Putting the camera down - Hoopers Island, MD - Fall 2018

During a Hoopers Island workshop in the fall of 2018 the pound netting crew of Richland Seafood was short a hand, so I put down my camera and grabbed a pair of gloves. Working with the watermen for this brief stint helped me understand how much work goes into making fresh seafood accessible to the public. The work on this trip - pulling in the net, culling through the catch and tagging fish - represents the relatively easy parts of a pound netters job. The most arduous part of their job comes when they are cutting the poles for the nets, setting the poles in the bottom, dipping the nets in antifouling paint and cleaning the nets.

Thanks to my longtime workshop student Lenny Burton for the photographs - they were worth the 2.5 year wait!

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ISLAND LIFE - Historic Photographs

Knowledge of the Chesapeake Bay's history is key to understanding the present day landscapes, cultures and commercial fisheries. The working waterfronts, shorelines and communities of both Smith and Tangier have gone through dramatic changes since they were first became permanent settlements in the 1680's. To help illustrate the history of the islands for my book, I curated photographs from the collections of six photographers to include in the introduction of ISLAND LIFE.

Photography came to the islands in the late 1800's and early 1900's - a time when access to film and developing equipment was difficult, especially in remote areas. Island photographers Virginia 'Ma Ginny' Evans from Smith and Vernon Bradshaw from Tangier had extensive collections of work from the 1930's to the 1960's. Visiting photographer A. Aubrey Bodine has an extensive portfolio from the 1950's that shows both islands just after the peaks in population that I was fortunate enough to have access to. The Tangier History museum has an extensive collection of photographs that chronicle the history of the island up until the present day. The historic photographs will provide a great deal of context to the reader when setting the scene in the first few pages of the book.

-- Copies of ISLAND LIFE available for pre-order --
www.jayflemingphotography.com/shop/islandlifepreorder

'Fishing-up' on Tangier when peeler crabs were placed into 'overboard floats' for shedding, c. 1959 photograph by A. Aubrey Bodine

'Fishing-up' on Tangier when peeler crabs were placed into 'overboard floats' for shedding, c. 1959

photograph by A. Aubrey Bodine

Tangier Island buy boats loaded with oysters, c. 1960's Photograph by Vernon Bradshaw

Tangier Island buy boats loaded with oysters, c. 1960's

Photograph by Vernon Bradshaw

The waterfront at Mailboat Harbor on Tangier Island, c. 1949 Photograph by D.B. Field, courtesy of the Tangier History Museum

The waterfront at Mailboat Harbor on Tangier Island, c. 1949

Photograph by D.B. Field, courtesy of the Tangier History Museum

Crab Scraping barcat on the railway at Tangier's Mailboat Harbor, c. 1959 photograph by A. Aubrey Bodine

Crab Scraping barcat on the railway at Tangier's Mailboat Harbor, c. 1959

photograph by A. Aubrey Bodine

Applying bottom paint to a skiff at Heistin' Bridge, c. late 1950s Photograph courtesy Tangier History Museum

Applying bottom paint to a skiff at Heistin' Bridge, c. late 1950s

Photograph courtesy Tangier History Museum

Students and their teacher pose in front of the schoolhouse in Canaan, a former community on Uppards, c. 1920s. Photograph courtesy of Tangier History Museum

Students and their teacher pose in front of the schoolhouse in Canaan, a former community on Uppards, c. 1920s.

Photograph courtesy of Tangier History Museum

Kids playing on Caleb Jones Road in Ewell, Maryland, c. 1945 photograph by A. Aubrey Bodine

Kids playing on Caleb Jones Road in Ewell, Maryland, c. 1945

photograph by A. Aubrey Bodine

The Smith Island traveling baseball team, c. 1950s

Photograph courtesy of Virginia Evans Collection