The Machine

Five years ago I began a journey with prostate cancer. After considerable testing, it was determined to be intermediate stage and slow growing. Active surveillance with biopsies and MRI scans seemed the best way to keep track of any changes. After 5 years of that, I decided the next course of treatment. Options included continued active surveillance, prostatectomy or radiation. Considering the pros and cons of each, I chose radiation.

I spent most of March and April this year with therapy at the Cowell Cancer Center in Nags Head. Each treatment lasted only a few minutes and went for 28 days. Expected side effects were minimal. 

The Varian VitalBeam machine provided radiation. Lying on the table, I was amazed at the robotic capabilities controlled from an adjacent room. Scanners and a radiation dome rotated around me with laser-lined precision.

My  prognosis is excellent. A positive side effect is that I made close bonds to all my caregivers and their patients. Now I’m just about back to normal and hopefully cancer free.

Commercial Fishing

Moving here decades ago, introduced me to a culture of commercial fishing. It was a livelihood that captured my attention. I spent lots of time watching newfound friends hauling in their catch, sometimes prolific, many times not. I hung out at the creek where locals kept their boats and packed fish. It became a passion for my photography.

Old wooden boats had beautiful lines, particularly the traditional shad boats, like these in the background of this 1985 photograph. I noticed the wooden workboats were being replaced by ones built of fiberglass.

Shooting this 1980 image, I was especially taken by four shad boats tied up at the Beasley fish house in Colington. I would see them frequently long hauling Pamlico Sound at Rodanthe. Originally designed to use sail power, most had been converted to using gasoline engines.

I revisited that same fish house two weeks ago. The shad boats were gone, the building in disrepair. Some fishing was still apparent but it was not the same. For me, the scene symbolized the decline of independent commercial fishing enterprises, and made me sad.

 

Tongers of Tilghman Island

I’ve been reviewing lots of photographs from decades ago. Many are all but forgotten and bring back memories, like images I took when working out of Tilghman Island, Maryland.

While crewing aboard the dredging Virginia W, there were times when large portions of Chesapeake Bay froze, leaving the fleet of sailing skipjacks tied up at the dock.

Hand tongers however could reach areas still free of ice to get their harvest. Less efficient in catching oysters, it’s environmentally more friendly to benthic marine life on the bottom.

The shafts on hand tongs can reach lengths of 20 feet or more.

Tongers load the culling board while another crew member saves the good oysters and dumps the detritus overboard.

A more efficient way to use tongs is hydraulically. Called patent tongs, they’re much larger and mechanically harvest more than hand tongs. At the same time, this method can be more destructive to organisms on the bottom.

Working with hand tongs is brutally physical. Imagine the workout you’d have at the end of a day. These watermen worked from a classic Chesapeake Bay dead-rise boat, Mina Conway. For them it was just another day at the office!

Snow Job

The National Weather Service measured 8 inches of snow in Waves. It was relatively unusual, and it seems in the last 50 years, we’ve had a similar event about every 10 or 12 years. I’ve seen  snowfall amounts a couple times, as much as a foot deep.

This recent storm was fun and visually stimulating. Although blowing a gale, temperatures never dropped much below freezing. It was exhilarating to be the first person to make footprints toward the beach near my home.

Never whiteout conditions, the snowfall was moderate yet lasted nearly 20 hours.

The seas were lively, but the real show for me was the beach.

Wind-driven snow continued as I checked different vantage points.

The dunes can be a treasure trove of possibilities for a camera.

While the tendency is to shoot horizontally, vertical compositions can be just as effective.

What the environment has in store for its next show is anyones guess!

 

Looking Back

Nearly a lifetime ago I began searching for a better way of life. Out of school and more on my own, I was content, but the suburbs of DC was not where I wanted to be. Surfing had given me a taste of Hatteras Island and after some trips there, I was inextricably drawn back to the island. It was uncrowded, relatively undeveloped, and there were waves. An extended visit of 6 months turned into 50 years. Where did that time go? 

All along the way, I nurtured an interest in photography. I loved the environment, and culture. Before long those things embraced me and wouldn’t let go.

Nowadays I spend time evaluating and organizing what I’ve done as a photographer. There are lots of images… too many count.

A recent job got me digging in, editing and printing for a permanent display in our neighborhood Community Building. I made a photograph of some of those finished prints on my work table to see how they looked. Collectively it’s a record of the past. Documenting history was never my intent as I shot the surroundings, but time passing made it that way. 

I’m grateful for what the island has given me, the experience of finding my niche, and encountering a colorful cast of characters. It’s been a great run!