In the most recent episode of “The Great North,” an animated sitcom from the writers of “Bob’s Burgers,” characters take part in a photo calendar competition where they pose crabs in various whimsical scenarios.
While it’s not stated what inspired the episode, it’s easy to draw similarities between the crab calendars featured in the show and Shrimp Whisperer AK’s shrimp calendars made by Al Laudert.
Laudert, 68, who visited The Comics Place Saturday, Feb. 4 for signings and photos, said he started taking posed photos of shrimp almost 20 years ago.
Now retired, he sells calendars, prints, stickers and gift baskets at various events around southern Alaska, as well as on his website and Etsy store. The online sales are managed by his daughter, Aireekah Laudert, a Bellingham local. This year’s 2023 calendar will be his eighth calendar release.
Al Laudert, founder of Shrimp Whisperer AK, shows off his first shrimp photograph, which depicts a Godzilla action figure devouring an Alaskan shrimp. (Trenton Almgren-Davis/Cascadia Daily News)
It all started with the shrimp’s eyes, Al said, which turn coal black within two minutes after you pull them up from the ocean.
“I was just so amazed,” he said. “I just had to find a way to extend it.”
As long as the eyes are the focus, Al said, the rest of the photo will come together.
He doesn’t use Photoshop on any of his photos, which sometimes involve elaborate setups. Al’s photos are taken while the shrimp are still alive, which means he has about a two-hour window before a shrimp loses its camera appeal. After the photoshoots, he typically stores the shrimp in his freezer to eat later.
The first photo he took involved posing a shrimp with a Godzilla figurine borrowed from a neighborhood kid. Aireekah said when people ask how big the shrimp are, a joke of her father’s is that they’re so big they could take on Godzilla.
Max Dunstone, left, and Kaileigh Hubbard talk with Aireekah Laudert during the pop-up sale. Hubbard regularly gifts cards to friends and family featuring local artists. (Trenton Almgren-Davis/Cascadia Daily News)
And the Shrimp Whisperer has no plans of slowing down.
“We have two years planned out,” he said. “For the 2024 calendar, I only need two or three more shots to complete that with what I have set up now.”
Packs of limited edition valentines, featuring two shrimp driving a sports car framed within a heart, were available for purchase just in time for the holiday.
This is Al’s second visit to Bellingham for signings and photos. Several years ago he held a similar event at The Comics Place’s old location on Holly Street.
“The bottom line for mine is just enjoying sharing the art,” he said. “Most people only have seen shrimp battered or butterflied and don’t realize how cool they are.”
