15 AUGUST 2013

Sixty seven degrees this morning here in the south side of the sun and some rain so I just might go walk the walk a little later.  Really do enjoy walking in a light rain.  I guess it goes back to playing in mud puddles when I was in high school and college.  Well, maybe a little earlier than that but you get the point.

Sales have picked up some and that's a good things to see.  About 11% of the last hundred images sold were of the sepia tone type and I find that interesting.

This is the Chatham, Mass lighthouse on Cape Cod.  Interestingly its in the town of the same name.  Originally there were two lights at this spot but the one that was on the right in this image was moved, I think to become the Nauset Beach light.  Of those sepia sold all were lighthouses, so my thoughts of making the image look vintage was pretty close to the mark.  The Chatham light will be listed for sale later today, so here's another despicable push supporting the profit center.  And just remember for those of my age who are not online geeks, you can click on the highlighted spots on the blog to go to related places.  

I have not sold any of the new Chesapeake Waterman images.  There the concept is the same as with the sepia tone lighthouses.  Antiquity is a part of my interest in both categories.  The waterman images are black and white as well as the sepia toned.  I am not so sure that much of that stuff will sell heavily, but it is an area in which I do have some modicum of expertise and certainly interest.  

When I, as a mere child of 14, first started to live on the Eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay fishing was the only industry other than farming.  Today farming is still strong, but the waterman's life has been greatly reduced by the usual threats to nature.  Government intervention into the business has reduced takes in some instances to the point where they just can't make a living.  Water pollution has always been a threat to the waterman's lifestyle.  And just all around over use of the water system as a whole with boating, new shoreline construction, shipping and recreation. All of the above have stressed the environment to the point where there is just not the quantity of catch available to support a large fishery.  So, I think as time passes these images will become the historic documents I intend them.

If any of you have an interest in the Bay and it's Watermen, I strongly suggest a book written by Captain Lawrence William Simns, published by Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. in 2012.  I knew Larry from my photographic work on the bay and this was released about a year before his death.  He was the long time president of the Maryland Waterman's Association and as such did huge work for helping to clean up the bay.  He was an active waterman in the true and old sense of the title.  He was also named the Commodore of the Chesapeake bay by Gov. O'Malley.  One of the only things that O'Malley ever did that was right.  The book is very readable and talks in length of some of the characters that worked the bay.  Good read!