Behind the lens with Scott
Friends of the show,
As this goes, I was originally writing this as a journal entry, but through this exercise of connecting back to the root of me.. I decided it might be worth just sharing a bit of myself with you all, and where I’m going in years to come.
Alaska has profoundly shaped me into who I am today, and I’ve been blessed to have been raised in such an amazing territory of the United States. I’ve grown up playing in a landscape that has the most expansive and diverse habitat than anywhere else in our Union. Alaska to me has always been my friend, and even while writing this I recall moments at places where that friendship has been defined.
My love and appreciation for my home has a lot to do with my family legacy here in Alaska. Six generations of my family are now deeply rooted here into the history of Alaska. I’m constantly inspired by the lives before me, which includes my mother’s family whom were also pioneers of the West – settling their lives in Montana. Moreover, it’s been my own experiences throughout my lifetime that inspire and motivate me in everything I do today.
I have always had a real strong feeling about what we’re doing as a small production company. It’s always been my desire to use this media as a tool to connect people with Alaska, and I think we’ve had great success. That success is measured by our audience in numbers, and more inspiring the increasing numbers of our local friends.
We’re coming up on three years of producing videos this mid-June. During that time I’ve had the privilege to share nature, wildlife, and people of this last frontier. All of us here at Alaska HDTV have made some amazing friends along the way, some that will last a lifetime. There are so many places, stories, and people that you’ve yet to meet, and we’re forever working to make that possible.
What’s next…
The old saying is true – It’s taken a lot of sweat, blood, and tears to get where we are today. Redefined, it’s been Understanding, Cooperation, and Love that got us here.
Traveling through much of Alaska my whole life, and I’ve grown to appreciate all aspects of her beauty. There is nothing in the World like Alaska, from the Brooks Range, to Wrangell Mountains, from the Chugach Mountains to the Aleutian Range, from the Nulato Hills all the way down to Coastal Mountains of the Inside passage.. Alaska offers incredible beauty and diverse landscapes that sweep away imagination, and inspire adventure.
In all this beauty and space, we are increasingly seeing more conflict between nature, wilderness, and humans as we evolve through time. Alaska will inevitably continue to grow, but we can take lessons learned by our lower forty-eight states. Over the past two hundred years we’ve developed ourselves into a corner. We’re now needed to spend massive amounts of money and decades of time to restore and preserve our lands and habitat. I believe Alaska can grow, but not without losing it’s naturalness and without losing our wilderness. I’m speaking about Alaska, but this holds true wherever you in the world, and it’s our responsibility to the generations ahead of us.
Personally moving forward, I want to start doing more in giving back to Alaska and people. Whether it includes using the tools of our trade, or personal involvement – I’ve neglected this responsibility in my life, which inevitably completes me as a human.
In closing, the next several weeks I’m going to be actively pursuing relationships with organizations and people that share my passion and desires. I’m not by any means turning into a hardcore environmentalist, Lord knows I’ve got my own cleaning up to do! I’m making my start with the tools I have in my bag and hopefully help build and inspire a better tomorrow.
So there you go, a bit about me behind the scenes, and hope you enjoyed the read.
Until next time,
Scott
Tags: Blog, Scott Slone
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May 31, 2009
Nice Scott! I really support this move and wish you all the best.
Tony
Jun 01, 2009
Scott
Congratulations and great job on the site. It is awesome. As for your next move, I agree with you 100% that we as Americans should be doing more to protect the environment, but not at such extremes that it causes economic hardship for the citizens of this country. The environment and the people can live together in harmony, but at the end of the day we survive off the land and the earth. I’m all for responsible, efficient environmental protection and it sounds like that’s the direction you want to go. I wish you good luck in your endeavors. I can’t wait to see the next episode.
Andy
Jun 02, 2009
Scott,
What a wonderful reflection on yourself and the path in life that is before you. I am so proud of you and your family! Keep it up and continue to educate us on all the wonderful beauties that Alaska offers. My family hopes to travel up there soon. It would be a great learning experience for us!
Jun 04, 2009
Thank you for the responses to my blog post..
The intention was to open up and share a bit of me with you all, and it was honestly tough. It’s not so much about me though, I desire has always been to inspire people to connect with the Alaskan frontier and nature. I continue to produce and work because I know this show allows me to be the evangelist for Alaska.
I genuinely appreciate your support, and love the idea that I can inspire people to experience Alaska. It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, it’s all to easy to get wrapped up in our modern lifestyles. Get out and experience nature as much as you can, as it holds much truth to our purpose and existence.
Thanks for joining me, and thanks for your comments.
Scott
P.S. Don’t forget to share your adventures and discoveries, no matter where you are!
Jun 15, 2009
Hi Scott
We have smaller scale conflicts here in the Highlands of Scotland. I am interested in the formula or formulas that allow modern business activities develop in harmony with the land. Not just in arts and crafts and travel and tourism, but how industry can thrive and deliver much needed employment and revenue into a sensitive area. The Industry must be able to thrive in real commercial terms and so must the land.
How do we square the circle or are we just blinkered by traditional approaches – “back to nature, traditional ways’ or ‘to hell with nature, business rules’ live for me on the extremes.
I don’t think there is one single new paradigm to describe the way forward. I cannot help feeling that it is down to individuals building companies to feel an obligation to their land to do the best within their capabilities to preserve the often intangible benefits of what surrounds them
How do these people start to care, well in significant part by being informed by folk like yourself and taking a few moments out to look, stare and wonder.
Keep up the good work Scott, you may be influencing far more than you imagine.
Dean