Alaska Fish Photo Contest: 2011 Results and 2012 Details!

Fish can be very elusive. Likewise good photos of fish in their natural habitat can be hard to come by! This year, we asked Alaska residents and visitors to help us celebrate Alaska’s fish by sharing their best shots. We were particularly interested in photos that conveyed information about the natural seasonal behaviors and habitats of Alaska’s fish, or captured the unique nature of Alaska’s fisheries.  We were absolutely blown away by the photos you took! In addition to our original four judges, we had over 20 Service employees (mostly fisheries biologists) rank the top five photos that best captured the above criteria. We hope these photos inspire others to get out and appreciate/photograph Alaska’s amazing fish!

And the 2011 winner is…

"Hello Dolly” by Mark Stadsklev. This incredibly unique photo shows a Dolly Varden char just beneath the surface of Anchorage’s Campbell Creek. It took Mark two hours and over 100 exposures to capture its brief pause before the strike! The wildflowers reflecting on the surface really rounded out the shot.

Kentaro Yasui’s fisheye view of sockeye salmon migrating up the Kenai River came in an extremely close second. This fantastic photo really gives us a holistic view of habitat (mountaintop to streambed) and fish behavior (migration).

Some additional photos we felt deserved honorable mentions were:

 “Keeping Subsistence Alive Through Our Children” by Rae Bell Whitcomb. We felt this photo spoke beautifully to Alaska's unique lifestyles and traditions, and to the importance of fish across generations.

“Fight to Spawn” by Kentaro Yasui. Another great name for this photo could be “Tough Love.” This incredible action shot epitomizes just how physically demanding spawning truly is. According to our judges: “Nothing says competition among spawners better than this” and “it demonstrates well that spawning is actually not so simple for a salmon!”

“Pinks Migrating” by Amy Modig. This shot has a wonderful artistic quality and is a “stunning example of nature's beauty shown through the salmon's fascinating life history. The composition is fantastic and the balance of subjects has an almost ballet dance feel to it.”

“Salmon Spirit” by Mark Stadsklev. A striking photo that captures the end of a salmon’s life cycle beautifully. Salmon play an incredibly important ecological role bringing nutrients from the sea into freshwater. Beautiful shot.

Kentaro’s photo of pink salmon in Bear Creek captured not only the brief period each year when adult salmon share the streams with juveniles, but also the importance of riparian habitat. After seeing his photos I might have to invest in a fisheye lens!

And last but not least, Vernon Orange’s stunning shot of a Dolly Varden char from Quartz Creek stood out for its great color, tonal range, detail, and composition.

Tough Love by Kentaro Yasui

Salmon Spirit by Mark Stadsklev

Quartz Creek Dolly by Vernon Orange

All of the 2011 submissions can all be viewed on our facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/USFWS.AK.Fisheries.Habitat (click “photos” in the menu bar to the left and open the folder named “2011 Alaska Fish Photo Contest”).

Go to the contest page for the 2012 contest details! http://alaska.fws.gov/fisheries/fish/contest_photo.htm
Stewart’s Photo Shop in Anchorage kindly donated a Kodak Easyshare Sport waterproof camera to the 2011 winner. Is your organization interested in becoming a contest partner? Contact Katrina Mueller at katrina_mueller@fws.gov or (907) 786-3637.

Last Updated: December 12, 2011

"Hello Dolly" by Mark Stadsklev (2011 winner)

Kenai River sockeyes by Kentaro Yasui (2011 runner-up)

Migrating pinks by Amy Modig

Keeping Subsistence Alive Through Our Children by Rae Bell Whitcomb

Pink salmon and juveniles in Bear Creek by Kentaro Yasui