Assignment #1 by Sharon Gutierrez

Five pictures I wish I had taken:

#1) Working downtown in Fairbanks, Alaska I come across a lot of homeless persons when I work the opening shifts starting 7 a.m. Last winter a homeless person was sitting outside, an elderly female who always wore the same heavy winter boots and army jacket. She was waiting for me to open the co-op and was sitting outside. It was -10 below zero and I was freezing, but even though her features with physically frosty her eyes and spirit seemed undeniably warm. I would I could have taken a picture to capture the warmth in her eyes in contrast with the cold outside.

#2) At the Open North American dog race in Fairbanks last weekend I saw a teenage native-Alaskan male who was wearing a seemingly hand-embroidered hat with the name "Chris Brown". The letters were bright yellow contrasting against the black dirty hat. I wondered if that was actually his name or if it was a tribute to a popular R&B artist. I wish I could have taken a picture of him.

#3) I took my pet rabbit to a friends house in a designer handbag, using a sweatshirt in the oversize bag to keep him warm. He is a black rabbit and he was wearing a leopard print harness. While I was sitting in the car securing the bag to take him inside a large "outside" dog ran up to the car and pressed his face against the window, causing the rabbit to lean out of his bag and press his face close to the glass. As the large mangy looking dog stared through the glass at the pampered pet, it would have been an interesting picture.

#4) I did not take a picture of a large brown bear wandering into a valley on the Norris Glacier, where my work camp was set up. Two managers of the camp worried about the fact that the bear was wandering quickly towards our camp with over 200 sled dogs set up and nothing else but white all around us. The two men jumped on snow machines and took off to "herd" the bear away from camp. The picture would have had 200+ dogs barking crazily at the bear being surrounded by two snow machines intent on scaring the bear away.

#5) I wish I could have gotten a picture in Virac, Philippines while I was eating lunch in a small dirt-floor hut. The overly salty fish sat in front of me, and a small black and brown monkey watched me through the paneless window.