Jeff Schultz portrait photographing the 2016 Iditarod as official photographer at Koyuk checkpoint Jeff Self Portrait PHOTO BY DEROY BRANDT
My Iditarod work had most always featured subjects out in the elements — small dog teams, big landscapes. Often, the mushers didn’t even know I was there; there was not a lot of interaction. For years on the trail, I made images that grew familiar to me. The weather changed, and the dog teams changed, but the sites were familiar, and the process largely stayed the same. So I began to wonder, what would it look like to bring viewers much closer to the humans and dogs involved in the race? Knowing just how amazing, dedicated and long-lasting SO MANY of the volunteers are. How incredibly sensitive and involved the mushers are with their animals. And how strong the Alaskan husky dog is… I wanted to do some kind of portrait project, something TOTALLY different than what I’d done before. And in doing the portraits, somehow figure out a way to show the world just how simply astonishing the people are who put this race on.
In December of 2019, with the collaborative input of my friends André Horton and Matt Waliszek, over sushi and fried rice, the Faces of Iditarod project was born. They inspired me to take portraits with a background that was NOT iditarod and use some creative lighting. Therefore, giving everyone equal footing. They also suggested the idea of asking questions, so viewers could know who they were. Then one of us brought up the idea of audio recording. The audio recording, I feel, is what really makes this project so successful. So, at some pre-race events I began making intimate portraits of the volunteers, mushers, spectators, and dogs involved in the race. I recorded the subjects answering four basic questions, and I included their voices (audio and text) on the project site with their images. Face of Iditarod not only ignited my creativity; it was a huge success with the subjects and the race’s fan base. I think it’s a win-win for Iditarod fans and the subjects alike. Now, many of those people on the trail can see and hear other people on the trail.
