Bobbi Jordan: Happy Accidents

Sitka photographer Bobbi Jordan’s name for her photo on the cover of the 2025 Sitka Harbor Guide is Orca Dreams. The photo was taken by Jordan in Glacier Bay, Alaska in May of 2023.

Jordan tells a tale of how she and Lyle Sparrowgrove, despite being long-time Sitkans, had never visited Glacier Bay. In 2023, the couple took a seven-day Alaskan Dream Cruise.

“We went with the intent that I could photograph as much as possible with no interruptions (no dogs, etc.). The experience itself was amazing since it was our first time there, in spite of having lived here forever.” The day when the photo was taken was “a whole amazing day, Orcas swimming along with the boat, the light, everything.”

“I started taking photographs when my daughter was born in 1989. All the men in my family had done photography, and I basically spent my childhood trying to avoid having my picture taken – that was my first relationship with photography.”

Jordan first came to Sitka in 1991 and lived here till 1997. She lived in Fairbanks from ‘97 to ‘99, then she returned to Sitka for good.

“In 2000 I worked on the F/V Raven’s Fire – owned by Barb Bingham – as a cook and deckhand. It also gave me the opportunity to visit lots of places I had only read about. I was allowed to take as many photos as I wanted to, which I did. I was shooting film at that time. We would leave Sitka and I would have a gallon ziplock full of rolls of 36 to get me through the next 7 days. Port Armstrong, Port Alexander, Baranof Warm Springs, Kuiu island, Hoonah, Angoon, Ford’s Terror, Tracy Arm – all were places I had read about but never visited.”

“After retiring from teaching, I took a long-term sub job in 2016. After that, I left to ‘run away from home and go to photography school’ – attending the Rocky Mountain School of Photography in Missoula, Montana for 5 months. I shot over 40,000 images during that adventure.”

“I entered my first photo competition in 2020 just to see how I’d do. I actually merited one image out of four. Two years later I received Imaging Excellence with two images, and that made me decide to work on my Master’s Degree from the Professional Photographers of America. I have my Certification as a Professional Photographer already achieved, and am now one merit away from achieving my Master’s.

Discussing personal favorites among her maritime photos, Jordan admitted, “I have one – Alley Oop – which is a big sea lion jumping up on a buoy – he was just sooo big! And there’s another called Tomorrow is a New Day, which is a whale’s tail.”

When questioned about an interesting energetic light flash at the top of the cover photo, Jordan responded, “Yes, these are what I call ‘Happy Accidents.’ In the cover photo, what appears as a ‘light glare’ is actually just the coloring of the rocks in that area – a happy accident. I get lots of happy accidents, because I hate to edit photos. What I am always drawn to is journalistic photography with minimal editing.”

Many of Jordan’s photos are on display year-round in her “pod” at the Island Artists Gallery Coop at 205 Lincoln Street in Sitka. Her work can also be found at bjordanimages.com.