Soaring story

With most Alaskans, there's always an interesting story behind the face, but bringing that story to light can sometimes be difficult. For Valley journalist Cary Anderson, telling the story of a woman known mostly as the Eagle Lady took 15 years, several thousand photographs and one very close friendship.

Anderson, a radio and print journalist with credits from Newsweek, National Geographic and the CBS Radio Network, recently released The Eagle Lady, a collection of 100 eagle photographs and the story of Jean Keene, who attracts hundreds of eagles to her Homer property, along with tourists and photographers.

"A lot of people go down there just to see the eagles, and a lot of people think she's just a crazy old lady feeding birds," Anderson said. "Just like with many people, there are interesting stories to tell about the people. That's Jean. Her history is so interesting."

Since 1985, Anderson has gone down to Keene's home -- an old motorhome , actually -- in Homer to photograph the eagles. Keene feeds Eagles excess fish from the Icicle seafood plant, and at times, she attracts up to 300 eagles to her property. She doesn't charge people to come and take pictures of the eagles.

Eagles hold a special place in Anderson's life. He came to Alaska in 1984 as a radio journalist for KBYR and KTVA. Since 1988, he has been freelancing, with more than 1,000 national reports on the CBS Radio Network.

He has been all over Alaska photographing eagles, and The Eagle Lady is his third book on the subject. He also wrote Valley of the Eagles and Alaska's Magnificent Eagles (Alaska Geographic).

"I don't think there's a better place in the world to be a newsman," Anderson said. "Alaska is an exciting place, and you can't really cover it all in one lifetime. There are so many landscapes that are foreign to one another. The North Slope is so much different than what is going on in Wasilla or Juneau or Dutch Harbor, but in any one of those places, you'll find people and things you know. Alaska is like a giant small town."

Anderson said a perfect example of why he lives in Alaska is a day he spent in Adak. That particular day the rain was coming down sideways, he was on a grassy cliff and his "blind" was completely soaked. He was short on cash, and everything seemed dismal.

"And then an eagle flew by, and I realized that if someone was telling me I had to be here, I'd have told them to forget it. But here I was, in Alaska on my own free will, getting to photograph eagles up close, and you kind of forget about the sideways rain and the miserable conditions. You have to love what you're doing, and I do," Anderson said.

Everywhere he's gone, Anderson has photographed eagles. He said he sorted through thousands of images for the 100 contained in The Eagle Lady, and the final choices were difficult.

"One eagle shot doesn't compare to another eagle shot. They aren't created equal. Every eagle is a little different than the next one," Anderson explained.

All three of his eagle books are part of a larger project, which is tentatively titled Our National Symbol. He is working in conjunction with Preston Cook, a California collector of all things eagles.

"He's got old cigar labels, old fruit crate labels, Andy Warhol prints, all of eagles," Anderson said. "I'm writing and doing the photographs, but I want to tap into his collection for the project. He's taken to collecting things that I've only touched on."

Until that project is complete, eagle lovers will have to suffice with The Eagle Lady. Anderson unveiled the book at Keene's 80th birthday party in Homer at the Land's End Resort. Copies should be available in the Valley now, or by the beginning of next week, Anderson said.

"It was well received in Homer," Anderson said.