A Day with Ida
by Tessa Macintosh
"In Holman (Ulukhaktok) I took a portrait of Ida Aivek, sitting on her snowmobile, biting down hard on a cigarette. Look into her eyes. See how friendly she is.
And what a toughie! The women in Holman are strong. That is why I chose this quote from Simon Katoyak, her nephew. The photo and the quote match.
Ida said: 'Do you want to come seal hunting with me?' Yes! She walked up to the edge of the ice floe with her gun, looking for a seal. The image is almost a silhouette.
We climbed up a hill and I took this photo of the blowing snow, the rough black rocks and the women bending into the wind. Light and dark.
It was cold, with a wind. Ida and her friend, Margaret, said: 'This is what we do to keep warm.' They were laughing. I was so interested, I almost forgot to take the photo.
Ida brought a char - it's the best - and chopped off pieces to eat, with a cup of hot tea and pilot biscuits. It makes a hot water bottle in your stomach.
We travelled in a kamotik. I wanted to show the knife, the stove, the gasoline, and the two women hunched over the snowmobile that needs a fix up.
Indoor shots can be challenging. In this photo of the women preparing a musk ox, I don't have scenery. It's a kitchen. So I focused on the women, working together.
When we built the photo story, I couldn't use all the photos I had taken. I had to choose the ones that would be most informative and interesting for our readers.