Laurence: How does the pace of Alaska feel different from your past work?

Katie: It is challenging to do a story about an issue that isn’t as fast-paced. Obviously, it’s climate change, it’s incredibly important, and there are places in Alaska that could disappear tomorrow, but it lacks the urgency other stories have that get them published. I feel terrible about all the photos I have of Alaska that no one has seen. Yet, I appreciate the fact that I’ve been able to take my time.

“Alaska was a part of the world that I never thought I would cover but I was blown away.”

All my stories have one thing in common; they’re about an extreme way of life and really interesting people leading it. Even the dog sled work. The bond between the mushers and their dogs is beautiful, as is the whole lifestyle that goes with it. It takes about a decade to train these dogs and build a good dog team. It was nice to find a story that was not all gloom and doom.

Laurence: You mentioned “we” in your previous answer. Who do you collaborate with, and why?

Katie: I’m a journalist, not just a photographer. I want to do stories that I think are important for people to know about. When you work with a writer, you’re making a story that’s going to come out soon and get attention. By “we” I meant Julia O’Malley, a freelance writer who I met while both of us were covering the World Eskimo Olympics for Al Jazeera America. We made a good team as we got along and saw a future for different stories that we wanted to tell. The other figures out things that you don’t and you see things that he or she is not going to see. If I’m not working with a writer, I like to invite photographers to come with me too. I’m alone a lot, but not always.

Laurence: Even less so now that you joined Prime Collective. What is it like to work with a community?

Katie: Being with Prime is a great way to stay connected. They’re really positive and inspiring people. What I love about being in the collective is that you are doing what you’re doing and if you’re on a National Geographic assignment, that’s your thing. Prime says: “We don’t want a piece of that; we’re just going to be around and talk to you if you’re lonely somewhere. And when we all have the time to collaborate and do interesting things together, we will.” It helped me when I was feeling a little bit disconnected from the documentary photography world.