a one-year photographic survey of alaska
for wilderness conservation and cultural documentation
After experiencing the California wildfires firsthand, photographer Joshua Klein turns his lens north, to a region now at the frontline of climate change.
The Great Alaska Project is a year-long documentary and fine art photography initiative. Four seasons. Twenty-five weeks in the field. A visual record of Alaska's land and people, at a critical moment in the region's ecological and cultural history.
The work continues a tradition of conservation photography from Carleton Watkins to Ansel Adams to Sebastião Salgado, and stands as a call to preserve Alaska's magnificent natural beauty and honor the Alaskan people who call it home.
Your support makes this project possible. Join the journey.
THE URGENCY OF NOW
“We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now.
In this unfolding conundrum of life and history,
there is such a thing as being too late.
This is no time for apathy or complacency.
This is a time for vigorous and positive action.”
Martin Luther King, jr
Aftermath of the Palisades fire.
Malibu, January 2025.
Dear Friends -
As a young photographer, I was mentored by Benedict Fernandez. Ben had been friends with Martin Luther King and often spoke of the power of photography to inspire change. At my graduation from Parsons, Ben and I stood in the same sanctuary where Dr. King had spoken of the fierce urgency of now decades before. He gave me a hug, a diploma, and a responsibility to use the camera as a tool for good.
Today climate change is the existential threat of our time, and I am called to take positive action.
Twice I experienced massive wildfires in Malibu and seen firsthand the environmental scars and the emotional toll on my neighbors. This is why I choose to go to Alaska because it is the frontline of climate change. A dangerous feedback loop warms the polar regions. The effects—receding glaciers, melting permafrost, lost sea ice—drive the same conditions fueling wildfires here in California and heat waves across Europe.
Over the next year I will photograph all four seasons in Alaska. The work will take me from Newtok, the Yup’ik village abandoned in 2024 as the waters rose to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, one of the last great expanses of American wilderness, now at risk to oil drilling.
This work cannot wait. The work follows the seasons. A season missed is time lost. Newtok already stands empty, and the river is taking what remains. Glacier retreat accelerates and wildlife habitat is lost. This is the fierce urgency of now.
I am fully committed to this endeavor and stand ready to begin. However, I cannot do this alone. I will need the support of friends and benefactors to bring this project to life.
Warmly,
Joshua
I am proud to be part of the Creative Visions Foundation allowing all donations to be fully tax deductible and opening the door to grants.
Creative Visions was founded in honor of Dan Eldon, a young photojournalist who lost his life in Somalia. Creative Visions empowers creative activists worldwide to raise awareness of critical issues and drive positive change through impact storytelling—one of the most powerful tools we have for creating a more just, caring and sustainable world.
what your support will create
Exhibition — a curated body of large-format black-and-white prints, developed with institutional partners for museums, galleries, and cultural institutions in Alaska and beyond.
Monograph — a photographic book presenting the full scope of the project, with a first-person account, commissioned essays, and documentation of the communities and landscapes photographed. Built as a lasting record and a tool for advocacy.
Public Digital Archive — a freely accessible archive of images and supporting documentation, held with an institutional partner, for educational and research use by scientists, educators, policymakers, and future generations.
