New guy

[AK Explorer]

Just wanted to let everyone know about the newest taxidermist in town.

His name is Jamie Altenberger and he is taking over the Alaska Wildlife Rugs business, but he’s renamed it Alaska True North Taxidermy. He has a ton more on his Facebook page too.

I met him as I was standing over this bear and we have become friends now. The story is as cool as the bear.

He has somewhere around 20 years of taxidermy experience and I’ve seen his work and it’s all great. He worked for many years at Fosters before leaving for other opportunities.

This is the awesome job he did on my bear and pictures really don’t do it justice but I tried!

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[AK Explorer]

Couple more

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[AK Explorer]

Last one
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[4merguide]

Really like the idea and the mount!

[AK Explorer]

Really like the idea and the mount!

thanks

it was all him and his expertise.

he and his wife were out scouting for caribou when they saw this whole stalk and kill take place. They came right up into where I was and then hiked up to me and the bear. Because of the way the stalk played out and my own tendency to not think about details, I wouldn’t have any photos of the entire thing without his wife.

anyway, i saw the bear swatting at some ptarmigan just like these right before I shot her and he saw that the bear had died literally on top of some bones, he told me to grab them to recreate the setting.

he has an eye for detail (and is pretty picky about them, which is good) and made this whole thing turn out great. I highly recommend him.

[4merguide]

thanks

he has an eye for detail (and is pretty picky about them, which is good)

Indeed.....which is what I believe a real good taxi has to have. I had a fellow guide friend of mine that was also a taxi who has now left this world. I remember helping him sew up a life size brownie. When it came to getting the eyes just right in that mount, I think it took him at least a full day before he was happy with "the look" that he wanted. He'd mess with them in the clay for awhile and then call me over to see what I thought. Even when I told him I thought they looked great he'd mess with them some more. Like I said, he messed with them all day and I don't doubt he was still at it long after I went home.

Other things are important in a mount of course, but imo, the eyes really tell it all when it comes to how lifelike a mount ends up looking. My friend told me once that if you can put your face right up next to a mount, like inches away, and ask how it makes you feel. He had a nice mountain lion there he had mounted and I did that. I remember how it gave me kind of an eerie feeling as it made me feel like that cat was about to reach out and slap me! I like how, imo, your bear looks to have that kinda surprised/playing a game like look going on.

My buddie also won first prize with a ram he submitted once. It was just your basic shoulder mount, but what he did with the eyes is what won him the trophy. To this day I've never seen that look on a sheep mount again...it was pretty amazing!

[AK Explorer]

Indeed.....which is what I believe a real good taxi has to have. I had a fellow guide friend of mine that was also a taxi who has now left this world. I remember helping him sew up a life size brownie. When it came to getting the eyes just right in that mount, I think it took him at least a full day before he was happy with "the look" that he wanted. He'd mess with them in the clay for awhile and then call me over to see what I thought. Even when I told him I thought they looked great he'd mess with them some more. Like I said, he messed with them all day and I don't doubt he was still at it long after I went home.

Other things are important in a mount of course, but imo, the eyes really tell it all when it comes to how lifelike a mount ends up looking. My friend told me once that if you can put your face right up next to a mount, like inches away, and ask how it makes you feel. He had a nice mountain lion there he had mounted and I did that. I remember how it gave me kind of an eerie feeling as it made me feel like that cat was about to reach out and slap me! I like how, imo, your bear looks to have that kinda surprised/playing a game like look going on.

My buddie also won first prize with a ram he submitted once. It was just your basic shoulder mount, but what he did with the eyes is what won him the trophy. To this day I've never seen that look on a sheep mount again...it was pretty amazing!

That’s good to hear because Jamie talks about the eyes as much or more than anything! Lol

Originally I wanted the ptarmigan right on her paw like she was swatting it, but because he couldn’t get the right look and angle with the eyes, he didn’t want to do it. I agree - he captured the playful look really well...and he wanted to make sure she was looking right at the bird, not near it. It does make the whole thing look more authentic.

[4merguide]

Cool!...