Life Near the Water
I almost titled this one “Salt Life,” as an homage to the ubiquitous stickers that adorn so many cars and SUVs from landlocked states. But I digress before I’ve even begun!
Last Fall, I spent a lot of time shooting on and around MacMillan Pier, which is home to Provincetown’s commercial fishing fleet, as well as a number of tourist-serving vessels (e.g., the Boston ferry, fishing charters, whale watches, sunset cruise schooners, and the like).
Before I lived here full-time, my time on the pier was limited. It often marked the beginning of a visit to Provincetown, as I stepped off the ferry, and then the end of a trip, as I got back on the ferry to return to my regular life. The extreme joy of arriving and the extreme sadness of leaving are hard to explain to people who haven’t been here.
But most of my vacation was spent far from the pier.
In the five years I’ve lived here, the pier and its surroundings has been a frequent subject for my photography. And I see it so differently now than I did as a yearly tourist. For one thing, it’s a place where a lot of people work in the fishing industry. And although most of the hardest work–I’m guessing–takes place out at sea, it’s still remarkable to watch the physically intense job that the fishing boat crews do day after day (and often in the dark of night and driving rains and wind).
As a tourist, the fishing boats were a backdrop to my experience. Now I see them with a sense of awe and appreciation (except for the one that often flew the “Let’s Go Brandon” flag–but I digress once again).
The busy activity on and around the pier, as well as the ever-changing wind and light, make it a fun and challenging place to shoot. Here are a few of my favorite pier and adjacent photos from the last few years. I might be over-indexing on fog photos, but there is nothing I like better than a nice foggy day to shoot.
Be well, and notice the beauty, always.
