I led a group of five photographers on a three-day workshop out of Hoopers Island to photograph the landscapes, wildlife and seafood industry in Dorchester County. The weather on day one and day two of the trip was great, giving us great opportunities to shoot at a crab picking house and explore the working waterfronts and landscapes of Hoopers Island and the Bishops Head peninsula. Day two started with an early morning trip on the water with a group of pound netters out of Fishing Creek. We joined the crew as they fished their pound nets in the Chesapeake Bay just off Hoopers Island. After the fishing trip, we had a tour of an oyster aquaculture facility where the students got to photograph parts of the oyster farming process. The remaining part of day two was spent reviewing images, photographing landscapes close to the lodge and eating fish for dinner that were caught on the pound netting trip. Plans to photograph Hoopers Island lighthouse on the morning of day three were changed by the weather. We woke up to a stiff northeast wind coming across the Honga River and rain. We spent the morning at the lodge reviewing images shot on the previous two days and ‘talking shop.’

A big thanks to the Hoopers Island store for providing the group with excellent meals and a great place to hang out. Denise Lewis and her daughter Sarah for helping clean the lodge prior to the workshop. Burl Lewis and his crew for an awesome morning on the water to photograph pound netting. Bobby Gootee from Hoopers Island Oyster Co. for the oysters and a great tour of their facility on Hoopers Island.