Many of her photographs required days on end of sitting in such a tent. But what of her dread of boredom? Mrs. Forrester insists she was never bored when there was the promise of catching a bird in a picture.
Her patient efforts resulted in the creation of more than 500 negative glass plates, and she does have her favorite. It is of a flock of wild geese in the delta of the Wolverine River in Alaska.
“Allen never forgot his expedition to Alaska. He had an extraordinary encounter that led him to believe that the wild geese there had a certain enchanted quality. More than anything he wanted to take me there to photograph them. That was our first trip together to the north,” she says.
She recalls that it was early on a May morning in 1892, and she was still sleeping inside their tent when she heard the calls of geese flying along the river. She rushed out of the tent, still wearing her night clothes and with her camera equipment in hand. Her husband, the Colonel, was making coffee on the campfire.
“He said, ‘There they are, love. Get your picture quick!’ Of course, there was nothing quick about it. It wasn’t until the next day that I was able to get that particular photograph, when the flock had gathered in a marsh near a group of Indian women. It was one of the most beautiful scenes I have ever witnessed, and I am afraid I did not do them justice, but it is still my favorite.”
This interviewer also asked about the only photograph in the house that shows Mrs. Forrester herself. In it, she is wearing high boots, sporting trousers, and a broad-brimmed hat. Her husband, the Colonel, stands beside her, and behind the two stretches a treeless plain.
“That was Nome in 1915,” she says. “We were there to photograph the nesting willow ptarmigan. I’m afraid it was our last journey to Alaska, as my husband’s health began to fail.”
With wistful expression she adds, “I see that and I think, oh my Allen, if only I could be with you now.”
Now through June 1, more than 100 of Mrs. Forrester’s photographs will be on display at the Anderson Museum of Art.
Willow Ptarmigan Nest, Near Nome, Alaska.
Photograph by Sophie Forrester
Last Frontier Airlines
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Traveler Information
Walt Forrester
E-ticket
July 10 Departure
Flight 2743, Seat 15C
Departs: Missoula MSO 1:15 pm
Arrives: Seattle–Tacoma SEA 1:47 pm 388 miles
Flight 101, Seat 27A
Departs: Seattle–Tacoma SEA 3:15 pm
Arrives: Anchorage ANC 5:41 pm 1445 miles
July 21 Return
Flight 96, Seat 20C
Departs: Anchorage, ANC 9:20 am
Arrives: Seattle–Tacoma SEA 1:40 pm 1445 miles
Flight 2396, Seat 17C
Departs Seattle–Tacoma SEA 5:30 pm
Arrives: Missoula MSO 7:52 pm 388 miles
Acknowledgments
TK
About the Author
Eowyn Ivey’s debut novel, The Snow Child, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and an international bestseller published in twenty-six languages. A former bookseller and newspaper reporter, Eowyn was raised in Alaska and continues to live there with her husband and two daughters.
Eowyn Ivey, To the Bright Edge of the World
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