Long-Time Resident Brings Kodiak to YouTube

Jay Barrett/KMXT
Everyone who lives on Kodiak Island knows what a varied and interesting place it is. Untouched wilderness, majestic animals on the land, in the air or under the sea, and of course the interesting people and the things they do. No wonder so many TV shows want to film here.
But now there’s a long-time local behind the video camera calling the shots, and putting her creations on line with “Kodiak Video Magazine.”
“Hello, I’m Ann Barker, a 44-year resident of Kodiak Island, who was drawn here by a vision of adventure and wilderness. This video magazine is my way of sharing unique lifestyles, peoples, animals and geography of my Alaskan home.”
That’s the introduction of Barker’s first video, which was just put online last week.
“Last Spring my husband bought me a little Go Pro camera, and that thing is the most fun! So I started videoing this summer and this fall I was kind of looking for something to focus on. So I thought, ‘why not do a Kodiak Video Magazine and target people who are interested in the island or those who are moving here?’”
Barker agrees that there are a lot of possible subjects and topics around Kodiak just waiting for her to tackle:
“And there’s just a million subjects out there. But I thought the schools, the museums, our arts council, individual people, and of course I have an interest in cooking, so I thought I’d do a few cooking videos on our foods: halibut, salmon, crab, octopus, and of course caviar.”
Making salmon caviar is the subject of her third video, complete with guest chef Ron Doubt:

“I used to strip the eggs from the skein by hand, although I found it to be an extremely time-consuming process. I have since discovered using a racquetball racket just as efficient.”
Barker said holiday episodes are in the works, including a visit with “Father Christmas,” who it turns out, she knows well:
“That is going to be a theme. We added our grandchildren as they came along, and sometimes they go with us and they have costumes, too. Well my six-year-old granddaughter, we’re making a costume for her to wear while she comes Father Christmas-ing with us. And part of that will be in a Father Christmas story – how I made the costumes and why we got started doing it.”
As much fun as making the videos are, Barker says she has an even larger vision for it:
“Eventually I’d like to have a sponsorship for it. I have a particular interest in marketing. I can see where YouTube could market businesses, especially real estate – but I’m not particularly interested in real estate. But restaurants, hair salons, fitness places, anyplace where people would like to look at the business before they actually walk in the door.”
You can find episodes on YouTube; just search for “Kodiak Video Magazine.”