Haines High School
grad nominated for
Emmy award

By Ann Petersen

Former resident Richard Cooper has been nominated for a Northwest Regional Emmy Award for Director of Photography. Cooper filmed a promotional travel documentary entitled “There’s no Place Like Nome” for the Alaska Channel.

The 46^th Northwest Regional Emmy Awards will be held on May 30 in Snoqualmie,Wash.

The 23-minute video is posted at the travel website, Alaska.org/nome/.

Cooper said that “it’s really exciting” to be nominated. He has reserved a table for 10 at the awards so his whole family could attend.

“I’ve seen two of the other videos that were nominated. The other videos are good stuff. Whether I walk away with any hardware or not, it’s a great opportunity to meet other people in the industry.”

 Cooper started his own video production business, Frostline Productions, this year, and is hoping the experience will lead to networking opportunities, as well.

Although his experience is largely in wildlife cinematography, Cooper said that his new company would film all types of documentaries. The company’s motto is “Everybody has a story to tell.”  Cooper recently traveled to Africa to film a documentary about Anchorage students visiting Ghana.
    “There’s No Place Like Nome” shows scenes of natural beauty in and around Nome, as well as images of the Native Alaskans who live there. Cooper says he shot every piece of footage in the video, and helped produce it as well. He filmed 20 to 30 hours of footage that was edited to 23 minutes.

Cooper attributes his nomination to a mixture of luck and time. “We got phenomenally lucky with the weather, and I had plenty of time. You have to immerse yourself in it, and I was able to get out there on the roads. I was able to get out and really connect with what I was shooting.”

“I really fell in love with the place. Nome was completely different than Haines. There are no trees. It’s just amazing out there.”

The team filmed in Nome last summer and also at the end of the 2008 Iditarod sled dog race.

Cooper’s Nome video will compete against four other documentaries including ones on Switzerland and on climbing Mount Washington, and one titled “Attack of the Sea Slugs.”

Cooper’s partner on the video was also nominated for an Emmy for director.

No matter the outcome on May 30 awards night, it was an honor just to be nominated, Cooper said.

Cooper graduated from Haines High in 1984. After attending college, he returned to Haines in 1994 and lived here until 2005.