Workers on the Waterfront
I was surfing the back issues of Edible East End this morning and read about an excellent series of photos by photographer Juliana Thomas.
Her project, “On the Edge: Workers on the Waterfront” captures images of people in Greenport, Long Island who earn their living “at the bitter end of a long maritime tradition.”
The 21 photographs in the series are stunning and are accompanied by a short description of how each of the subjects earns their living. Fishermen, dock builders, artists, mechanics, all manor of maritime craftsmen are presented here.
It’s no secret that Long Island’s maritime traditions are on the wane and it really is nice to see people working to preserve them. Not only the artists like Juliana who preserve though documentation, but the tradesmen themselves who preserve by doing, and refuse to give up even when under severe economic pressure.
Having grown up near the water I’m a sucker for maritime sentimentality and these pictures really get me. I’d love to have each one of them hanging on a wall somewhere in my house.
See them here:
On the Edge: Workers on the Waterfront
And here’s a picture of my own.
This is my son, Joe hauling a scallop dredge on his boat last winter. He’s got the bug too and has been working as a commercial fisherman for about 4 years now.
It isn’t easy. The winters are brutal and the pay is not good. The weather can turn in a flash and he’s had his share of close calls.
But I have to say, I get jealous on a beautiful spring day when he’s on his boat and I’m stuck in a cube. On the other hand, I’m always warm, I’m not risking my life, and I can call in sick every now and then.
