Dock Jump, Juneau, Alaska, #3354

This image was taken in the late 1990’s when my sons, Gabe and Owen, were still in school.  They would often celebrate the end of the school year by jumping off the downtown Juneau docks and invited a friend to jump with them. Of course, they would only jump on a sunny day and I was usually invited along to document the event.
In this particular year, Owen (in the middle) jumped to celebrate his graduating from elementary school and moving on to middle school. I think he was 10 years old and Gabe in the back was 12. Caught in mid-jump, these three boys look like they were running across the dock lines onto the ship like rats.
I entered this photo in the Alaska State Museum’s bi-annual photo competition “Alaska Positive” so long ago I cannot remember the date. The photo was accepted in the show and the Anchorage Museum ended up buying the image for their permanent collection.
Fast forward 21 years and Owen’s friends and owners of Devil’s Club Brewing Company decided to do a special run of beer called “Dock Jump,” inspired by this image. This very popular local Juneau brewery has been around for two years and sometimes names its new brews after friends. One of the owners of the brewery, Evan Wood, dreamed up and shot a video of Owen, now 31, jumping off the very same dock, except that in 2020 he is shooting a beer while doing a back flip into the water. Evan jumped with him shooting the event in one take. Check out the video, it is really fun! The special run of “Dock Jump” beer sold out in one day, and was the brewery’s first canned beer, featuring graphics by local artist, Casey Chen. Do visit the brewery’s Facebook or Instagram accounts for updates on the re-release of the “Dock Jump” beer.
I am still using this image in my Alaska coffee table book, “Alaska: A Photographic Excursion”. The image is featured in the Juneau chapter illustrating life on the docks. Be well. Thank for visiting – Camera information: Pretty Clueless, Camera: Nikon, Lens: Wide Angle, Medium: Slide film, Handheld – https://www.devilsclubbrewing.com/commercials