It's the first day of September and I just arrived in Hartley Bay a few days ago to meet with
ILCP(International League of Conservation Photographers) and National Geographic Photographer
Tom Peschak to work together on getting some pictures for the "Gifts of the Sea" ocean foods book that we are working on with the students in Hartley Bay as part of the SEAS(Supporting Emerging Aboriginal Stewards) program. I first met Tom when we were on assignment last September and working for the ILCP as part of the Greatbear RAVE which has turned out to be a very successful project for bringing awareness to the threat of proposed oil tankers.
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Gitga'at Values
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We headed out yesterday under clear blue skies and took four students, Boyd, Rachel, Linden and Dominic into the territory to get some shots of traditionally harvested foods. Having a professional like Tom as a mentor for these students is inspiring and he was able to guide them through the process of selecting and then taking shots. Tom's main piece of advice was "to tell a story" with their pictures. While the students were gathering photos Tom was in the emerald clear and cold waters working the area. Tom is a phenomenal photographer and the underwater footage he got for last year's RAVE was spectacular, an underwater world rarely documented up here. Tom has also inspired me to buy some fins and a mask and to start freediving from my SUP board. If you haven't had the chance, check out the film SPOIL on Vimeo, which highlighted the Greatbear RAVE and showcased this world class environment.
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| Hartley Bay students heading out with Eva Hill |
As Tom was diving, the students were shooting and we spent a couple of hours in a location that looked like the Vancouver Aquarium but better. Afterwards, Eva Hill then took us to their traditional harvesting location for Ghenti(Sea Cucumber). This area has been used year after year to harvest large numbers of Sea Cucumbers for the community to eat throughout the year.
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| Tom teaching the students how to shoot traditional foods |
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| Tom with a large Sunflower star in the process of eating a clam |
Our final stop was to meet Eva's husband Cam to pick up the crab pots he had set a few days ago. Tom was going underwater again to get shots of the traps coming up. The pots were stacked with huge Dungeness crabs. Cam and Eva were showing the students, including their daughter Rachel, where to set, how to pick up the line and then how to get the pots aboard. Tom had asked Cam why this area was so prolific and Cam responded with, "because i look after this area." Cam knows the exact line he needs to lay his pots down, further north or further south and nothing. These are incredibly sensitive areas. The females and smaller crabs were all thrown back and after 45 minutes we had over 60 crabs. We then brought them back to village, boiled them and had a crab feast at the house. As it is with tradition, anytime food is harvested by an individual some of it is shared with those who cannot get out so on his return Cam handed out Dungeness crabs to community members and elders. Cam figures over the course of the year he will harvest 1000-1200 crabs for his family and for the community which is a lot of hard work and money spent on gas.This is just one species of many that the people of Hartley Bay are dependant on.
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| Students pulling traps |
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| Cam Hill leading by example |
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| Large Dungeness Crabs |
That evening Tom showed us his slide show of pictures collected from his last couple of weeks work here in the Greatbear. We were all amazed and motivated to get all of the shots we need for our book. Our finale will be this May at the spring harvest camp, Kiel. By that time we should have everything we need to put this book together.
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| Tom Peschak, Sonny and Norm |
