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Alaska Magazine
Photos & Videos

2021 Photo Contest Winners

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  • Aerial photo of a musher crossing a white expanse. A low sun casts shadows of the musher and his team on the snow.
    Iditarod musher Hal Hanson leads his team across the frozen lake to Finger Lake checkpoint. Grand prize photo by Sergius Hannan.
Grand Prize winner

Thank you to everyone who entered the 2021 photo contest and congratulations to those who were selected winners.

Cover Photo

  • Aerial photo of a person riding a yellow packraft through a slot canyon in a glacier.
    This year, we found a cover among the contest images. Anthony Burden and Kelli Spencer created Sukakpak Visuals, an adventure and expedition photography company, in 2019. Both seasoned explorers and photographers, they have traveled across Alaska photographing and documenting their adventures. In this image, used in its cropped form on our cover, Burden captures Spencer packrafting through a glacier canyon.

Adventure

Photos depicting an active pursuit in Alaska: ziplining, exploring ice caves, heli-skiing, hiking, biking, bird watching, flight seeing, rafting, running, sport fishing, etc.

  • Adventurer on the side of an ice wearing headlamp, stars light up the night sky, and the ice of the glacier is lit and shows blue color
    1st place — Photo by Frank Lynn Pierce — From Frank: “It was a beautiful night chasing the lights and lighting up the Mendenhall Glacier. Lots of climbing and foot work, but it was such a fun solo adventure. I could hear the glacier creaking and groaning as it moved on a different scale of time… Eight hours went by, but it seemed like only an hour had passed back in the world of men and machines.”
  • fisherman casts arcs fly rod with line in water while backlit by a low sun that filters through the mist
    2nd place — Photo by Katherine Plessner — From Katherine: “The morning of the fishing excursion, my photographer friend and I had decided it might be fun to go fishing on the Kenai River with a guide. So we arrived while it was still dark, and he took us out in his boat and was trying to instruct us in the fine art of fishing. We weren’t having much luck from the boat, so we pulled up on shore and he was teaching us how to fly fish. The sun came up and was shining brightly through the trees. We asked him if he would fish, and we’d take pictures of him. I think this photo was my best catch of the day!”
  • Man standing on ice in front of glacier waves as fixed wing plane flies overhead
    3rd place — Photo by Matthew Cornfield — From Matthew: “After biking out to the Knik Glacier, we were welcomed with a friendly fixed-wing flyby.”
  • Two surfers prepare to stand up as a single, long wave pushes its way up otherwise calm water.
    Honorable mention — Photo by Robin Ruzic — Surfers ride the bore tide in Turnagain Arm.

Alaska Life

Photos representing Alaskans and/or their way of life, traditions, culture, or authentic “only in Alaska” moments.

  • Shot halfway below water and halfway above, a female is submerged after diving into the water, above water in the background is a blurry helicopter sitting on the ice.
    1st place — Photo by Sergius Hannan — Within the Wild glacier guide Amory Harris dives into a supraglacial pool.
  • Woman stands in forest dressed in traditional Yupik attire and a beam of light comes through the canopy like a spotlight on her
    2nd place — Photo by Makenzie Walker — From Makenzie: “Annie came to me and asked me if I would be interested in taking photos of her in her Yup’ik Alaska Native regalia, and I immediately said YES! … I asked her what she felt when she looked at the photo. She replied, ‘To me it represents victory and the redemption Christ has brought to me and my family as well as my journey of embracing my heritage. When I wear it and dance, it is to give Him glory and honor and intercede for those around me and generations to come.’”
  • Man with long red beard wearing a black ballcap holds a small flashlight in his teeth as he fillets a fish on a small platform
    Third place — Photo by Jacob Griffith — Filleting salmon late at night on the Kenai River.
  • Small wall tent at night with green aurora coating the sky
    Honorable mention — Photo by Emily Rosenblatt — A September show of the aurora in Cantwell.

Scenic

Photos emphasizing the landscape and scenery of Alaska with or without the human element.

  • Ribbons of green northern lights swirl in sky above a spruce forest. Ground covered in snow.
    1st place — Photo by Jon Cornforth — The northern lights above spruce trees along the Dalton Highway.
  • Man stands silhouetted against snow covered landscape, old Independence Mine Building behind him, and a sky full of stars. Man's headlamp lights a cone of the air above him.
    2nd place — Photo by Mike Criss — From Mike: “Spent the night at Independence Mine waiting for the aurora. Decided on a selfie while I waited.”
  • Landscape of braided river running through forest with fall colors. Mountains have a dusting of snow on top and clouds are scattered across the sky.
    3rd place — Photo by Katherine Plessner — From Katherine: “My friend and I set off before dark on an adventure… When this scene opened up before us, it just took our breath away… As we drove [on] and looked back, we thought it was snow coming out of these awesome clouds we had photographed, and we maybe would not have been able to see the mountains—we sure got lucky!”
  • A fireweed with flower blossoms about 75 percent of the way up the stock and coated in raindrops.
    Honorable mention — Photo by Steve Eliason — Fireweed after a storm near the Eielson Visitor Center in Denali National Park.

Wildlife

Photos of animals native to Alaska (not including images of animals in captivity).

  • An otter lies in its side in the snow with head in the air and arms pushing up the corners of its mouth to give the appearance of an exaggerated and goofy smile
    1st place — Photo by Milo Burcham — From Milo: “Living here on Prince William Sound, sea otters are perhaps my favorite wildlife subject. I love photographing them hauled out in snow, and while they mostly sleep, if you wait around long enough, they never fail to do something cool. This one began grooming, and here is rubbing his cheeks making this humorous grimace.”
  • Bear family walks across field in the direction of the camera. Three cubs to one side of the sow and one cub on the other.
    2nd place — Photo by Janeen Sullivan — From Janeen: “There is always that one kid! This coastal brown bear mother is focused on getting her cubs through their first summer. There is an interesting size difference between the four of them: a pair of bruisers and a pair of minis!
  • Cow moose lies on ground while its calf stands with its neck draped over the mother's nose
    3rd place — Photo by Coby Brock — A mother moose forms an unbreakable bond with her calf. 
  • Looking directly down one track on a set of railroad tracks to two owls who are sitting on the track and looking at the camera.
    Honorable mention — Photo by Johnathan Newman — Juvenile great horned owls sit on the train tracks outside of Anderson.
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