On Friday October 9th my Working the Water exhibit with the Somerset County Arts Council will be opening at the newly renovated gallery in downtown Crisfield, Maryland. The indoor/outdoor reception runs from 5pm to 7pm. Oversized prints from the book Working the Water and other prints from trips on the bay to document the seafood industry will be on display. Copies of the book along with 2021 wall calendars will be available for sale through the Somerset County Arts Council and the Crisfield Heritage Foundation. The exhibit will remain on display during the month of October. The gallery is open Wednesday through Friday from 11am to 3pm.
Hospice Cup - 2020 regatta photographs
I partnered with the Hospice Cup to photograph their annual regatta on September 19th, 2020 to raise money and awareness for Hospice in the Chesapeake Region. Dave Gendell, former editor and founder of Spinsheet Magazine, volunteered his time to operate his 23’ Regulator as the photo boat and escort me to the three different areas near the mouth of the Severn River where boats of different classes were racing. Also onboard were Chris Bowser - a Hospice Cup board member, and Molly Winans - the current editor of SpinSheet. Dave did an excellent job at keeping me in the right place to photograph the boats involved in the regatta amidst difficult conditions. At the start of the races, the wind was blowing a sustained 20-25 knots out of the Northeast and created a 2-3 foot swell when the tide was coming up the bay. The heavy winds and seas created for great sailing conditions and for dramatic photographs of boats ‘heeled’ over showing off their bottom paint.
The photographs below show boats of different classes racing in the three different areas. Prints of these photographs are available for sale using the link below. 50% of the proceeds from each print sale will be donated directly to the Hospice Cup to further their efforts of raising funds and awareness for Hospice care in the Chesapeake Region.
September 2020 - Chesapeake Bay Magazine Cover
First look at the new cover of the September 2020 issue of Chesapeake Bay Magazine featuring the Red and White bow of Jim Scoggins' handcrafted Simmons Sea Skiff. Prints of this photograph are available through the Annapolis Collection Gallery and on my online shop.
Select Photographs - Spring 2020
Island Life - Underwater
Taking advantage of the clear water in the shallows of Tangier Sound. Select photographs from this series will be featured in different chapters of my forthcoming book Island Life.
Island Life - Community, Seafood Harvest, Islands of the Past
Continuing to document the communities, commercial fisheries and traditions that make Smith and Tangier Islands unique for my forthcoming book Island Life - release date is October 2021.
Island Life - Nesting Wildlife
Photographing the nesting wildlife on Smith and Tangier Islands while conducting photography workshops in May and June.
Frenchtown, Maryland
Photographs from Frenchtown, a small town on a marsh adjacent to Tangier Sound, the Manokin River and the Annemessex River in Somerset County. I stayed in Frenchtown from May to late June while working on Island Life, other photography projects and while running photography workshops.
Crisfield, Maryland - Crab Packing
On assignment for The Crab Place - an online seafood retailer based in Crisfield, Maryland.
Menhaden Purse Seining
Tidelands, a fishing vessel owned by Omega Protein Co. out of Reedville, Virginia seining for Atlantic Menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay near Tangier Island.
Fishing in the Lower Chesapeake Bay
Light tackle fishing for Cobia and Red Drum out of Cape Charles, Virginia.
Eel Grass Restoration - Eastern Shore of Virginia
Photographing an ongoing Eel Grass restoration project for the Nature Conservancy on South Bay near Wreck Island, Virginia.
Deer fawn near my home in Annapolis, Maryland.
Algae Blooms and Fish Kills -Severn River - Annapolis, Maryland
A ‘Mahagony Tide’ caused by a bloom of the algae species Prorocentrum Minimum stained the Severn River and several other rivers that feed into the upper Chesapeake Bay. The algae is not toxic to humans but can be harmful to aquatic environments when present in high concentrations. By blocking light from penetrating through the surface of the water, high concentrations of algae can stifle the growth of underwater grasses. When the algae dies off as it naturally does, the decomposition of the algae can deprive the water of oxygen which kills fish and shellfish. In the Severn River this year, there were multiple fish kills reported up and down the river. The largest fish kill of more than 4,000 individual fish was reported in Spa Creek in late May. The species that fell victim to the lack of oxygen were smaller fish such as juvenile Menhaden and Atlantic Croakers that were unable to escape the ‘bad water’. Other species that thrive in the upper reaches of the Severn such as Pumpkinseed Sunfish were also found dead in large numbers.
This year’s bad water quality comes after an incredible late spring and early summer in 2019. Underwater grasses flourished in the upper reaches of the river last, with some senior scientists and naturalists claiming that the grasses were at their highest levels in more than 30 years.
Coronavirus Impacts on Seafood Industry
Words and photographs for a June 2020 feature in Chesapeake Bay Magazine analyzing the impacts to the Chesapeake Bay seafood supply chain during the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic.
