Amid the flurry of preparations for our new studios, our staff remains focused on service to our region. That’s true not only for our current staffers but even for our recent alumni, whose work continues to highlight what’s special about Western Alaska.

For example, one of the last projects of news volunteer Emily Russell, who finished her service year in July, was to compile and post a series of photographs, online, of the rural community of Stebbins, Alaska, which she visited twice during her 2015-16 term. It’s part of a new photography series on knom.org called Focus Western AK (written as #FocusWesternAK to emphasize its use as a “hashtag,” or search term, on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook). Emily’s photos, some of which are seen above and below, show a small glimpse of the incredible places we serve. They show the landscape of the Stebbins beachfront, covered in winter snow and ice; salmon drying on fish racks in summer; and resident Bernard Abouchuk, sitting on the beach in anticipation of a seal, which is hunted as a subsistence food.

For more, explore Emily’s #FocusWesternAK post!