Years ago, I stumbled across photographic gold while on assignment in Alaska. Those first pictures I made of people earning their living on the boisterous, salmon-rich waters of Cook Inlet inspired me to delve ever deeper into the offshore world of commercial fishing.
The lure of seeing sights most people never get to see, of photographing a human pursuit with an unbroken connection to our atavistic selves — along with the risk of physical harm and seasickness — was too strong to resist.
In my terrestrial photography, I attempt to control as many variables as I can with the objective of creating a preconceived image for a client. My crew and I might spend 1 to 2 hours on set lighting and composing before we make the picture. I am the captain of my set. It is not so at sea.
When I take my camera on board a fishing vessel, the only things I can control are where I point the camera and when I make an exposure.
All in the family
One winter, Kristen had an idea for a gallery showcasing David’s work focused on the Cape and the people who make the fishing industry all that it is. She imagined events at the gallery, bringing people in the community together to learn about and support aquaculture, lobstering, and other fisheries as well as the fragile and beautiful environment that surrounds them. Like a lot of local businesses, this is a family affair: son Sam, owns HillsBuilt Carpentry in Orleans and did most of the work to create the beautiful space; daughter Sophie, an alum of the Provincetown Independent, lives in DC but consults with them and will be found at the gallery whenever she can; and son, Colman, a Riverview School graduate who lives in Hyannis, completes the picture.
