Luminous Landscape Forum

Equipment & Techniques => Landscape & Nature Photography => Topic started by: Majik_Imaje on July 15, 2007, 07:26:37 pm

Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Majik_Imaje on July 15, 2007, 07:26:37 pm
I live in the land of ICE.. Point Hope Alaska, the oldest continually inhabited settlement or village in ALL of North America.

Life can accurately be traced back to over 2,600 years ago to this one spot of land.

800 Inupiaq Eskimo's live here! We are located 200 miles above the Arctic Circle in the Northwest portion of the state of ALASKA.
(http://majikimaje.com/ADD/HSH.JPG)
Point Hope used to have a population of over 10,000 Inupiaq. Then the whaling companies arrived here in the mid 1800's.. Our population was destroyed by greed, disease and mass starvation.

Only 190 people survived.

I was sent to this village in 1981, (population 420), as an electrican to wire two construction camps. A three week job. When the job finished, I quit the company and stayed.

That was 27 years ago, and I am still here!
We live from the food we gather in the ocean and on the ocean ice, 7 miles out on the Chukchi Sea in the Bering Strait of Upper Alaska.

Come along  and view and learn the way of the Eskimo's from the warmth and comfort of your home/ office !

Lets head out. to the ocean ice!  Learn the way of the Inupiaq people from :

High in the Arctic   Eskimo

(http://majikimaje.com/PullSled.jpg)

This seven mile journey out to the edge of the ice will take, 3- 4 hours to traverse, it is a very rough ride. Anything can happen out here on the ocean ice. This is a dangerous place. This is how we get our FOOD

The women, use the tents, this is their home for two months or longer depending on the ice conditions. This is where they prepare all the food to feed each crew which consisits of 8 hunters, one boyer and at least 3-5 women to do all the incredibly hard work.

The hunters sleep outside no tents. they sit, wait, watch, hunt at the edge of the ice for signs of animals migrating through the narrow open lead in the ocean ice.

(http://majikimaje.com/Luke2.JPG)

Now take a minute to let this image absorb.. THIS IS HOME.. for the next 8 weeks 24/ 7 !   @ 30 - 50 below with winds @ 40 mph or much higher.. That ice on the other side of the lead opening is moving. from right to left in this image due to the strong North Wind(s). It is very easy to hallicinate out here watching that ice. I was constantlly falling over, if you stare at that moving ice for too long, at some point in time; that ice will STOP, and you will experience the sensation of moving in the opposite direction, again & again, I would fall over,  much to the delight of the hunters sitting there watching this dumb city boy from Boston!  

If that wind ever shifts, to south strong wind, we have to run like hell to get out of here a.s.a.p. that means everything, everybody, off the ice. it takes 8 hours to set up that whaling camp correctly, It takes just 20 minutes to "Killigvuk"  EVACUATE,... RUN...One huge mass panic of over 600 people... run for your lives because it is that sudden.  Ice is headed our way and it will run right over everything in its path. This advancing ice will pile up into gigantic piles.
(http://majikimaje.com/ICE.jpg)
When everyone is back safe on land, we wait, for that wind to shift again. NO sense going anywhere, just wait.
But after a mad dash like that, then people are thirsty, where is this and where is that?  Cups have to be washed, and this is how that is done after we had to evacuate. But where do you think we get FRESH delicous drinking water way out here ? even though we are back on land, we still need fresh water, constantly to supply the needs of hundreds of people daily, hourly, for months.
INUPIAQ Technology: TIME TESTED for thousands of years.
(http://majikimaje.com/WASH_CUPS2.jpg)

Because of 24 hour sunlight, we easily become "solar powered" and it is easy to stay alert and awake for 3 days or longer.!

When you are tired, just lean back on that sled and close your eyes. and rest for a few hours.. Your good to go, for another 3 days or longer.

7 miles out on the ocean ice.. how do you suppose we get delicious fresh drinking water way out here?  Yes we melt snow, to wash with, and clean with, but for delicious fresh drinking water.. where do you suppose that comes from ??

IN fact.. .. .. TRUE STORY: I processed sixty rolls fo color fim, .. .. .. using snow!  My only source of water, when this hunt was all over!  I had no running water, in fact, I had no water at all, just snow.. ..

come along and see with your own eyes.. OLD TECHNOLOGY.. as its best under the most incredibly harsh conditions imagineable.. ..27 years later these negatives are still in pristine condition. !! My camera(s) were constantly encased in ice. Very thin layer of ice on all controls. (Mamiya RB 67 was KING & Pentax K1000 was KONG!). NO batteries will last out here in this unforgiving enviorment.  I haven't used a light meter since 1973, no NEED, once you know or understand how to READ, ..........................light. Photography is all about light, and what you can do with your IMAGINATION and that Light!

(http://majikimaje.com/SUNROCK.JPG)

Inupiaq technology, thousands of years old,  We have many "tricks" to stay warm(er) way out here..  but the temperature is always well below zero and extreme winds!
(http://majikimaje.com/BOOTSa.jpg)
Imagine that. no tents.(for the hunters)  for 8 weeks outside.!  Winds and cold
such as you have never experienced and all this work.. .. .. .. just to eat!

Are you cold ???  grab that hacksaw and cut some thin slices of raw frozen caribou meat, or fish if available. Swallow those small thin strips and do not chew them. Just eat and fill your stomach FULL.  

Your body has to work very hard to digest all that raw frozen meat, and you begin to generate body heat the likes of which you have never ever encountered in your life! This is a "hunters" breakfast, "quaq" (raw frozen meat or fish) When you eat in this manner, you can go all day, and not get thirsty! @ 30 below we are taking clothes off because we are just too hot. WARNING: don't ever attempt ths and try and stay inside, your going to burn up bad and suffer. IN damp enviorments this has the opposite effect(s), Our methods just do not work in places with high humidity such as east coast .
(http://majikimaje.com/AMOS_LANE.jpg)

Water water, we need water.. !! Delicous FRESH drinking water!  Lots and lots of it every hour !!   The ice is all around us.. take any large piece of ice and stand it up.. brush all the  snow off the sides and the top.. now wait!  watch. learn the Eskimo way.. that sun will beat down on that ice and you can actually WATCH the salt settle in that piece of ice !!!!!!!  It doesn't take long. then walk over to that ice with your kettle and chip that ice horizontally and fill your kettle. When melted it is the most delicious fresh water you have ever tasted !!!
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Eric Myrvaagnes on July 15, 2007, 11:48:14 pm
Wow!

The combination of your words and photos is very powerful. Thanks for sharing them.
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: lightpause on July 16, 2007, 01:39:43 pm
Unfortunately I'm not able to see the photos, I don't know if it is only my problem or if more people are experiencing the same, but would love to see those photos.

Cheers,

Rod
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Ireland on July 17, 2007, 05:32:53 am
Brilliant Majik ...please put more photo's up and tell more of this great story.
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Eric Myrvaagnes on July 17, 2007, 04:50:49 pm
Majik,

Keep them coming! They are great. Have you considered doing a book about the Inupiaq of Point Hope? I'll buy a copy.

What little I know about the Inupiaq I've learned from Alaskan mystery writers Dana Stabenow and Sue Henry, but they don't have your nice photos.

Life in Point Hope is sure different from Newton!.

Eric
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: shootergirl on July 18, 2007, 04:33:54 pm
This is absolutely wonderful! Please post more pictures and information. It's fascinating...

Donna
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Ireland on July 21, 2007, 04:40:04 am
Is there no more Majik???
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: lightpause on July 21, 2007, 02:27:13 pm
Wonderful story and fantastic pictures! In a time where the global warming issue threatens these magnificent areas of the country you have a fantastic registry of life in the artic circle. I love these extreme conditions and this is definitely a place I would love to visit, maybe even move over for a while.
I would just love that the people in charge of governments in this world of ours realised the amazing beauty of these places and made some decent efforts to preserve them.
Thank you very much for sharing your amazing story and photographs with us!

All the best for you and your fellow eskimo's, maybe we will meet some day, I surelly hope so!

Regards,

Rodrigo Cunha
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: mtomalty on July 23, 2007, 05:25:49 pm
Am I alone in not being able to view the images in this thread?

All i see is a series of  blue '?' where images are supposed to be

Mark
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Kenneth Sky on July 23, 2007, 05:45:28 pm
Up till yesterday I saw the images but today that's all I'm getting as well.
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: X-Re on July 23, 2007, 06:06:59 pm
I just found this thread and no images! d'oh!
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Eric Myrvaagnes on July 23, 2007, 11:39:55 pm
Oh, Majik! I think you took the photos away just to increase the suspense.    

I look forward eagerly to their return in a week or so. Good luck with your website redesign.
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: ed j on September 12, 2007, 08:12:40 am
Quote
Wow!

The combination of your words and photos is very powerful. Thanks for sharing them.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=128368\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


what no palm trees.

ed in florida
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: tived on September 23, 2007, 10:21:08 am
fantastic writing and images.

How do you cope with digital imaging in these conditions?

Henrik

PS: I should have taken that job in Nuuk, Greenland :-) but couldn't leave daughter at home
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Philmar on September 28, 2007, 11:43:56 am
I'm seeing everything, no probs today.
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: bheiser on November 17, 2007, 12:05:09 am
Majik,

This is an amazing "documentary" you posted here.   It's definitely not what I expected here, but it is great!  You did a great job of portraying what life is like in those parts.

It's tough for most of us to imagine, since it's so "foreign" compared to what we're used to.

But it's fascinating!

Thanks for posting!

-Bill
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: simonkit on November 24, 2007, 06:59:38 pm
Fantastic stuff, only just came across the thread - absolutely fascinating !!


  simon
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: citizenjoe on February 14, 2008, 01:57:21 am
My goodness, what an extrordinary story!  I must read it from the beginning again.
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: I Simonius on February 16, 2008, 05:05:18 pm
Quote
Thanks for taking the time !! I have lots more to post, from here, in Barow, coming soon, hopefully with video's of this years hunt!
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=174793\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

This is a really rivetting thread,

I have spent much too much time readingit staring atthe computer

I really think you should publish it AS IT IS, exactly

Great posting  and thanks
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Peter Frahm on February 17, 2008, 01:51:07 am
Wonderful....!!! Thank you for your efforts, Majic_Image, keep it coming.
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: LFitch on February 21, 2008, 07:00:23 pm
These are some incredible stories that I never realized about Alaskan life!! Wow, I was especially amazed about the boyers. How smart they are! I couldn't even find that info on Wikipedia   Now that I know a little bit more about life up there, I'll be remembering your village in my prayers! There must be much strength needed to live in those conditions, and I know the Lord can supply it. Thanks for sharing!
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: walter.sk on March 02, 2008, 09:31:53 am
Your story and pictures are amazing.  But what I am most impressed with is your love and understanding for the people, and your openness to their experience and point of view.

Thank you very much for sharing what you learned.
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Kent Hilburn on March 26, 2008, 12:25:08 pm
Great story.  Thank you for sharing.  I had no idea.  Unbelivable.
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Eric Myrvaagnes on May 21, 2008, 09:47:42 pm
I love your arctic palm trees!
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: retro987 on June 08, 2008, 11:31:26 am
All I am seeing is.....


user posted image


user posted image


user posted image

 
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: framah on June 08, 2008, 06:15:17 pm
That's too bad.. I'm seeing fantastic images!!

Love the one of the little girl in the purple outfit.
Always glad to go to your postings and see what's up.
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: bsdunek on June 11, 2008, 09:28:58 am
What a wonderful record, Majik!  I just discovered this forum.
I have only been to Alaska in the summer, and found the people wonderful and the landscape beautiful.  I was amazed at how sharp the tree line was, and how chilly it was on the Artic Ocean shore.  
You have lived with what the natives have to endur, and I can't agree more about outside interference.  I have nothing but disgust for Greenpeace and others like them, and for the meddling of our government in the lives of people.  God provided all these resources for our use, and so long as we use them wisely, they are ours.  To limit peoples ability to obtain food, clothing, and other necessities for life is truly criminal!  Unfortunately, this is what governments want - to keep us under their thumb so they have the power.  
I grew up on a farm in Michigan, and the heavy hand of government was there too, keeping us from obtaining our full potential.  I guess the difference is, we didn't risk freezing or starving where we were.
I just love your photos, and the conditions you were under making them is unbelieveable.  I didn't know you could process and print under those conditions.  I see why you love those people and that area.
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: MJBose on September 07, 2008, 06:48:02 pm
Hey Majik...You have shots of our (possibly) future Vice President being tossed on a blanket!
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: dmerger on October 11, 2008, 12:35:21 pm
Majik, I don’t want to turn this thread into a political discussion, but I’m just curious if you, or the people with whom you come into contact, have changed opinions about Sarah Palin since her national televised interviews and the release of the “Trooper Gate” report?

This forum thread is not the place to discuss politics, and I don’t want to hijack Majik’s thread, so I hope this thread doesn’t become political. Also, my question is not intended to express any opinion about Sarah Palin, so please don’t assume that merely by asking my question I’m somehow implying anything about Sarah Palin.  
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: dmerger on October 11, 2008, 03:32:56 pm
Majik, it appears that I opened a sensitive topic.

1.  A little earlier in this thread you stated:

      “This brilliant woman has done something no other governor in the U.S. has ever attained .. 86% approval rating ! That is unheard of .. .. .. in any state by any governor ever !! That was just the most wonderful news item to hear over the television on the news !! I stood up and applauded !! Its about time we have someone who knows the importance of telling and speaking the truth. I am so sick of having to put up with people that choose to lie, to impress others.”

I’m sorry, but I just didn’t understand that this statement was “all about Alaska Natives and their right to eat their food.”  

2.  I think you could have answered my question without sounding biased.  A simple “no” or “yes” would have answered my question.  

3.  Your third and fourth answers, and the link, are not relevant to my question.  It appears that you took my question to be some sort of bashing of Palin.  As I wrote, my intent was not to comment on Palin.  I was just curious about the reaction of Alaskan to all the coverage about her.
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: MJBose on October 17, 2008, 12:52:17 pm
Quote from: Majik_Imaje
I think what the media is doing (against her ) is discusting !  

I only wish  they would apply the same standards to Obama !


AMEN Majik!!!

Now back to the whale hunt. It look as though you were on the boat? That must have been awesome!
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Tim Gray on December 07, 2008, 09:52:58 am
Glad your scanner is working out.  I've been enjoying this thread from the beginning.
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Eric Myrvaagnes on December 07, 2008, 10:53:57 am
I'm glad too that the scanner is working out. Your images are always a treat and quite informative.

I do find it quite ironic that you now have bought some "Digital ICE". Don't you have enough ice there already?  
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: MJBose on December 12, 2008, 12:50:06 pm
Finally your back! I have been anxiously waiting for your saga to resume. Beautiful sunset! Are you in the area of 6 month days and 6 month nights? I have to go check out your other forums to see if there is anything different.
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: barryfitzgerald on December 15, 2008, 07:30:27 pm
Hats off to the OP of the thread, much effort gone into this very interesting photo story. I have enjoyed reading it all very much.

Well done!
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: wolfnowl on January 27, 2009, 01:29:10 am
Quote from: Majik_Imaje
In Barrow Alaska, top of the world, the sun dipped below the horizon on November 18th, it rose today for the first time in 2009 !!

Happy Sunrise Day!  One worth celebrating!!

Mike.
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Jonathan H on January 27, 2009, 04:30:05 am
David,

I've always enjoyed your posts on the various forums.  This one is no exception.  Thank you for your contributions!
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: LukeH on February 02, 2009, 06:43:02 pm
Man alive it is an amazing story which I love reading about! Thank you for sharing your end of the earth with us. Looking through it makes sitting here in Australia in 40 degree celcius weather a little bit cooler. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to have things so dark for so long.
So clearly living in Barrow is nothing like the movie then!  
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: LukeH on February 02, 2009, 10:14:52 pm
The movie is called 30 Days of Night and it's about when vampires come to Barrow during the month of darkness. Not a bad movie if you're into that sort of thing.

But once again, thank you for opening my eyes up to a pocket of the world I have no idea about. Truly inspiring.
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Ray on March 22, 2009, 11:00:32 pm
Quote from: Majik_Imaje
The work begins, right here !! 12 hour days of backbreaking incredibly hard work. This is the test. Lets see first hand, just how hard of a worker you really are. This is no place for bs. Hustle and get the job done !!


No pay, hard work for days on end, for miles on end !  It is 30 below zero ! Work for the next 12 hours and make a smooth path - have a great day !


Now in your world, you go into a super market and pick the food from the shelves for what you want.


90% of the Inupiaq food that Inupiaq peoples hunt and eat, is gathered from the ocean !!

Do you have HDTV? That's most important. You need to keep yourself abreast of world events.  
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Derry on March 24, 2009, 12:58:25 pm
I just have read and enjoyed all the photos and recent videos of this amazing location on the planet about peoples lives and their struggle to live,, sure makes ya think about our daily life and the minimal task we have to do to survive,,

I have forwarded your stories location to many others and fellow photographers,,

thank you for your time and effort contributing such a piece of life for others to read and think about,,

Derry
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: bradleygibson on April 20, 2009, 11:47:06 pm
Wow, Majik,

Your stories really are inspiring.  Reading them inspires me even more to get out and experience other peoples, other cultures and other ways of life.  It is already a passion of mine, but your stories are really special.

Thank you for taking the time to share them!  You are a real treat.

Best regards,
Brad

P.S. Never, ever, have I seen a frozen caribou in place!  I've experienced -60C (-75F) and I can understand how it could happen, but wow--that is incredible.
P.P.S.  The steaming hood story was hilarious!!

Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Steve Ralser on May 05, 2009, 09:11:06 pm
Fascinating - one of the best posts I've looked through here on LL. - even though I just skimmed through it

thanks

Steve
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: slide on May 10, 2009, 10:34:52 am
I read this multi year epic thread with great interest partly due to content and partly due to its theme being similar to what I hear where I live. I am surrounded by Indian Nations and have worked for these Nations as a consultant from time to time.

The constant theme I mean is wishing to pick elements from both white society and also Aboriginal combining them into a mosaic which I call 'The New Old Way'. Here the OP is chafing and objecting to eastern liberal forces interfering with his tribe's (OK adopted tribe's) ancient food gathering ceremonies. Those ceremonies, the camp on the western edge of what's now AK, the task assignment based on rank and tribal place, the excitement when whales appear, the sense of accomplishment and gratitude when one is killed (received) all bind the tribe into a tribe. It's not really a food thing. If the tribe were to abandon the yearly ceremony and instead get calorically adequate substitutes from, say, some government program, it'd destroy the tribe in a generation. This because the rationale for being a tribe is being able to accomplish the tasks which demand the formation of a tribe. Remove the tasks and the tribe dissipates.

Yet it's a way of life which is doomed. The OP seems to think if he convinces PETA and other liberal groups that there are many whales, his tribe will be again free to take as many as it needs. It won't happen even if he presents iron clad proof that there is an abundance of right whales. The reason is that the easterners are aesthetically opposed to the killing of a whale because to them, the whale has assumed a holy spirit. To the eastern liberal PETA member, the whale is a wise being living in peace and harmony with the earth and some New Age Spirit impossible to explain to those who recognize that this role is a more accurate description of the Eskimo hunter than the hunted whale.

The Eskimo position s further weakened by their reliance on modernism when it, within the general lifestyle, makes sense. If you examine the pictures of the ice camp, you'll see most or maybe all cooking done in metal appliances hardly within the reach of native technology. The same goes for clothes made of cotton - a semi tropical plant which needs processing on a loom (again, non-native technology). I have seen pickup trucks and snowmobiles in the same sub thread as the story where the OP objected to an oil exploration offshore. The interesting story of the two Natives who fell through the ice included the one who remained in the water for hours being med-evac'd out. Surely, had he relied on traditional Eskimo medical tech he would have died.

I don't know the future of these Aboriginal groups who wish to hold on to elements of their past while utilizing elements of modern technology. I suspect, though, that their ways will be eroded until nothing is left.

Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Plekto on May 13, 2009, 05:07:15 pm
That may be true, but one very important thing is that at the very least, he's creating a beautiful documentary of this vanishing way of life.
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: slide on May 14, 2009, 06:48:08 pm
I lived aboard sailboats for 7 years sailing both the Pacific and Atlantic. My last trip was 2002-2003 in the Atlantic where I was either at sea or anchored somewhere (mostly).

I got to speaking to shrimp fishermen anchored around me who sounded just like the OP here. Their 'right' to shrimp is being removed from them by environmentalists / governments. The reason is that their way of catching shrimp is enormously destructive to the sea bed. They also throw away much of what they catch in their nets because only a small percentage is shrimp. The rest are either inedible species or species they don't know how to process and market or which they catch in too small a quantity to make practical.

They too go on and on about how they come from a long line of ancestral shrimp catchers. Their main anger now is split between shrimp farmers (mostly Chinese) and the government. Shrimp farming isn't destructive to the environment and is open to them too but they prefer the 'old ways'. Well, the world won't tolerate the old ways for some. It's closing in. Yes, I think the sitting on the ice eating raw reindeers is very picturesque but I know that it's not going to be the same for long. The day of the hunter gatherer, be it the Snakes, the Blackfeet, the Apache, the Zulu, the Eskimo or the US southern shrimper is over.

Greenpeace lies? Of course it does. It's very existence is proof of a huge lie but so what? It's enormously powerful and now has allies controlling the US Congress and the White House.

OP - take those pix. They are recording a way of life not long to continue.
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: DavidHoptman on November 06, 2009, 04:38:32 am
Thanks so much for sharing your incredible life's experience. The images and your explanation about you  processing film and dealing with frozen fingers and iced up camera's is truly fantastic. You have done a remarkable job in opening up my eyes to how native people can survive out on the ice and how a person like yourself is able to pull off the same life style for so many years and live to tell about it is truly amazing. The work you have done there is truly important and I hope for many years more you will be able to keep it up. You are a gift to us all.
 ENJOY THE JOURNEY'S TO COME BEST DAVID HOPTMAN
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Tim Gray on November 07, 2009, 11:31:00 am
Thanks so much for this fascinating story - I always look forward to your updates!
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Eric Myrvaagnes on November 07, 2009, 04:56:01 pm
Quote from: Tim Gray
Thanks so much for this fascinating story - I always look forward to your updates!
I do, too. Keep 'em coming!
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: bellimages on November 09, 2009, 12:29:56 pm
Quote from: Kenneth Sky
Up till yesterday I saw the images but today that's all I'm getting as well.
I see the images fine. VERY interesting story. But .... I can think of other places that I'd prefer to photograph. It's great that you went there, and told the story here. Thanks:)
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Jeremy Payne on November 14, 2009, 05:13:35 pm
Quote from: Majik_Imaje
This year - there was a 'first ever' event that is indeed worthy of the RECORD BOOKS.

 

A 9 year old 4th grader - Paul Patkotak - Kappii (harpoon) his first whale !! 32 foot 7 inches.

His uncle Qulliuq Pebley, is captain of the Panigeo crew.

 

Children learn 'incredible' skills at very early age(s) !! This is further proof of children excelling in the lifestyle of the Inupiaq culture.

 

How about that !! If it wasn't published in the news paper - I sincerly doubt that some would ever believe it !!

Makes me cry.  How do you think the whale's friends and family felt?  Whales are special.  Don't kill them, please.
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Jeremy Payne on November 15, 2009, 09:17:47 pm
Pointing fingers at other people for other wrongs in other places and other times is not relevant.

You're free to feel the way you do and to say what you want ... and so am I ...  

 ... and I say that purposefully killing high-order mammals like whales is pretty damn close to murder ... not quite, but pretty damn close.

Oh well.
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Jeremy Payne on November 15, 2009, 09:41:13 pm
Quote from: Majik_Imaje
a population pool of over 200,000

There are not 200,000 bowhead whales alive in the ocean today ... not even close ...

Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Jeremy Payne on November 15, 2009, 10:47:56 pm
Bowhead population estimates:

Bering-Chukchi- Beaufort Seas stock:    8,200 - 13,500 (95% confidence interval in 2001)

http://www.iwcoffice.org/conservation/estimate.htm (http://www.iwcoffice.org/conservation/estimate.htm)

From the actual study:

The 2001 survey of western Arctic (Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas) bowhead whales was conducted from 5 April to 7 June near Barrow, Alaska. Visual observers recorded a total of 3,295 "new" (not seen before) and 532 "conditional" (possibly seen before) whales in 1,130 h of watch effort, including 121 new calves (3.7% of the new whales). Concurrent with the visual survey, passive acoustic surveillance was conducted almost continuously from 16 April to 31 May, resulting in 27,023 locations of vocalizing bowhead whales. The estimated number of whales within 4 km of the perch (N4) was 7,025 (SE = 1,068). The estimated proportion of the whales within 4 km of the perch (P4) was 0.862 (SE = 0.044, computed by a moving blocks bootstrap). Combining these, the abundance estimate (N4/P4) for 2001 is 10,470 (SE = 1, 351) with a 95% confidence interval of 8, 100–13, 500. The estimated annual rate of increase (ROI) of the population from 1978 to 2001 is 3.4% (95% CI 1.7%-5%). Reports from hunters and results of an aerial survey in June 2001 indicate whales continued to pass Barrow after the survey had ended. In 2001 51% (572 h) of the watch was scored as occurring during "fair-excellent" visibility conditions, somewhat lower than the average for all surveys since 1978. Sea ice in the leads and fog were the principle environmental factors affecting visibility for all years.

I understand that the indigenous people who hunt these whales do so in a "managed" fashion.  I don't care.  I'm not worried that your friends and going to kill all the bowhead ... I just think killing whales is wrong - according to my ethical standards.  You can choose to have a different code, but that doesn't mean I can't have mine.

One question ... If tradition is so important, why do you use gasoline powered motors?
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Jeremy Payne on November 15, 2009, 11:57:05 pm
Quote from: Majik_Imaje
I was present @ the census in 1981 -  I was an eye witness to how this is accomplished !! it is nothing short of a joke !!   6 people spent one month

It was 2001 and they were there for 3 months.

By the way ... it isn't from 'the internet' ... it is from the Journal of Marine Mammal Science.

Want a hard copy of the study?  

Journal: Marine mammal science  
ISSN 0824-0469   CODEN MMSCEC  

Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Jeremy Payne on November 15, 2009, 11:59:41 pm
Quote from: Majik_Imaje
I have witnessed time and time again. over a 30 year span - how the white man lies - distorts the actual truth EVERYTIME they can !!

Dude ... lose the ignorant bigotry ... ok?

Really ugly stuff.
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Jeremy Payne on November 16, 2009, 12:27:03 am
Quote from: Majik_Imaje
Polar Bears do not need sea ice to survive !!!  that is total nonsense !!!

Climate Change Impacts
Sea ice is the predominant feature of the arctic seas, and global warming caused by greenhouse gas emisions
is expected to cause a reduction in its thickness and extent. Arctic shelf seas are among the most productive
in the world and large numbers of organisms from all trophic levels can be found along ice edges, leads and
polynyas where the interaction of ice, sunlight and water currents is greatest (Sakshaug et al. 1994).
Reductions in the extent of sea ice will undermine the productivity of the northern oceans. Of concern as the
ice melts is the loss of ice-dependant prey species for predators like the polar bear (Tynan and DeMaster, 1997).
The seasonal cycle of melting ice creates vertical mixing in the ocean column and allows nutrient-rich water
to reach the surface. Colony-building diatoms and blue-green algae flourish on the underside of ice floes. In
the spring, as sunlight returns to the northern high latitudes and the pack ice retreats north, these algae seed
a bloom of phytoplankton in the layer of nutrient-rich brackish water that forms on top of the cold, dense sea
water below. Zooplankton and small crustaceans, such as copepods, amphipods and krill, feed on this bloom.
These in turn, serve as food for fish (particularly arctic cod), seals, seabirds, and other predators. But it is in
the open water of leads and polynyas where productivity is highest and top level predators—like the polar
bear—feast on the abundance of ice-dependent species assembled there (Sakshaug et al. 1994). Due to its
position at the top of the arctic marine food web, the polar bear is an ideal species through which to monitor
the cumulative effects of climate change in the arctic marine ecosystem (Stirling and Derocher 1993).
Indigenous communities along the coast of the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas have noticed substantial
changes in the marine ecosystem since the 1970s. Alaska Natives, for example, have experienced warmer
winters, early spring break-up, and thinner than usual ice (Pungowiyi 2000). This traditional knowledge echoes
the scientific evidence. Throughout the 20th century, the following scientific observations have been made:

• Although not geographically uniform, air temperatures in the Arctic have increased by about 5°C
over the last 100 years (Serreze et al. 2000).
• Since 1972, a 10 per cent decrease in snow-cover extent across the northern hemisphere has been
observed (Brown, 2000).
• Between 1978 and 1996, arctic sea ice extent decreased by approximately 3 per cent per decade
(Parkinson et al. 1999);

Figure 2 illustrates that spring sea ice extent in the Nordic Sea has been
reduced by 33 per cent over the past 135 years (Vinje 2001).

Sea ice is critical to the survival of polar bears. It is the platform from which they hunt because it is there
that their primary prey—ringed and bearded seal—are found. Ringed and bearded seals are in turn dependent
on sea ice as it is there that they rest, give birth and raise their pups. Regional variation in the seasonal distribution
and extent of sea ice has been shown to have significant effects on the survival of seals and consequently
on polar bears (Stirling 1997).

http://www.worldwildlife.org/climate/Publi...aryitem4927.pdf (http://www.worldwildlife.org/climate/Publications/WWFBinaryitem4927.pdf)
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: dmerger on November 16, 2009, 06:20:55 pm
Majik, your racist comments are offensive.  I’ve noticed your racist comments several times before.  I hope not to read more of them.

In my view, this forum is not the appropriate place to discuss the ethics of whale hunting, pro or con, or the other unrelated topics that Majik spewed forth.  In any event, Jeremy, I trust that you now realize the futility of trying to have a rational discussion with Majik.  

The last few posts bring to mind a rather humorous quote:

“Never try to teach a pig to sing, it wastes your time and it annoys the pig.”

Dean Erger
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Craddosk on November 16, 2009, 08:04:10 pm
Quote from: Majik_Imaje
Please EXPLAIN - how polar bears SURVIVE in Churchill (on land)  

Please EXPLAIN - how polar bears SURVIVE IN zoos around the world ??


Quite simple Majik. Polar bears over-summer on land. They live on their fat reserves and what small dietary supplements they gather from small mammals and small shrubs and grasses. If you will examine the geography of Churchill, MB., you will notice that is borders on Hudson's Bay, a prime area for hunting by polar bears. When this area freezes over, this is when the polar bears are best able to gather their primary food, seals. Polar bears surviving on land is not even restricted to Churchill, rather, it is evident across the entire Arctic. In addition, polar bears are able to survive in zoos simply because they are constantly fed, not that they require sea ice to survive beyond its use as a hunting platform. If you remove the sea ice, the polar bears cannot feed, and thus must be fed, which is what is occurring in zoos.

Furthermore, to attempt to brush apart peer reviewed studies in the scientific literature which clearly state that numerous Arctic animals are perishing as a result of pollution and overhunting is simply demonstrating your irrationality to understand what it occurring. Scientific literature, that is in no part biased by the government, clearly demonstrates that polar bear populations are declining. There is no if, ands, or buts. However, many Inuit individuals wish for hunt quotas to be reduced, or even eliminated completely. Why? The sole reason I can understand is greed.

You claim that all other individuals are greedy. Rather, if you examine the situation, a polar bear hide goes for thousands of dollars. Why else would the destruction of this animal serve a purpose? Other food sources are even more plentiful, and less dangerous and difficult to kill.

In addition, your claims that from 2003-2009 the sea ice was at its farthest expanse. Rather, I feel that your lying, simple and outright. Scientific literature, satellite photos, and individuals have documented the extreme opposite of what you claim. Further substantiated this is the fact that ships (not submarines) are now able to traverse through what is known as the Northwest passage. This was not possible in the past because of the expanse of multi-year sea ice. Now, it is possible. What does that unequivocally demonstrate? That the sea ice is receding.

Well I enjoy the pictures that you post, your attempt to try and persuade everyone here to follow your beliefs is quite useless. Your claims are clearly unsubstantiated, and your attempt to push away from that by arguing about what is considered "murder" by some demonstrate this clearly. If you would keep to the simple purpose that this threat started with, which was to demonstrate life in the Arctic through pictures, that would be delightful.
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Craddosk on November 16, 2009, 11:54:11 pm
Well, the second link you gave me and told me to read puts me straight through to a book. That's nice, but hardly a peer reviewed journal. Rather, a book is considered (in scientific literature) to be an individuals opinion.

Secondly, the first link you posted, the "Christian Science Monitor" displays an editorial article. That is merely someone's choice of facts. Funny enough though, here are two things that directly contradict your earlier statements:
"Polar bears often travel on ice floes, and they can swim "easily" in open water for 60 miles, according to Derocher. "Bears will often hang out on glacier ice or large pieces of multiyear ice"  - Page 2
     - But I thought polar bears didn't require ice to survive (sarcasm)

"But Derocher still maintains the polar bear is threatened, even if its numbers aren't down all across the circumpolar region where the giant bears live and hunt (). Of the 13 polar bear populations in Canada, at least two are in decline, Derocher says. The number of polar bears along the western edge of Hudson Bay, for example, has fallen by 22 percent over the last decade." - Page 2
    -Thus, polar bears are being attacked on two fronts, both from the hunting side and the climate change side. This causes even further decreases in their number

In addition, the editorial relies heavily on the fact that climate change exists. But according to you, global change is instead an attempt at global governance. So, in fact, the article you provide aids in contradicting yourself.

While the Christian Science Monitor is considered an academic journal, editorials in them are not peer reviewed and are instead opinion pieces. So, your own source directly contradicts your own sayings, including this editorial piece. If you would please cite your sources that state ocean ice is relatively unchanged, that would be appreciated. I would prefer recent sources, from 2005 and above. This is to see if they are similar to your Christian Science Monitor editorial, which states that sea ice is decreasing.

Hate to tell you this, but Dr. Andrew Derocher, who has been in the Arctic for over 20 years, has stated in person, in lectures, and in scientific journals that climate change is occurring, polar bears are in danger, and that Arctic whales are in grave danger from overhunting and pollution. How do I know this? Well, I have frequent, in person discussions with him, and attend some of his classes that he teaches.
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Jeremy Payne on November 16, 2009, 11:57:59 pm
This is what my friends like to do with whales ... they only things they shoot are photos ...

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=33094 (http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=33094)
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Jeremy Payne on November 21, 2009, 08:20:41 am
Quote from: Majik_Imaje
A whale comes to the surface to breathe and dive again.

If the whale is "giving itself" to you, why does he or she engage in this behavior?

If the traditional way of life is so important that we have to abide your annual slaughter of whales ... then stick to tradition and stop using modern technology in the fight.

If you have a 'right' to a subsistence way of life that revolves around killing whales ... because "that's what we've always done" ... then do it the right way.

Stop cheating.  Give back your firearms and gunpowder.  Give back your gasoline powered motors.  Give back your satellite telephones and internet connections.

... OR ELSE STOP KILLING WHALES.

If you insist that only SOME of the tradition is important, then you are just a greedy hypocrite.
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Craddosk on November 21, 2009, 10:41:57 am
Quote from: Jeremy Payne
If the whale is "giving itself" to you, why does he or she engage in this behavior?

If the traditional way of life is so important that we have to abide your annual slaughter of whales ... then stick to tradition and stop using modern technology in the fight.

If you have a 'right' to a subsistence way of life that revolves around killing whales ... because "that's what we've always done" ... then do it the right way.

Stop cheating.  Give back your firearms and gunpowder.  Give back your gasoline powered motors.  Give back your satellite telephones and internet connections.

... OR ELSE STOP KILLING WHALES.

If you insist that only SOME of the tradition is important, then you are just a greedy hypocrite.


You don't eat beef do you?
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Jeremy Payne on November 21, 2009, 11:22:35 am
Quote from: Craddosk
You don't eat beef do you?

If you'd like to equate a wild whale species that is likely as intelligent as we are and that can live for nearly 200 years with domesticated cattle, go ahead ... but that's a bit of a stretch in my book.

I admit there is a gray line to be drawn ... but for me, whales are clearly on "our" side of that line ... it isn't even close.
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Craddosk on November 24, 2009, 09:10:53 pm
So two people saying one thing that they admit they possess a bias makes it the truth? I think your missing the purpose of shock advertising. The obvious message is not what many think it is. Oh, and I have tons of satellite images, pictures, first hand accounts that clearly demonstrate that multi-year sea ice is decreasing. If you want simple proof, if your ice years are the best ever, than how has the Northwest Passage been sailed by ships?
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Craddosk on November 24, 2009, 10:46:26 pm
I'm guessing the evidence will be similar to your statements of "How to polar bears survive in Churchill, MB? How to they survive in zoos?". (With reference to your comments trying to promote the absurd idea that polar bears don't need sea ice to survive.)
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Ray on November 24, 2009, 11:45:00 pm
The issue of climate change is very confused because there are two aspects which are continually mixed up and really should be separated.

One aspect is the fact that climate is always changing due to natural causes; always has been and probably always will. The other aspect is the role played by increased CO2 levels (and other man-made greenhouse gasses) in this unavoidable, natural process of climate change.

Those who are forecasting disaster would claim that increased CO2 levels from man-made emissions, in a climate which may already be in a warming phase through natural causes, will exacerbate the trend and get us to a disastrous tipping point which we would never otherwise have reached.

On the other hand, if the climate is in a cooling phase, then anthropogenic contibutions to greenhouse gasses, by the same reasoning, would tend to reduce the impact of such cooling, and be a good thing.

It seems to me that the science of climate is so complex and contains so many chaotic elements, it's impossible to separate these two influences on climate, ie. natural cause and anthropogenic causes. The science is therefore uncertain and cannot be otherwise.

Uncertainty, however, does not lend itself to political action.

Professor Stephen Schneider of Stanford University (Professor of Climatology and author of many IPCC reports) has explained the process very well in my view. Here's what he said some time ago.

Quote
On the one hand, as scientists we are ethically bound to the scientific method, in effect promising to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but – which means that we must include all doubts, the caveats, the ifs, ands and buts. On the other hand, we are not just scientists but human beings as well. And like most people we’d like to see the world a better place, which in this context translates into our working to reduce the risk of potentially disastrous climate change.

To do that we need to get some broad based support, to capture the public’s imagination. That, of course, means getting loads of media coverage. So we have to offer up scary scenarios, make simplified, dramatic statements, and make little mention of any doubts we might have. This “double ethical bind” we frequently find ourselves in cannot be solved by any formula. Each of us has to decide what the right balance is between being effective and being honest. I hope that means being both.

This process of deception appears now to be unravelling. As that great author, Sir Walter Scott, wrote many years ago, "Oh! What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive."
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Ray on November 25, 2009, 01:50:54 am
Quote from: Majik_Imaje
Have you seen ?? on the History channel - The PolarGrizz ??    A polar Bear mated with a grizzly bear !! hmmm ??

No I haven't, Majik, but a bear is a bear. When species are closely related, there can be interbreeding, but often the offspring are infertile. The delineation of species is not always a precise thing.

I've noticed this is my own part of the world, Southeastern Queensland in Australia. I've witnessed mature birds that simply do not have the markings as described in the textbooks. After puzzling over this for a while and wondering if such birds are simply juveniles with immature feathering, I decided this wasn't the case and what I was witnessing were different varieties of closely related species who had interbred.

The mule is a classic example of interbreeding between a donkey and a horse.
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Ray on November 25, 2009, 02:20:43 am
Quote from: Majik_Imaje
Interbreding is nothing new -  between animals - and even the bizarre interbreding between animals and mankind as mentioned in the bible.

To quote a famous phrase from King Solomon -  "There is nothing new - 'under the sun' !!


Sorry! I missed that in my Bible reading. Are you saying that anthropogenic global warming is mentioned in the Bible? There's lots of new stuff under the sun. All our cutting-edge research into sub-atomic particles, and our research into the nature of 'dark matter' which, it is suggested, may accounr for 90% of all the matter in the universe.

New stuff is the driving force of all technology. What are you talking about, Majik?
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Ray on November 25, 2009, 02:58:53 am
Quote from: Majik_Imaje
INDEED - there is nothing new - under the sun - Man kind has the exact same attitudes as existed thousands of years ago!!

No it doesn't. We now have the scietific method of verification of all data before it's accepted. We have the scientific method, which even the ancient Greeks in the time of Socrates didn't have.

Did you know that Aristotle believed (however tentatively) that we see as a result of our eyes projecting a beam of light onto what we observe. In those days the scientific method had not been formulated. All it would have required to falsify such a theory would have been to conduct an experiment which required a number of people to walk into a completely dark room in order to observe if the visibility would gradually increase wih increasing numbers of people.

This verification process was not conducted until much later, which disproved the theory. The Muslims in the Middle Ages were the first to debunk Aristotle.
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Ray on November 25, 2009, 03:05:57 am
Majik,
Your images are very cute and give us an insight into an unfamiliar environment, but I get the impression you could improve many of your shots with a bit of Photoshop manipulation. Do you use Photoshop?
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: BlasR on November 26, 2009, 09:31:28 am
Quote from: Majik_Imaje
Well it is very obvious you have no concept on how the 'whales' feel about this.

A whale GIVES ITSELF OVER TO THE CAPTAIN of its choice.  A whale can easily avoid and cause great harm to a crew.  

Whales are NOT STUPID !!  

Hundreds of thousands of whales migrate past the point every year   This has been on going consistently for many THOUSANDS  of years, in the same exact spots.

Whales GIVE - to feed - people.  This is how these people have survived in this harsh unforgiving climate for over 3 thousand years.



Jeremy Payne you do not have a clue how close the whale and these people are one with each other.  They cannot receive a whale UNLESS that whale wants to give THE GIFT !!

I SUGGEST you READ -  The Gift of the Whale by Bill Hess.

Have you ever (recorded) how chickens feel ? or cows ??  what is the difference ??  Chickens & Cows do not give themselves up freely to feed people.

So in a population pool of over 200,000 -  less than 100 whales give themselves to the captain of THEIR choice.  How many new whales are born each year ???  ANSWER :   much more than that which were 'given' !!

Man has so much to learn from 'animals' who in actual reality act more civil than humans !!

I have a much better 'cause' for you to STAND UP AND PROCLAIM and actually do something about !!  Quit murdering CHILDREN !!!

Abortion - the act of murdering an innocent child - remains are used in cosmetic companies for make up so women can 'look' nicer !!

Jeremy Payne  - wake up and do something useful in society !!

Inupiat Eskimo's have lived in COMPLETE HARMONY with the LAND, SEA, AIR, in harvesting ONLY that which is needed to eat.  Nothing is wasted !!
None of the resources of the Arctic have ever been depleted or put in danger by Inupiat peoples.   The white man cannot make that claim !!

During the 1800's    The white man found a treasure trove of animals to harvest and butcher for $$  GREAT WASTE was done on a daily basis. IN fact:

340,000 people were wiped out - the population of the coastal villages was reduced to less than 1,200 people !!!

The whales, walrus, caribou were slaughtered leaving the PEOPLE little or no food !!

UNCIVILIZED FILMS just released a MOVIE -   Inupiaq History -   Watch and see first hand the terrible slaughter of innocent people- just for greed and $$

People are not important - !!  That is why the NEW WORLD ORDER is going to wipe out more than a billion people - So that the 'elite' can prosper MORE !!


Yes even the turkey get kill,

"ABORTION" now we need to pay for it.


I always looking forward to read it, keep it coming, "I love you man".  When you come back here(brockton) let me know, I got something for you.
Title: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: MJBose on July 27, 2010, 11:24:40 am
I've been following this blog and some of Majiks other blogs for years. Very interesting stuff. It seems Majik_Imaje has run into problems in his home town and had to leave! Crazy stuff going on there.
   I hope things work out for you.
Title: Re: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: jeremypayne on January 07, 2011, 07:03:11 pm
Got any pics of any of this?
Title: Re: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: fanlynne on January 08, 2011, 01:53:47 am
Majik_Imaje,your pictures made me sad........where there is money,there is hunter.....
Title: Re: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: JohnBrew on February 13, 2011, 05:04:04 pm
Majik, this has been a wonderful documentation and hopefully will survive as a tribute to their way of life (think about a book, my friend). Everything about this thread is so fascinating I told my wife and she logs in just to read and see it. It is the only camera thread she follows! So keep up the good work and know that what you do is worthwhile in so many ways.
Title: Re: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Patricia Sheley on March 02, 2011, 07:14:21 pm
2-2....Wonderful documentation as usual of life well lived... caribou, elk, venison....Long life....Wishing you much more.....
Title: Re: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: bradleygibson on March 03, 2011, 11:04:57 am
Our dear friend "2-2",

Thank you for sharing small slices of arctic life with us.  And congratulations on your successful hunt.

Be well,
-Brad
Title: Re: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: LandLordOfLand on March 04, 2011, 12:23:58 am
Wow, I wish I lived like an Eskimo. I want to experience the wild life and Alaskan landscapes. I loved the bear killing pictures (Skinning them, eating them, etc.) What beauty you find in Alaska.

P.S
Do you ever get attacked by bears?
Title: Re: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: Brian Carey on April 18, 2011, 01:06:10 pm
Great story and loved the photographs. Thank You for sharing!
Title: Re: Home Sweet Home @ 50 below zero
Post by: llcopperworth on June 09, 2011, 05:27:37 am

(http://majikimaje.com/Ivory/800/3br.jpg)

Quote
Quote from: Frank on April 17, 2011, 05:47:49 PM

Although I wasn't in Barrow this year for whaling; we are still in Anchorage.

But under the 'fair use act' I can use these photos from a friend that was there.

A whale was caught not too far away from this crew, That animal being cut up and divided brought the smell of blood into the air; polar bears soon arrive in many different locations looking for food.

Making noise, waving arms, shouting and firing a rifle into the ice close by is enough to scare them away.  

(http://majikimaje.com/floyd/polar-bear.jpg)

It is always a good thing to have someone in front of you with a rifle!! (chuckle) Just in case.!!


Wow, great photos and very talented (and patient) kids. Great job :)