Well it is not quite what you thought , but indeed they are after that whale.

It was 40 below zero - Easter Sunday - 9:00 a.m. I was walking through the village and I could hear children yelling in the distance behind the house I was passing, I could easily hear and understand the Inupiaq words these children were speaking in Eskimo !!

Killamiik (Kill ah meck) Killamiik - (hurry up !) Samma (Look I show you).. .. Agviq Agviq ( Whale !! Whale !! ).




I want you to notice the sled, under their 'boat'. It is there for a very important reason and these children know how important that is .. .. ..

they always copy.. and mimmick .. that which they see their parents do in real life !!!

this is their quest & dream. to grow up to become a successful whaling captain !!




See the sled ?? under that skin boat !! It has many purposes, one of which is to protect that skin. that sled is also used as 'home' for the next two months.. these hunters sleep outside in temps exceeeding 50 below zero!

Home sweet frozen home in the middle of no where.. this is a typical whaling camp. 7 miles out on the ocean ice pack. Created at precisely midnight in mid May !!



This is home, for two months, right here, 24 / 7 .. .. This is where they eat, sleep, hunt, work and play all day for 8 weeks right here !!!!

the most extrordinary thing about these people is.. .. they never complain !!

wow. awesome pictures. story-wise, each photo tells a lot.

your pictures really are worth 1000 words

Living out on the ocean ice is a fantastic adventure in a different world, a different planet !!

Believe it or not, fresh doughnuts are prepared miles out in the middle of a frozen ocean ice pack. Hundreds of people are living out here, hidden in the ocean ice.


In Point Hope, the tents are for the women only, this is where they do all the incredibly hard work for their respective crews. A whaling crew consists of a Captain (Umailiq) OO may lik - 8 hunters - a boyer - and 3 - 5 women who perfom all the cooking and other tasks involved in feeding these crews 4 - 5 times a day.

that is really awesome. Thank you...

Wow, fantastic pictures

cool i like the sunset and and the first pic

Over 700 people, practically the entire village moves out here, many miles out on the ocean ice for two months. The sole purpose is to harvest FOOD.

Most of our food comes from the ocean, camped out here, these cooks work incredibly hard, long hours to feed a crew of 12 people 3 - 5 times a day, cook and prepare all that food.. .. now where do you think they get water to do all these chores.

True, we use snow .. to obtain water for washing and cleaning, but for drinking water, delicous fresh drinking water, where do you think that comes from ??? Miles from anyplace. 30 below zero or colder, with strong winds that never cease.



Yes ! believe it or not.. .. fresh doughnuts are made daily in each and every camp out here. Just how do yu suppose they get that dough to rise in such a drafty tent? It is very cold outside, and it is warm in here, that is obvious by the manner in which the cook is dressed. After that dough is all mixed, it is placed into a clean plastic bag. She will get dressed and put on her parky. the dough goes inside her parky on her back, in the same manner in which a child is carried.

That dough rises perfectly !! .. Inupiaq Technology, time tested for many thousands of years.



Snow is plentiful for melting, to obtain water, for washing and cleaning, but where, how do you get the necessary fresh drinking water, for cooking and drinking, coffee, tea, hot chocolate etc. ?? any ideas.. 700 people need tons of fresh water, where does it come from. ?? We are many miles out on the frozen ice pack of salt water !! We need delicous fresh drinking water.





The women, serve the hunters. These women do all the work, the hunters job is to get the food for the women !!



Now for all you new breed of 'digital' wonders. These images were all created using film, w/ no light meter ! I processed this film myself, using snow, that was the only source of water I had !!

Knowing and understanding EV values is what makes it possible to obtain perfect exposures each and every time, under the most difficult conditions on the planet. A digital camera would not last out here, those batteries would die in no time. My camera(s) did not require the use of batteries. Mechanical cameras. are the only way to record these rare images.

Ocean Ice, is not smooth everywhere, A trail has to be cut through the ice, to move equipment and supplies out to the different camp sites.

great pictures... it made me shiver.. =)

Great Pix,,,,Thanx for shraing a wonderful and courageous story of those ppl ,,,Its really Interesting and must to knw

These are some really fantastic shots! I personally like the last pic that you got here. It was like they're off to a cliff! yay!

This is all about - food - This is how we get our food, from the ocean, and it is a lot of very hard work, with no pay, just the right to eat !!



Hunting for food in sub zero temps is extremely difficult. You get to go into a store and purchase items off a shelf, We have to head out many miles (15) to the lead opening.

We have to chop a trail for miles to get through the huge piles of ice, to create this trail to get our supplies out there. We live outside for two months in temps most people could not ever function in.



This is our culture, this is our tradition for thousands of years, but groups, agencies and commissions want to take away our rights. Let those people come on out here, for just one day, sleep outside.. .. .. !!

Stories, stories, that is the #1 request from most people on all of the forums. Well you are all in for a treat today, I have two new stories of events that actually happened up here, out on the ice. (chuckle)

Ya just never know, what is going to happen out here. Last night we went out on the ice pack to check the trail we have been working on. We spotted polar bear tracks, in the snow, coming from Barrow - and headed out to the ice.

Unfortunately, we did not see this bear, the ice is a vast place and it is easy for a bear to hide.



The two whaling captains I am with are Eugene & Charles Brower, as we were checking out the polar bear tracks, One of the captains told the story, .. .. " it was an evening just like this, we came out to check the trail and we were near the lead opening,



At the edge of the water, a polar bear was standing up, looking down into the water, the polar bear turned and walked a couple of steps and bent over to pick up a big large piece of ice, He picked it up, and then decided to put it back down and grabbed a much larger piece of ice, a huge piece, he walked over to the edge of the ice and waited and watched, he dropped the ice into the water, then he jumped in, these two captains were astonished to see the polar bear climb back on the ice and pull a 10 foot beluga whale out of the water !!

If you want verfication of this true story, just write, to Eugene Brower in Barrow Alaska, He is the President of the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission, he is also a member of the board of the International Whaling Commission. And perhaps the most respected Whaling Captain in Barrow !

I hear these stories and I am amazed, just as you are, but one thing that amazed these two hunters when they saw this was the intelligent thinking, that took place by that animal, to obtain food !!



One of the great things about whaling, is the story telling. Bizarre events of all types are retold up here, with much laughter. These are such happy people, unlike any I have ever met any other place in my limited travels about the east coast, the west coast and all over Alaska.

The other humous story was told about a whaling captain in Point Hope, who was up here, whaling with Barrow Captains, he was wearing a jump suit from work, overalls, he had to go to the bathroom out on the ice not far from camp, Well these same two whaling captains, happend to come upon his private spot and saw him looking around, this way and that way, looking for something, they asked, what are you looking for, ??? He laughed and said. I was going to cover up, what I just did, but I can't find it or see it on the ground, they each broke into huge laughter, as they saw the 'steam' coming from the 'log' in his hood !!!

Very cool photo's

hi,

its very useful....thank u.....



________
zenie
andro
Yellow pages

very good photos. good work.

All this snow, the sunset, people funny children that's so amazing!

Wow looks amazing,
I loved the Sunset Pics, It would Be alot fun to see Sunset There

this is how we obtain our food!


The mighty Bowhead whale !! This is our food for more than 3,000 years !!






A BOWHEAD WHALE - weighs an astounding TON - per foot. This is a 48 foot whale! It required 17 hours to drag this animal out of the ocean and onto the ice. The ice kept breaking !!