Toughest Race on Earth...IDITAROD!

In the tradition of nitty-gritty reality based TV, the Discovery Channel is offering its latest Alaska-based show titled "The Toughest Race on Earth." This series follows six mushers along the trail during the 2008 race. Tuesday, October 14th, the show kicks off with problems for returning champ Lance Mackey and iditraod icon DeeDee Jonrowe in the series opener:

"The 2008 Iditarod race begins in the crowded city of Anchorage, AK. The dog teams take their starting blocks and being the adventure across the arctic terrain. Leading the pack is returning champion Lance Mackey, whose strategies are hampered by fighting among his canine teammates. Martin Buser and son, Rohn, head up the trail together, and Iditarod icon, DeeDee Jonrowe loses her dog team outside the Finger Lake checkpoint. Then, the mushers prepare to face the dreaded Alaska Range."

Of course we are excited here at Alaska Stock because we get to be "behind the scenes" every year helping the Official Iditarod Photographer, Jeff Schultz, organize, process, and promote the 3,000+ images that he shoots every year!

It's not just the mushers working hard out on the trail. Every year, hundreds of volunteers give up two weeks or more of their lives to go out to remote checkpoints along the trail in order to brave below-zero temperatures, long hours of darkness, blistering wind, minimal & close sleeping quarters with other volunteers to help make the Iditarod race run smoothly.

Jeff is no exception, after 25+ years of photographing the race, Jeff's endurance has paid off with some of the best images covering the race and complete archive of the history of the Iditarod. Jeff Schultz has been photographing in Alaska since arriving in 1978. A native of the Bay Area of California, Jeff moved to Alaska chasing his dream of building a log cabin and living off the land. While that never materialized, he knew he was home when he arrived in Alaska. Jeff has been photographing both stock and assignment photos of Alaska and Alaskans ever since. His images have been published world-wide in books, magazines, advertisements, brochures, annual reports, websites, retail products and more.

Iditarod Musher and Official Photographer Make their Stamp on Alaska History

Anchorage, AK - The U.S. Postal Service revealed Alaska Stock Images owner, Jeff Schultz's photo as the final selection for the new statehood stamp commemorating Alaska’s 50th anniversary. Alaska became an official U.S. territory in 1912 and the 49th state on January 3, 1959. Scheduled to be issued on January 2, 2009, the new stamp features a picture from the Iditarod trail of veteran sled dog racer DeeDee Jonrowe.

This year marks Jeff’s 29th year volunteering as the official Iditarod photographer and sharing images from the Last Great Race with mushers, race fans and other volunteers. He commented, “I'm honored that one of my photos was chosen to represent the State of Alaska on the U.S. postage stamp. I'm just plain ecstatic that it's this particular photo, because it's one of my all-time favorite photos from the Iditarod --- DeeDee Jonrowe mushing in the Rainy Pass area at dusk with alpenglow on the Alaska Range. I couldn't be more pleased.”

Recalling the many times she and Jeff Schultz have traveled the Iditarod trail together DeeDee remarked, “It is humbling to be part of the image chosen to represent Alaska as the U.S. Postage Service recognizes our beautiful states 50th birthday. I have been blessed to live my dreams for over a quarter of a century combining my love of my dogs, my passion for this beautiful state, and to experience adventure beyond my wildest imagination. Thanks to Jeff Schultz's god-given talent for capturing that on film, I now have the honor to celebrate this through this stamp.”

About Alaska Stock Images: Alaska Stock Images is a specialty agency with BIG-time services and world-class images. With an offering of over 400,000 Rights-Managed and Royalty-Free images of summer and winter lifestyles, Alaskan culture, outdoor recreation, adventure, historic, wildlife, majestic landscapes and photos from Antarctica and Canada. Their trusted website, Alaskastock.com, is stocked with handy features: Fully searchable collection, complete lightbox functionality, price and download instantly, comp-use, thesaurus tool plus much more. And the service is second to none. You'll always talk with a live, intelligent person who is actually in Alaska and can handle your request immediately. They've been providing Alaskans and national clients with dependable top-quality imagery for over 18 years.

Alaska Stock Partners with National Geographic Image Collection

Anchorage, Alaska - Alaska's premier photo agency, Alaska Stock Images, revealed the most recent progression in their strategic growth plan to further distribution channels for their stock photography via a much anticipated liaison with National Geographic Image Collection. Thousands of Alaska Stock's images will soon appear on the Image Collection’s web site: nationalgeographicstock.com

The National Geographic Society owns one of the most comprehensive and unique collections of photographs and original artwork in the world. The Image Collection contains more than 10 million transparencies, black-and-white prints, glass plates and pieces of original art. These images and the services of hundreds of photographers, writers and artists are marketed worldwide by a full-time staff of account representatives.

Owner, Jeff Schultz remarked, "I am excited to be able to offer our stock images to the world through nationalgeographicstock.com. We consider it a privilege to have them represent our work and we look forward to a long and fruitful relationship."
"We are pleased to license Alaska Stock images worldwide," said Maura Mulvihill, vice president, National Geographic Image Collection. "Their work is consistent with the high quality of photographs our clients expect from National Geographic, both in the type of coverage and the individual photographers represented."

About Alaska Stock Images: Alaska Stock Images is a specialty agency with BIG-time services and world-class images. As the largest photo agency in Alaska, this dedicated provider represents over 150 photographers and offers over 400,000 Rights-Managed and Royalty-Free images of summer and winter lifestyles, outdoor recreation, adventure, historic, wildlife, majestic landscapes and photos from Alaska, Antarctica and Canada. Their trusted website, www.AlaskaStock.com, has all the features of the "big boys" sites --- Fully searchable collection, complete lightbox functionality, price and download instantly, comp-use, thesaurus tool plus much more. And the service is second to none. You'll always talk with a live, intelligent person who is actually in Alaska and can handle your request immediately. They've been providing national clients with dependable top-quality imagery for over 18 years. Globally represented in 29 countries, the Alaska Stock collection provides an excellent source of imagery from the Last Frontier.

For further information, please contact:
Jeff Schultz, Owner
www.AlaskaStock.com
toll free: 800.487.4285
em: jeff@alaskastock.com

Alaska Stock Images team participates in Anchorage's Bike to Work day

With the return of the light and almost summer like conditions the folks at Alaska Stock were excited to join in on the Municipality of Anchorage's Annual Bike to Work day. This year we had our best turnout yet with over half of the office participating.
While it wan't quite as sunny as it could have been, it was still great to see so many people out on the trails taking the opportunity to peddle their way in to work.

Pictured left to right: Jeff Schultz (Founder & Owner), Laurie Campbell (Director of Marketing & Sales), Ann Matchett (Office Assistant) & Jim Kohl (Manager of Production & IT)

NEW Download Lightbox Feature from Alaska Stock

Here's a real time-saver feature that many of our clients have been asking for! Now you can download all or selected images directly from any of your lightboxes for low-res or high-res comp size use. This feature is now live on our site for our clients who have registered and been upgraded to a "Recognized Image Buyer,” so get your FREE upgrade by emailing us today!

IT’S EASY - Download photos by navigating to the "Download Lighbox Images" page found in the "My Lightbox" drop down menu on Alaska Stock’s main menu bar. (If you are logged in but you don't see this menu item, we have not yet upgraded you to a "recognized image buyer.” Contact us for a FREE upgrade! )

Simply select the lightbox you want to download, select the images you want ( all or just a few ), scroll to the bottom and select the file size you want - low-res ( 5x7 72 dpi ) or high-res( 11x17 72 dpi ) comps are available. All images are then “ZIPPED” together into a folder and you can save them onto your computer. Thanks for keeping Alaska Stock on your “A” list!

Hoofin' It - Alaska Style!

Over the years Fur Rondy has grown into more than the annual gathering of miners and trappers looking to trade and sell their winter's take. Established in 1935, the festival was widely attended by the majority of Anchorage's 3,000 residents, who enjoyed the traditional events of Fur Rendezvous including the Rondy Fur Auction, sled dog race and blanket toss.

This year, as part of the 10 day Fur Rondy celebration, seven antler-sporting reindeer were joined by 1,000 zany costumed runners in the Last Frontier's version of Spain's famous Running of the Bulls.

Seven year old Anchorage resident, Rees Marie McCampbell, snapped a shot of the oh-so-vicious beasts from atop her Dad's shoulder's this past Sunday during Anchorage's first annual Running of the Reindeer event. Both sides of 4th Avenue were lined with people all angling to see if the reindeer would actually give the contestants a run for their money ... and they did.

The animals really got going pretty fast in spite of the packed street full of runners. In fact, a few daredevils got tagged by the beasts, but were not seriously hurt. Good fun was had by all and the reindeer received lots of appreciation and treats for their efforts.

Proof once again that the old Alaskan adage still holds true ....
"The odds are good, but the goods are odd!"

To read more about the event go to http://www.adn.com/furrondy/story/325213.html

To see a full schedule of Rondy events go to http://www.furrondy.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=53&Itemid=63

It's Rainin' Moose!

This time of year is usually filled with stories of avanlanches - both along highways and in high country posing dangers to backcountry skiers. Avalanches, landslides, and rockslides are common dangers in many locations and especially so in Alaska. But every once in a while a story comes along that makes you do a double take!

Howard Peterson, a State Trooper based out of Girdwood, Alaska, was heading home late one evening and travelling along the Seward Highway when in the blink of an eye, a large dark object fell about twenty feet in front of his car. At first, Peterson thought it was a falling rock, but after getting out of his car, he soon realized it was a moose!

Most likely the moose had been up on the cliff and either tripped or slipped....or was reaching for food and lost its balance. Although uncommon, state wildlife biologist Rick Sinnott says it is not entirely unheard of for this sort of thing to happen.

(This story appeared in the Anchorage Daily News. To read more about the incident, please visit the story: "Falling moose nearly takes out trooper"

New Features on AlaskaStock.com!

In the spirit of the New Year, we've given ourselves a face lift and added some cool new features.

You can be wowed by our shiny new home page @ http://www.alaskastock.com/ From here you can search for model released images right under the main search field or sign up for our newsletter right up front (we never share our list and in the spirit of going green most communiques are paperless).

Ever wonder where in the world is Aniakchak Nat'l Monument or Sitka, Alaska? Well now you don't have to live in the Last Frontier to be an expert on Alaskan geography! One of the most valuable additions is our new "Search by Region" feature which can be found @ http://www.alaskastock.com/browse-alaska-regions.asp This nifty map has clickable regions which will take you to search results just from those areas.

We're always looking for more ways to improve our web site and service, so please send your ideas and feedback to info@alaskastock.com

Happy New Year!

Happy snowy New Year to all! We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. Life was quiet, but still moving here at Alaska Stock. We added over a hundred new images, did some "spring" cleaning and began to mentally prep ourselves for the coming Iditarod season. Some of us journeyed to far lands like New York or Colorado (apparently both states were coated in a pilloweee layer of fluffy snow). Now we are back to the stock-photo-grindstone...2008, here we come!