Earl Moore Photography
Fishing nets, mended and drying – La Spezia, Italy

 “Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

Fishermen and photographers may have a lot in common. Your thoughts?

Yesterday was indeed the last of the blue boats photos I’ll share here but as I turned from photographing them these fishing nets laying on the dock drying caught my eye. The fine detail of the netting with it’s softness, curves and folds appealed to me. The rich tones with bright accent colored floats sealed the deal.  The results…you see here.

16 Comments

  1. Earl, I love that splash of yellow right next to the blue. Wonderful post processing, too!

  2. Love those blue tones….

  3. I like the subtle blue/green overall color and then there is that spot of yellow. A fantastic photo.

  4. Ah, one of Thoreau’s most famous quotes. If you’ve ever been to the upper Maine coast, you might ask, “Then what”? If you’re not after fish, what the heck are you after? Fishing is still a way of life for many in that area. These folks are definitelty after the fish!

    But Thoreau wasn’t thinking about the fishermen of Maine. He was thinking of the people who fish because they enjoy it. Those who fish because it allows them to pursue an activity that transcends the act of casting a line. Those who don’t really care about the “destination” (catching a fish), but do care about the “journey” (fishing).

    Of course, most of us who carry cameras around are doing the same thing. Getting a “good” picture is nice, but it’s the actual “doing it” part that’s important.

    I really like that this is relatively dark, Earl. And it’s reinforced by the strong vignetting. Which kind of magnifies the effect of the yellow buoy. Without the yellow, I don’t think the image works.

    • While the fishermen of Maine are “definitely after the fish” I would dare say there is more to what keeps at least some of them fishing then just that. Many I suspect come from multi-generations of fishermen and being a fishermen may be in part about who they are, who they identify themselves as being…even if not multi-generational…in addition to being keenly about catching the fish and making a living. I would also hope for their sake there’s a bit of the “fish because they enjoy it” tossed in.

      Conjecture on my part.

      I agree the yellow float makes this image. It caught my eye when I took it and it’s what I focused on in post-processing. Thanks!

  5. These nets make a wonderful subject shown with your expert shooting and processing. I really like the appeal of the netting and that color is marvelous.

  6. As a young boy I would ride my bicycle to the lake and fish for crappie using my favorite yellow jig. Size played only a small part as my intent was to see how many I could catch and release. I think my photography is much the same. The act of looking, seeing, being present are what it’s about. I would not catch any fish unless I had the gear, knew how to use it and was at the lake.

    And, as you tell us about moving away from the blue boats, an image appears in the fishing nets. This often happens to me and asks the question, do we carry our cameras until an image finds us? Well seen, as you usually do!

    • Monte, a wonderful story and analogy, Thanks!

      Does an image find us or do we have moments of clarity when we recognize what simply lies before us?

      I’ve coming to believe images are “happening” all around us all the time and new locations only seem to have more image possibilities because our initial view is without many of the filters we establish with familiarity.

  7. Nice composition Earl. I really like the somewhat pointed curve at the bottom with the slight color contrast to catch your eye, and how you then lead the viewer to the floats in the center where the color contrast is repeated.

    • Thanks, Mark. This was one of those that only needed the right framing and a little post-processing. The “story” was always there. The slight color contrast at the bottom was a ray of fading sunlight.

  8. I’d never thought of that relationship, but it is applicable. Love the shot – escpecially with the yellow exclamation point.