This text is taken from a slide that I used at my recent “Wild Lands & Wild Life” Presentations in Chicago. It regards my feelings on personal projects. In case there is any question after reading the bullet points – PERSONAL PROJECTS ARE GOOD.

• They can give focus
• They can reignite your passion for photography
• They can be a kick start to your career
• They can raise awareness
• They can change people’s perceptions
• They can start a movement
• They can define you as an artist
• They can open up other opportunities
• They can create a legacy

With that in mind, I set out looking for a project to focus my attention on. Something that I could throw myself at “schedule permitting”. After all, I work 2 full time jobs as it is, so time and scheduling are always a concern. That required it to be reasonably nearby and reasonably accessible. It needed to be grand though, something on a massive scale and capable of filling an extended time frame. I needed to be both intimated and inspired by it at the same time. Why? Because that’s how I work, I like the challenge. I needed to have access to local resources, primarily for logistics. I needed the project to play to my strengths as well as tackle some weaknesses (again, part of the whole “challenge” aspect).

But most importantly, I needed this project to have impact. On a personal level, an environmental level, and hopefully on a world level.

Hey. Go big, or go home. amiright?

It turns out, the answer had been staring me in the face for the past several years. One of my first trips out on the ocean was to photograph gray whales in the Prince William Sound area. Since then I’ve been photographing different sections of the Prince William Sound (PWS). Every minute I spend there is a gift. So much diversity. Both in wildlife and land/seascapes. Even on a cold and rainy day (and I’ve had plenty of those), the views are as if rendered by a painters brush of a land lost in time. It is a staggeringly beautiful region. And it is only a 1 hour drive from Anchorage.

The PWS is a fluid combination of seemingly endless coastline, threaded with thousands of cascading waterfalls. It is rocky shores and calving glaciers, trackless wilderness and snow drenched mountains. There are millions of shore and sea birds that call this area home throughout the year. The protected waters teem with bobbing sea otters, porpoising Steller sea lions, diving seals, hunting orca, and migrating whales. And around every corner is a new island only “recently” resurrected from the last ice age.

But in the early morning of March 24, 1989, that pristine beauty was shattered. The oil tanker Exxon Valdez struck Bligh Reef just beyond the Valdez Narrows on its way to California, dumping nearly 11 million of its 54.1 million gallons of oil into the eastern Prince William Sound.

The effects on the surrounding wildlife and landscape were nothing short of disastrous. According to scientific reports and first hand witnesses, thousands of animals died immediately. It is estimated that up to 500,000 seabirds, at least 1,000 sea otters, hundreds of harbor seals, 250 bald eagles, and 22 orca were killed.

In the weeks, months and years ahead, over 11,000 Alaskans came together to clean up the spill. But recently, studies have shown that over 26,000 gallons of oil still cover sections of the Prince William Sound coastline. The oil is still being ingested by the smallest of creatures, which in turn are hunted by larger and larger prey – contaminating the entire life cycle of The Sound’s inhabitants.

Project Black & Blue

2014 will be the 25th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. “Project Black & Blue” will span the next five years (2010-2014) and document the current state of The Sound, the cleanup efforts (from the day of the spill through current tactics), the wildlife and landscapes affected, and the people involved. This will be an aerial project. Boat based. Land based. Underwater. The latest tools will be implemented; high resolution digital cameras, shooting both still images and HD video. But rather than working in seclusion and unveiling a finished project in 5 or 6 years, “Project Black & Blue” will be a transparent process. I plan to post updates as the project moves along & yeah, there may be lulls. Get over it, it’s my project. There may be spurts of activity as well – this is a time/funding allowed project. Sooooo… I’m going to conduct it like I pursue all of my passions.

Throw myself into it at 110% and wait for a clerk to hand me a restraining order. Ok, so that never really happened. Really!

There will be interviews, photos, videos, and questions. Every step along the way. And questions I hope you can help answer.

So what are the long term goals for this project? First off, impact. How do I attain that? Using the photos and footage I will capture, in articles, books, internet resources, prints, cards, etc.

Hey. Go big or go home!

But I need your help. Especially you, my fellow Alaskans. Do you know a pilot, or a boat owner/captain, someone who was involved in the original cleanup or subsequent research projects involving the effects of the spill on the environment? Please email me or have them contact me if they might be willing to help in the logistic hurdles this project will have, in spades.