Reflections from the Field

As a photographer, I expected to spend my time documenting an archaeological excavation. Instead, I found myself learning to see differently. At Shaw Point, every layer of soil, every flake of stone, and every trace of charcoal became evidence of lives lived thousands of years ago. Sometimes the most powerful photograph is not about what it shows, but about what is missing.

Our research site in Quassiarsuk, Greenland had one of the top three porches I have ever sat on in my life. The Leif Eriksson Hostel, owner of this porch, hosted our research team for the ten days we were in the field. I did not anticipate the joy that would come from this porch, and

I had opportunities to collaborate with artists on research projects I conducted in the United States, but never on an international expedition to Antarctica. As a polar plankton ecologist, I participated in six research expeditions to Antarctica and know how intense they can be. They are certainly not for everyone given the long working hours, sometimes cramped conditions, and tumultuous seas. In speaking with Kyra prior to the cruise, I could already tell she would be amenable to working in Antarctica.

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would “spawn” in the middle of the Pacific Ocean! As a gaming school library media specialist from the inner city, my career path has taken many unexpected turns, but nothing quite like this: an adventure to Southern California to study whales alongside an inspiring and super

Before I left for the Alaskan Arctic this summer, I carried a quote from Octavia Butler with me: “All that you touch you change. All that you change changes you.” I thought I understood it. But standing for the first time on the tundra, under a sun that seemingly refused to set, I realized I