Iditarod’s official photographer chronicles a lifetime of adventure

WASILLA­— Jeff Schultz has been the official photographer for the Iditarod for 37 years, and like the mushers, the adventure got into his blood. Looking back at all his time with his ‘Iditarod Family,’ he’s glad he answered his call to the wild, shooting a sport synonymous with Alaska.

“I just do it for the fun of the race,” Schultz said.

Looking forward, he is hopeful for another eventful year, each one different from the last. He said anyone who goes to the Iditarod- a musher, a volunteer, a spectator- could write a book. The spirit of the event itself is packed with adventure.

“It’s part of Alaska.”

He published and released his own book, ‘Icons’ back in December with text by Tricia Brown. The book catalogues memorable times, people, places, animals, and even food. It chronicles a still image collage of Iditarod moments that shaped its history. He’s proud to be the one capturing the moments, as he put it, something bigger than himself.

The race has changed over the years but overall, Schultz said it’s stayed the same. Back then, mushers bred dogs to have tough pads. Now, nearly all the dogs have booties. The whole race has got lighter and faster, Schultz said. He knew zero about mushing or the Iditarod before coming up here from California in 1978. He was chasing the romantic ideals that brought so many others before him.

“There’s too much pavement and too many people in California so I figured that Alaska was the place for me.”

He went to a Bluegrass concert with his wife, Joan in 1979. It was a benefit for Colonel Norman Dane Vaughan famous Iditarod musher. This is where Schultz met the Joe Redington Sr. - the ‘Father of the Iditarod.’

“He was the greatest guy.”

After a successful photo shoot, the two got to talking. Redington Sr. asked Schultz to go out and take some shots for the committee.

“He’s the kind of guy who likes to get everybody involved with Iditarod.”

In 1981, he a found a pilot willing to take him to McGrath. He took the photos and donated them to the ‘Mother of the Iditarod,’ Dorothy Page. She said ‘wow’ and offered to pay for his airfare, film and processing, with trail food along the way if he did it again the next year. That is when he became one of the official photographers. This experience with Redington Sr. and Page kindled a spark for the last great race within Schultz. There were some before him and some died and others moved on, leaving Schultz as the one and only, official photographer.

“I really enjoy composing the scene in front of me into something visually pleasing to me. I just love capturing scenes.”

Schultz has always enjoyed taking pictures and starting really getting into it in middle school. He was able to start making a living from his craft in 1982. He shot weddings, portraits, events, and so on. That’s been his bread and butter for years. The Iditarod is more of a labor of love, investing a lot of his time and resources. Aside from the big race, he volunteers his time to the Iditarod throughout the year, shooting events and whatever they need. To him, capturing moments is like therapy.

“I told people back in the film days that I loved photography so much, I’d take pictures even if there wasn’t film in the camera.”

To learn more about his new book, ‘Icons,’ www.schultzphoto.com/store/icons-of-the-iditarod