Red Bull "Rescue Swimmers"
A project embedded with the United States Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers off the frigid waters of Kodiak Island, Alaska. Preparation and shooting required two weeks of training, flying, and swimming with the team. Rescue choppers fly north to the Arctic Ocean, where ice floes the size of football fields can be seen floating in the water. To the west, they watch over the Bering Sea, where Arctic storms transform the waves into dark blue walls. Air Station Kodiak is responsible for an area of some 4 million square miles in some of the most remote terrain in US. Originally intended to be just a short photo project, upon review, the images were reassigned as the September, 2017 cover story of The Red Bulletin, with an 8-page spread. 2017 Folio: Ozzie Award-Winner.
48 Hours with the Alaska Coast Guard" feature in the Sept 2016 issue of The Red Bulletin.
Behind the scenes from Justin Bastien as he photographs the United States Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers in Kodiak Alaska for Red Bull's Red Bulletin Magazine.
Justin Bastien shooting high angle cliff rescue operations in Kodiak, Alaska.
Justin Bastien and Aviation Maintenance Technician Jayson Marrero flying in a USCG Jayhawk helicopter over Chinak Bay, Alaska.
Justin Bastien diving in with a Rescue Swimmer in the USCG training facility. Kodiak Air Station, Alaska.
Justin heads in after a rough day in cold Alaskan waters photographing the Rescue Swimmers in high surf ops.
The last day of the shoot photographing high surf operations with an amazing team from the USCG. Photographer: Justin Bastien, Aviation Survival Technician: Jason McGrath, Aviation Survival Technician: Jon Kreske, Aviation Survival Technician Chief Tom Bolen and Aviation Survival Technician: O’Brien Starr-Hollow.
Aviation Survival Technician Jon Kreske heads in after a long day in cold and wild waters off the coast of Kodiak, Alaksa.
View more work from this project:
https://justinbastien.com/work/uscg-rescue-swimmers
CREDITS
Client: The Red Bulletin
Agency: Red Bull
Creative: Rudi Ubelhor, Andreas Rottenschlager
Director: Justin Bastien
Photographer: Justin Bastien
Tags: editorial, photography, motion, digital, campaign, Justin Bastien,
photographer, social, media, Alaska, Kodiak, United States Coast Guard,
USCG, rescue swimmers, film, travel, documentary