I'm honored to have one of my photographs selected out of over 600 entries for this local annual juried photography contest. The juror this year is the esteemed, New York City photographer, Amy Arbus, daughter of the photography legend, Diane Arbus. Amy is known for her photographs of the East Village during the 1980's and her work for The Village Voice.

The image selected for this show is of a scene in the Railroad/Industrial sector of Anchorage near Ship Creek. I've long been fascinated with the juxtaposition of structures of old Anchorage and modern downtown structures in this area. The Quonset huts, sharply angled industrial storage buildings, the shiny downtown hotel and business buildings, traversed by railroad tracks and bisected by the king salmon filled Ship Creek meandering through the city, emptying into the treacherous mudflats and tidal flux of the Cook Inlet. Add to this the menacing flocks of nesting seagulls that patrol and launch attacks from industrial rooftops.

The curves of the Quonset, the adjacent block shaped building, separated by a feral tree, the evocative perspective of the railroad tracks....repeatedly caught my eye and begged for a deeper look.

My father worked for the State, DOT, once located near Ship Creek. I have memories, as a child piling into the station wagon with my mother and three siblings to pick him up after work. The area hasn't changed much, keeping my memories intact, something for which I am grateful.

The exhibit opens at the International Gallery of Contemporary Art, tomorrow, Friday 11/4.

Follow the brush- L