanks, Dawn!

In other good news, the Anchorage Daily News just launched 61˙ North, their new glossy Sunday magazine insert today! Above are a few photos I shot for the publication. I am excited to see what’s to come of this magazine, and I hope the rest of Anchorage is excited about it, too! You can view the whole magazine here.

I’ve been in Valdez for the past few days for the Last Frontier Theater Conference. The Anchorage Opera sponsored me to come down and study acting and participate in a new workshop, acting for singers. It’s been humbling working with an amazingly talented group of artists, including Juliana Osinchuk, Nancy Caudill, Kim Estes and Darcy Halsey. Of course, being Valdez it’s also stunningly beautiful, when it’s not raining.

Click on the above panorama to see it larger.

Ash and I are in Sitka, Alaska right now working with the Institute of the North on the Emerging Leaders Dialogue. More on that soon. But above are a few photos of our first day here.

This past month I have been introduced to a world that I never before knew existed – the world of charity auctions. I’ve seen everything from fast-talking, cowboy-boot wearing auctioneers to nervous high-school choristers singing to a room full of tuxes. And the events themselves have raised anywhere from $20,000 to $500,000.

Today, I photographed Anchorage’s city-wide Cleanup Day. Along with the dead moose, the crew also found a wallet and machete.