Al Laudert Corners the Shrimp Art Niche

***Shrimp Ice Fishing Photo courtesy of Al Laudert***

Michelle McAfee - CRR Staff

Al Laudert pulls shrimp pots from underwater and heaves them onto the deck of his boat, bobbing near the mouth of the Valdez Harbor. Most shrimpers dump their catch into buckets, then begin processing the shrimp for eating. But Laudert has a different routine with a particular goal in mind: he is auditioning shrimp to play the main characters in his live art photographs. Al Laudert is known as the “Shrimp Whisperer.”

When Laudert is casting shrimp for a scene, he looks for character, bright black expressive eyes, and what is sometimes referred to as X-Factor, or charisma. Some shrimp have star power and play better with others. A smile beamed through Laudert’s voice when he said, “I do talk to the shrimp out there. They generally only talk back when I’m alone on the boat. Haven’t had too many other people witness their vocalization. They’re pretty cool critters.”

His amusement was contagious.

The shrimp saga began nearly twenty years ago when Laudert headed out in his boat after work to check his pots, pull in the catch, process the shrimp, and re-set. An hour and a half later, back at the dock, he noticed an empty feeling in his belly. Not because he was hungry but because it was all over. He enjoyed shrimping so much that he wanted to find a way to expand the experience. Later, he woke in a cold sweat, sitting up in bed in the middle of the night with the spark of an idea.

The next day, he saw the neighbor kid playing with Godzilla in the driveway, and Laudert asked if he could borrow it for an hour. Laudert took Godzilla down to Dock Point and snapped a bunch of photographs. One of those pictures popped, and it’s been the Shrimp Whisperer’s theme photo ever since. “Old Shrimpzilla’s been around for a long time, but that’s really the one that made me think all I gotta do is keep taking photos, and I’ll get the right ones,” said Laudert.

***Shrimpzilla. Photo courtesy of Al Laudert***

Digital photography hit the scene then, opening creative windows for Laudert because he could see what he was shooting while he was shooting it. He could look in the viewfinder and see if what he envisioned was really working in the camera or just in his mind. Laudert said, “In the old days of film cameras, you didn’t know you had a shot until the film came back from the processor. Heck, by then, I’d forgotten half the photos I had taken. I can do so much more through the eye of a digital camera.”

His work is not willy-nilly. Everything is pre-planned. Laudert has an enormous amount of shrimp props. When the Director (a.k.a. Whisperer) has a vision, he combs through his props to see if he can pull off the scene. If the goods are there, Laudert plans the shots around the weather. If he knows it’s going to be sunny, the waterfront will work well, or he’ll set up a scene on the boat. Gray and foggy weather skunked many shrimp shoots.

“Most people have only seen their shrimp battered or butterflied and don’t realize how cool they look when set up in the right situation. They can appear to be enjoying things just as much as we do.”

When the Shrimp Whisperer isn’t shrimping or shooting, he is visiting thrift stores, garage and yard sales, and antique malls to find things that might interest his shrimp. He doesn’t have to beat other shoppers to the sales because Laudert wants things most people don’t. Laudert’s wife co-directs the sets and shots and holds a photography degree. He said, “When we go to a yard sale, if she hears me laughing, or I hear her laughing, we know that one of us found something we may be able to incorporate.”

It takes an entire crew to pull off the scenes. Laudert has friends and relatives all over the country who will send photos from their phones standing in an aisle at Goodwill in Somewhere, United States, asking if they should buy this or that prop for the shrimp.

Why are so many people into it and invested in his vision? He introduces them to a different side of shrimp. “Most people have only seen their shrimp battered or butterflied and don’t realize how cool they look when set up in the right situation. They can appear to be enjoying things just as much as we do,” said Laudert.

Webster and Wiki could use one of Laudert’s photos instead of a word definition of anthropomorphic.

Laudert’s background stems from cartooning. He started drawing cartoons and caricatures of people in school and had a knack for drawing on strong or weak points. He said, “I used to draw disrespectful pictures of my brother and sister when we were kids. That’s kind of where it started. I did cartoons in our local union newspaper and things like that for a long time. But I found a different medium that I enjoy more.”

Laudert’s medium is original and unique - his niche. And he likes it that way. There are hundreds of professional, stellar landscape and wildlife photographers in Alaska at the top of their game. He said any one of them might struggle to sell fifty calendars in a given year because of the competition. But the Shrimp Whisperer can sell a thousand because he has the shrimp art niche cornered. Laudert said, “I have something that others aren’t doing. Alaska T-shirts are all pictures of salmon, halibut, or moose. But we’re bringing shrimp to the mix.”

***Al Laudert showing his art at the 2022 Valdez Brewing pop-up art event. Photo courtesy of Al Laudert***

Laudert confessed he doesn’t consider himself a great photographer. He just has great subject matter. He said, “I don’t need the same level of detail as somebody taking a picture of a bear a hundred yards away fishing. Everything has to be just right on that. I usually focus on the eyes of the shrimp. As long as their eyes are black, bright, and crisp, that’s all I concern myself with when I’m focusing my shots.”

But a lot of imagination and ingenuity go into making his photos.

Laudert has a friend in town who walked up from the harbor and said, “Man, I’d be nervous a little bit if I were you.”

Laudert said, “What are you talking about?

His friend said, “Well, my buddy is a charter captain, and took a picture of a shrimp with a can of red bull.”

“Yeah?” said Laudert.

“Yeah. He might start doing this shrimp thing.”

“I couldn’t care less. I know how many years it takes to put together any kind of portfolio. I’m lucky to get 10 or 15 good shots in a year,” said Laudert, who has experienced such wet, dismal weather that he could only take a couple of pictures in some years, and those were shaded or taken in the rain. A laugh, dressed in wisdom, experience, and confidence, rolled in on the Shrimp Whisperer’s words.

“I have something that others aren’t doing.”

Spring is coming, and Laudert and his wife are planning scenes. One shot has been grinding on the Whisperer’s mind for two years, but the conditions haven’t been right. He’s prepared to pull out all the stops this year.

Laudert explains his idea, “I built a parasail and have a radio-controlled boat. It’s gonna take three people to do this operation. I test-fired the boat on the river, and it goes fast. I built a little tether to come off the back of the boat, about 24 inches long. I’ll have my parasailing shrimp, and I built a harness for him already. Somebody will be walking from behind with him suspended by a fishing pole. We’ll get the rooster tail on the boat, and I think we’ll be able to capture something pretty special there.”

Laudert will also be directing a shrimp antique car show using fabulous 118-scale diecast toy cars. Faithful fans line up every year to buy the Shrimp Whisperer’s calendar and greeting cards like “Merry Shrimpmas,” “Shrimp on the Barbie,” and “Creedence Saltwater Revival,” which is a photo of a shrimp rock band with rock-n-roll SHRIMP lettered on the bass drum.

Laudert’s daughter, Aireekah Laudert, is the graphic arts team and handles all the technical details. The shots for next year’s calendar must be sent to the printer by May, so the Shrimp Whisperer is on a tight schedule.

For years Laudert has set up a booth at Girdwood Forest Fair but said this one might be his last, “I’m getting too old and tired to run around to shows. But I enjoy them so much because they treat me like royalty.” Laudert also sets up every year at the Christmas Bazaar in Valdez. He currently has 2023 calendars and greeting cards available on his website.

If you drop in to see the Shrimp Whisperer, he’ll hand you a shrimp temporary tattoo, a sticker, or a photo. He’ll tell you to flip through the calendars and, “Don’t just look at the thumbnails,” look at the big picture. If you share some silly artistic idea that woke you up in the middle of the night, he’ll say, “Don’t feel limited or intimidated. Just go ahead and see what you can do with it.” And above all, do it for the joy and fun of it.

You can see the Shrimp Whisperers’ work at: shrimpwhispererak.com