I have just returned from Ontario where I was there for close to a month visiting family and friends. My travels took me all over the place which was a nice change from the norm. I was able to sneak up to Tobermory and shoot some underwater scuba in the near freezing water at the grotto, shot a duathlon in the Milton area, and boated around the 30,000 islands. It was a great time back home but I was quite excited to get back to Whitehorse.

Once I returned to Whitehorse I was off again the next day to Old Crow with Yukon Energy and One Change. The trip north was to educate the residents on the benefits and importance of reducing electricity. It was a great day of documenting and fun to head back up to Old Crow.

After settling back into place I participated in the 24 Hours of Light Mtn Bike race. Our team consisted of 8 people and for the full 24 hours we managed to have everyone on course and luckily run ins with the few grizzlies that were seen on course. It was a great event and although we were on one of the largest teams, it made it difficult biking at 2,3 or even 4 am. The up side to the lack of sleep was the photo opportunities that were had!

I am currently getting ready to shoot the Yukon River Quest over the course of the next few days and am looking forward to the event. This will be the first time I have done the whole event and am looking forward to the challenges!
Stay tuned and take care
Justin Kennedy

Since returning from the Arctic Circle things have been in a constant flow, with the change of the season’s and the snow melting resulting in lots of shoots. A few weekends ago we headed to our favorite place Haines, Alaska for a weekend of camping, mtn. biking and shoots. The first night we stopped in the Haines pass to enjoy an evening of camping in the mountains. Wishing we had brought our snowboards as the snow was still deep along the highway (sinking up to our waists). We camped out under starry night and proceeded to Haines in the am. Once in Haines we ran a few errands and then hiked/biked out to Battery Point. We were hoping to ride our bikes through the 1mile trail but lost the battle to the large roots and rocky terrain, too much with camping and photo gear on our backs. It was worth the short but grueling trek as the Point was just as amazing as last time!

Just before heading back into town we ended up taking some difficult mtn bikes shots. One of the difficult aspects of this shoot was be able to get both of us in the photo while triggering both the camera and a off camera strobe, without having a sync cord. I had packed my pocket wizards and attached one to my Elinchrom Ranger, another one on the camera with a camera remote trigger cable and the last one was mounted on my mtn bike handle bars.

Although firing the pocket wizards while riding was tricky, I found the hardest aspect was syncing the flashes to the camera. The time and patience which ended up paying off in the long run!

Once I got settled back into Whitehorse I ended up setting out to get some fly-fishing photos. My goal was to wade out with my camera gear while the Yukon River’s water levels were still low and get some sun-set flying photos. I did not have a model to shoot so I ended up bringing my fly gear and a friend to trigger the camera. After setting the appropriate flash and camera settings I mounted my camera on a tripod and waded out with my fishing gear. For this shoot I was wanting to re-create a setting sun (as the sun was hidden behind the hills) with my Elinchrom Ranger RX. Having the sun partially hidden from the clouds and shining onto the mtn’s made for a dramatic sky. I was wanting to get more out of the sky without underexposing the total image, so I placed a graduated ND filter on the lens element which then pulled out the dark blues of the sky.

Here are the final images of the shoot, the first one without the flash and the second one with the flash!

It is 6:45 am. We have 90lbs of food packed, camera gear, recording gear, tent, -30 sleeping bags, winter parkas and pants and a handful of clothes. We are about to jump on a plane and travel 3 hours north to Old Crow where we will spending 3 weeks working on our spring fur trap documentary. We got a phone call yesterday am stating that our grant had been expected, which gives us clarity and excitement!
I have to get packed on the plane and leave this + degree weather in Whitehorse and get ready for the -20 degree weather of Old Crow.
I will have little internet access but will try to post about our trip while there!
Looking forward!!

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind. With family visits in Ontario, to late night snowboard shoots, broken lenses to planning an arctic photo trip, it has been a busy few weeks.
I had a great time in Ontario with lots of family hang-outs and being able to shoot lots of snowboarding. The weather was great and much warmer than the cold Yukon but I was also very happy to get back home to the cold weather.
On the equipment end of things I have had a few failures and unforeseen upgrades. While I was on the Yukon Quest I had my 2x converter snap while paired with my 300mm and body while on a monopod that I placed, in what I thought was a snowbank but ended up having buried jumble ice under the fluffy white stuff. The weight of my 300mm lens, the camera body and cold weather took its toll and snapped the converter.
While in Ontario I picked up the new 2x converter version III, which has more screws added on the mounts which will hopefully result in a more rigid connection, but I will make sure to feel what is under those fluffy snowbanks before sticking the mounted monopod in it.

When I got back to Whitehorse I ended having my 17-40 lens zoom mechanism seize up during a shoot, luckily it was at the end of the shoot. Regardless, one of mostly used lenses had to be replaced quickly. Since owning the 17-40 I have had barely any unsatisfied encounters with the f4 and if so, I would try to assist with a strobe. Within the last few months I have had a craving for that extra stop of light for extremely low light scenarios, which got me thinking of the 16-35 2.8. After a week of tedious research I ended up going with the 16-35 2.8 version II, which has been more than I expected. Very small vignetting wide open results in esthetically pleasing images with bright colors combined with great af accuracy makes for a superb lens. Since getting it I have been very happy with my decision and results I have been getting.
I have also sold my full frame 1d body and purchased a 5d Mark II. My main reasons was due to high iso capabilities and camera size. So far I have tested the high iso in numerous night/low light settings and have been blown away compared to my old 1ds Mark II and current 1d Mark II n. I have also enjoyed the video aspect of the camera giving a new spin on creativity. The size helps fit it in between cracks for remote shooting compared to my old 1ds Mark II.
Some shots with my new 5d and 15mm fish-eye mounted to my bike frame, followed by an evening shot of some xc country photos at 2500iso.

Since being back in Whitehorse I have been planning for a trip to Old Crow, which is a fly in community about 130km north of the arctic circle and the furthest northern community in the Yukon. We are heading up for a documentary on the spring fur trap, where my colleague and myself will be living in the arctic tundra. The logistical aspect of a out of pocket freelance trip like this gets quite in depth with the weather cycles making it impossible to guess when we should make our way up there, the costs for flights, guides, food and fuel, the unknowing duration of our time up there waiting for the safest moment to head out into the tundra by snowmobile. The best part is that we get more winter with temperatures ranging from -9 to -30, and the best part will be having to charge batteries with no power outlets….

I must get packing, but stay tuned for more Old Crow updates!
Until next time

Justin Kennedy

A few days ago I hooked up with the Simple Snowboard crew at Mount St.Louis Moonstone in Ontario. It was a great shoot and these kids are impressive snowboarders making the shoot that much better. I have posted a few shots, with hopes of getting more up in the next week!

23 year old rookie Quest musher Dallas Seavey from Willow, Alaska ends up winning the 2011 Yukon Quest!
Dallas arrived at the checkpoint last evening just before midnight after a grueling 10 days of life or death situations. Dallas endured -55c temperatures, extreme winds, severe fatigue, dehydration, hunger and hypothermia. At one point of the race Dallas had fallen through frozen overflow. His whole team and sled submerged and Dallas had to get his dogs out. Dallas searched with his feet underwater to see if he could walk his dogs to the shoreline. But on either side of this chunk of ice he was standing on, there was a raging river not allowing him to walk his dogs to safety. Dallas ended up throwing each dog to shore having to battle with the frozen chest deep water and -50c temps. Dallas managed to get his team out and a fellow musher Ken Anderson ended up arriving when Dallas was getting his sled out of the water, and helped Dallas get out of his frozen clothes.
This years Quest seemed to be a grueling competition with 12 mushers having to scratch, the largest number in years. The reason, elements, dog injuries, dog viruses, frost bite, dehydration, hypothermia and dog deaths.

Past Quest winner Lance Mackey greets Dallas at the finish line in Fairbanks

A cold second place finisher Schnuelle corses the finish and talks with the media on Tuesday evening

It was a cold evening getting photos of the arrivals and got a minor case of frostbite on my fingertips that did not fully go away for a few days. There are still mushers arriving into Fairbanks and the weather seems to be warming up which is perfect timing and a nice change. All and all it has been an amazing journey with some of the most difficult and coldest shooting conditions I have ever dealt with!
I will be heading back to Whitehorse in the next few days and plan on putting together a slideshow of the past 2 weeks, so stay tuned and thanks!

It was a long and cold day, that started in Central with mushers arriving through the night, with Hugh Neff still in first place. The dreaded climb of Eagle Summit was in the sight of the mushers at the checkpoint and with the threat of strong winds making the climb even harder. Mushers left Central with beautiful blue bird skies with the end in sight. Hugh Neff, Dan Kaduce, Ken Anderson, Sebastian Schnuelle, Dallas Seavey and Brent Sass departed throughout the day. With mushers having to scratch due to frost bite and sick dogs including Whitehorse musher and past winner Hans Gatt who suffered sever frost bite while falling chest deep in overflow twice during the event. Rookie musher Dallas Seavey, was up to his neck in overflow for over an hour prior to arriving in Central. Mushers arriving with ice blocks on their feet, having to chisel the ice away to be able to remove their feet. The Alaskan climate was not holding back.

Later that night we had heard that Dan Kaduce had to scratch due to the threat of hypothermia and severe dehydration. Dan led his dogs to the road, left them there to be picked up by race officials and hitch hiked back to 101. Hugh Neff also scratched and one of his dogs, Geronomo ended up dieing along the trail and Hugh had to be picked up by race officials.

With 4 competitors in close contention for the finish it will be a close race remaining after a long enduring battle for all of the mushers.

Circle City, Alaska
Monday morning I made my way out on the Yukon River at around 9:30am.
-50 Degrees Celsius

Problems that arise while shooting at -50.
1. Lack of Battery Power – Lots of batteries being hid in my jacket, armpits and wrapped in heat packs
2. Keeping warm – Lots of layers of clothes, down parkas, hearty food
3. Hands freezing – Warm gloves
4. Making sure hands or nose does not get frozen on magnesium camera bodies.
5. Your hot drinks will turn to snow if they fall out of you glass outside (as seen below)

Circle is a great place and it will be hard to leave. A small community settled along the Yukon River that has alot of great residents, that welcomed everyone with open arms.

We left Fairbanks at 6am on Saturday morning on route to Circle City and pulled into Circle mid-day and waited for leader Hugh Neff’s arrival later that evening. Sunday was a great day with blue-bird skies and nice bitter cold air.
While waiting for the mushers’ arrival we were reunited with vets, media, volunteers and dog’s who had taken the flight over from Eagle, Alaska.

Stay tuned for more photos of the grueling Eagle Summit climb in the next few days during the 2011 Yukon Quest coverage!

After a few days in Dawson City, I made the trip back to Whitehorse at around 3am last evening and left at 6:30am for Fairbanks where I am now sitting in the Fairbanks checkpoint waiting for our 6am departure to Circle Alaska. Dawson flew by with alot of the competitors arriving through the evening and resting during their 36 hour layover. Hugh Neff arrived over the finish line in first position and is currently on his way to Slaven’s Checkpoint in Alaska.

During one afternoon John Wagner from the Anchorage Daily News Miner and myself walked a few km down trail to the famous Dredge #4 in Dawson City, Yukon Territory. After a hour or so of waiting we spotted a musher emerging from the bush followed by another musher which was perfect timing for our sake.

Mushers were arriving in Dawson City very staggered with arrivals in the early, early morning, mid day to late night, which meant sleeping patterns were once again put on hold to be able to get shots of arrivals. During the layover the mushers had a mandatory meeting that explained the current trail conditions and how the snow was building up and will create tough conditions. Which ended up being bang on as competitors had a very difficult journey out of Dawson and would end up having to return back to Dawson to wait out the storm.

Stay tuned for more updates as I continue the trek to Circle City, Alaska and wait for the mushers arrivals!

It is 8:30am on Wednesday morning and I am getting ready to get back out for photos during the 9am sunrise. The last 48 hours have been action packed with photos, driving and waiting. We awoke on Monday and made our way to McCabe Creek to see some competitors come.

After Jerry came by we went and processed photos and stories then tried to grab some sleep at midnight before our early rise. We had heard on Monday night that the first mushers kept there pace they would be in Dawson for 10 am on Tuesday morning. So we decided to pack our gear and head for Dawson to get the first musher crossing the mid-way point finish line. We woke up on Tuesday morning at 4am with a 3.5 hour drive from Pelley Crossing to Dawson City, in hopes of seeing the first musher cross the mid-way point line.
With the mushers traveling through the mountains their GPS trackers where not working for some of the pack leaders, which made it extremely hard to figure out arrival times.
We arrived in Dawson at 7:30am and waited patiently. Times were being thrown around the room and people were getting excited. Ten, eleven, twelve came and went and there was no musher. This made it a long day as I was wanting to get to some different locations around the outskirts of town, but the possibly first place musher Hugh Neff’s tracker was not working. With the idea that Hugh was in the lead and no ability to track his location we had to stay put to be able to get him crossing the line. Two pm came and shortly after we heard the call of spectators saying that a musher was coming. Spectators, officials, media, volunteers dropped everything grabbed their jackets, clip boards, microphones, camera etc and stormed out the checkpoint office.
Sure enough, Hugh Neff came around the bend and into sight, crossing the line as the first musher into Dawson. If Hugh finishes the race he will receive 4 ounces of placer gold for getting to Dawson first.