Fairbanks Beach

“I title this photograph Fairbanks Beach because I think that, visually, it is very much like photographs I have made on warm beaches in Florida and other places. Instead, it was actually shot on the frozen Chena River, which runs through downtown Fairbanks, Alaska. And instead of sand, the ground is covered in snow.

The photograph was made during a springtime running of the annual Open North American International Sled Dog Race. This race starts in downtown Fairbanks, with the teams running down Second Avenue, then dropping onto the river to run a 20-mile distance.

When I shoot street photography, it's common to find details in my images that I didn't see during their rapid taking. In this picture, there's a pair of shoes on the sand, several bags with items spilling out of them, and beach chairs to be seen. These are all items you would see on a day at a warm beach, but not so often in a wintry snow scene. The photograph was made in March, on a fairly warm day for Fairbanks, with the temperature around 2 degrees Celsius. While this isn’t summer beach heat, after winter temperatures that can easily dip to -45 degrees Celsius, that does pass for spring weather here.“