Rural Alaska

Photos: 'I am Inuit' captures life in Alaska villages

Sometimes success begets success, so Anchorage photographer Brian Adams will spend a full year visiting two dozen villages to document the people and places of rural Alaska.

Sound familiar? It should.

Adams' 2013 book "I Am Alaskan" was a provocative mix of portraiture and fine art that depicts the people who make up the Alaska mosaic. Few of the photos are straightforward portraits. Adams paid as much attention to the settings and backgrounds as he did to the people. Viewers get a sense of both the person and the place. Adams calls it "environmental portrait photography."

Now he's taking that effort a step further with help from the Inuit Circumpolar Council, which commissioned Adams after seeing "I Am Alaskan." Before long, "I Am Inuit" was born.

Kelly Eningowuk of the Alaska arm of the ICC liked the idea of combining Adams' portraiture approach with the street photography style of Humans of New York. Humans of New York is a series that includes interviews with everyday New Yorkers, and photographer Brandon Stanton gained a measure of popularity with his series on social media, which has gone on to become something of a nationwide phenomenon.

READ MORE: Intensely Inuit

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