Fall into 50 with us! (And leave with The One photo you can’t live without)
By Dawnell Smith
Big milestones deserve extra love, so we’re throwing a fall party on September 22 to celebrate our 50th anniversary and get a healthy start to the next 50 years.
The fundraiser in Anchorage includes soulful blues and jazz by Alaska singer songwriter Witty Youngman, games and kids’ activities, and a chance to bid on landscape and wildlife photos by Carl Johnson, an award-winning photographer with long ties to Trustees for Alaska.
Carl worked as an attorney for Trustees for a few years starting in 2009 and has a deep connection to wildlife and natural landscapes. He has stayed engaged with Trustees ever since. In June, he joined a trip to Gates of the Arctic National Park where he shared photography tips and knowledge with some of Trustees’ supporters.
After turning his early career as an environmental attorney and advocate into one as a nature photographer, Carl travels regularly, including throughout Alaska and the Arctic, and he teaches an array of workshops through Alaska Photo Treks. Upcoming programs include a five-day Brooks Range Autumn Photo Workshop from Sept. 25 to 30, and a winter Alaska
Arctic antlers and light. By Carl Johnson
Aurora & Wilderness Adventure to the Susitna Adventure Lodge with dog mushing and aurora photography in March 2025.
Here, Carl talks about what photography means to him and how it connects him to environmental issues, the land, and Alaska. Join us on September 22 to meet Carl and bid on some of his framed and unframed photographs, including the ones you see here.
How do you know when you got The One?
What do you think makes a great photo?
For me, what makes a great photo really varies based on the subject. But generally, the photo should help people connect with the subject, perhaps even make them wonder and want to learn more. If it doesn’t tell the story outright, it should make people want to learn more about the story.
The Arctic in the long golden hours. Photo by Carl Johnson
Do you have moments when you click and just know you got “The One?”
There are definitely times when I am in the field and have captured the image, and then looked at it on the back of my camera and said, “Wow.” This does not happen as often as you would think. But there are also times I will rediscover an image long after I have taken it and develop a new appreciation for it.
What is it about photography that connects you to the land, Earth, people, and more-than-human beings?
Being a photographer forces me to slow down, to take time to explore a place or subject. I notice things that others do not. I have experiences that others do not take the time or effort to have for themselves. Slowing down also gives nature a chance to reveal itself to me. And as a photographer, I try to convey these concepts to others through my imagery and through presentations.
What first drew you to Trustees and inspires you to stay involved?
Arctic blooms. By Carl Johnson
I first became involved with Trustees as an associate attorney, working on the litigation with the State of Alaska over the long-term exploration of the Pebble deposit with no public process. After leaving Trustees, I continued that work by spending five years in the field as a photographer working on a book about Bristol Bay. That book, Where Water is Gold: Life and Livelihood in Alaska’s Bristol Bay, was published by Braided River in 2016. While no longer an attorney, I still believe in and support the mission of Trustees to ensure that our conservation and environmental laws are followed. So, I still continue to support Trustees through allowing the use of my imagery to message about the Trustees mission.
Save the date by getting tickets now!
Tickets to Trustees’ Fall for 50 Fundraiser are $25 for adults, $20 for students of any age, and free to kids 12 and younger. Childcare provided by the Alaska Center’s Trail Discovery Camp program. Food, beverages, door prizes, and fun included! Plus, anyone who donates at least $25 to Trustees this year will be entered into a December drawing for a trip for two to Alaska’s Arctic with Tundra Travels. Can’t come to the event but still want to support the work and be part of the donor drawing for the trip to the Arctic? Make a donation now.
Tents in low light. By Carl Johnson
Carl Johnson is a nature photographer who lives in Anchorage, Alaska, with his wife, Michelle. His greatest photographic passion lies in coming to fully understand a particular location, photographing all its wonders, from small plants to vast landscapes to wildlife.
Carl Johnson posing and composing in good light.
Carl has served as the artist-in-residence for Gates of the Arctic, Badlands, Rocky Mountain, and Shenandoah National Parks. He was the “Environmental Issues” winner for the Windland Smith Rice International Awards in 2010. In 2017, he was awarded the Daniel Housberg Wilderness Image Award for Excellence in Still Photography, Film, or Video by the Alaska Conservation Foundation. In 2024, the North American Nature Photography Association named him one of its Top 24 Photographers through the annual Showcase competition. Carl’s first book, Where Water is Gold: Life and Livelihood in Alaska’s Bristol Bay (Braided River, 2016), has been awarded several publishing medals.
Carl has worked as a guest lecturer for Tony Robbins, Princess Cruise Lines, and several remote lodges in Alaska. He was the first American photographer to document the Norwegian long-distance dog mushing race, the Finnmarksløpet. He is an Associate Fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers and serves on the Board of Directors for Visit Anchorage.