An afternoon in Anacortes . . .

Crabbing season began about 10 days ago -- always exciting!

Crabpots are stacked up, spiffed up, ready to be loaded onto fishing boats. Not the mass quantities and dramatic vistas we had in Oregon, but I take what I can get and am thankful.

Piles of fishing nets always provide good photo opportunities. "Want to buy them? They won't fit in my net shed." Sure. Five hundred pounds of fish nets. You haul.

It's hard to miss the bright red Arrow Launch/Marine Services boats in the harbor. And they look even better up close.

We walk down one of the docks where I photograph the aft section of a fishing boat from Kodiak, Alaska -- love the texture on this one.

When the weather is good, this is what we do -- get out and explore, wander around, and feel so lucky we can do this together.

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Crabbing season begins at last

Crabbing season began just after midnight this morning and I could see the lights of at least eight crabbing boats on the horizon when I looked out the kitchen window. It's good to see them finally out there. This season began a month later than usual because the crabs hadn't filled out enough by Thanksgiving. So Christmas for the fishing community is just now going to begin for these folks.

Yesterday we made a quick turn around the docks to see the boats all loaded up with crabpots. Deckhands were making sure the stacks of pots were completely secure, as you can see in the first photo. The F/V Norska sits patiently waiting for midnight, along with hundreds of other boats along the bayfront.

I liked the bright red color of one boat's hull and the contrast of smooth metal and the multi-textured crab pots above.

And then there's a guy looking for a deckhand job who posted a resume at the top of the gangplank leading down to the docks. He says, in part, "I am the man you want on your deck. I have been crewing for vessels big and small now for several years ... I am a simple family oriented man who is looking for a solid reliable local crab job so that I can start investing in the more important things opposed to being gone in Alaska for months at a time. I am all I say I am and nothing else. I am easy going ... but I won't abide working with slosh drunks, tweakers, or screaming fools. Just a good hand looking for a good boat and crew, to make the most of this years Season..."

I hope he found a job.

©Carol Leigh

Oregon fall = getting ready for crab season

This time of year along the Oregon coast means that folks are gathering, cleaning, repairing, repainting their crab pots and buoys for the upcoming Dungeness crab season, which usually begins around Thanksgiving. These bright red and orange buoys caught my eye the other day, gleaming in the overcast light, glowing against the darker background of stacks of pots.

And then you see a cute little black and white cat we met one year as she emerged from between crab pots.

If the weather's right and the crabs are filled out and the prices are acceptable to the local fisher people, we all may be enjoying fresh cracked crab in December. Save a bite for the kitty. ©Carol Leigh

Back to the pot yard ...

To give you an idea of where I've been shooting the past week, here's an overview of the pot yard in Newport. There were fewer crab pots there today because a lot are now being loaded onto the boats. The games begin the day after Thanksgiving, when they head out to "soak" the pots. Wish I was going to be here to photograph as they head out to sea, but nope, will be on the road by then.

Look at the paintbrushes I found by the crab pots belonging to the F/V Wide West! Hoo ha! Great colors.

And then you see Randy Ripka, whose father owns the F/V Western Breeze, painted in colors of "Ripka Blue" and "Sunfire Yellow." That's the Ripka boat in the last photo, the boat with the lights illuminated on the mast.

Should we ever leave the Oregon coast, all of this is what I'm really going to miss. ©Carol Leigh

Crab pots! Buoys! Color! Hoo ha!

 As I wandered around the pot yard in Newport, it began raining harder and harder and so we left to go to the library. Then, during a brief break in the weather, we headed back again so I could shoot some more. Chris had plenty to read, and I had plenty to shoot — perfect combo. (And it doesn't hurt that Chris has plenty of patience!) The skies were fairly dark and the buoys just gleamed.

This time of year, as everyone's gearing up for crab season, is one of my favorites. I'm a sucker for color and repeating patterns, and there's no end to them here. I could visit every day for two weeks, finding something new each time.

And the final photo shows the F/V Timmy Boy, loaded up with pots (at least 300 of them), leaving the loading dock to go back and wait until it's time to set the pots. May it be a successful season for these hard-working folks. ©Carol Leigh

Dramatic weather

A brief window in the weather opened up and we headed north to run some errands. We stopped at Seal Rock, however, because the sky was turning BLACK! I scrambled up a little hill to take some shots and was almost blown over by strong winds, but oooh, a rainbow! Along the historic bayfront in Newport there were crab pots stacked up against a Moby Dick mural, so naturally had to shoot that. And then on to the pot yard, where I've never seen so many crab pots and piles of buoys -- everything ready for crab season that begins next week. Photos of the pot yard to follow. ©Carol Leigh

Three hours of no rain

We had a brief dry window yesterday between 9 and noon to run some errands so, as usual, I made a quick stop to photograph buoys and fishing paraphernalia in Newport. When the lighting is luscious like this, the colors really pop. I invariably get weird looks, but who cares? "If people don't occasionally walk away from you shaking their heads, you're doing something wrong." —John Gierach  ©Carol Leigh

70 minutes at the crabpot staging area

Big decision this morning: walk on the beach or head elsewhere? I headed toward the beach, but ended up at the crabpot staging area. The lighting was so overcast, so wonderful, that I just needed some color. The height of the crabbing season is over (it's salmon now), so I knew there probably would be a lot of crabpots and colorful buoys stacked up, ready to be stripped and readied for the upcoming season. There was a row of these big containers, all filled with colorful buoys.

And the red ones! What photographer wouldn't salivate over these colors?

And then there were piles of ropes. Not overly colorful, but I liked the repeating patterns. To show you what I was seeing, there's an overview at the very end — not artistic, but just so you can see part of my environment.

This is going to be my personal project for my upcoming "Photo Essay" class, which begins July 1. The concept is for each student to create a visual "story" of an area, an event, a person, etc. in 10-15 photographs. For more information about this 30-day class, click http://www.photoexplorations.com/photoessay.htm. And if I don't decide to photograph the crabbing scene, I may just decide to shoot at the local farmers' market instead. Uh-oh. That will probably involve photographing people. Very scary. ©Carol Leigh