Water and Sky is a body of fine art landscape photography I have made along the open coast of New England over the last thirty years. Every photograph is shot on film with a large format camera. The collection is limited edition and hand-numbered. Most of the work is from Cape Cod, the islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, the South Shore of Massachusetts, and the coast of southern Maine.
This collection is the simpler companion to Vessels. There are no boats. Sometimes there are no people. The subject is what happens between the surface of the water and the bottom of the sky. A line of horizon, a band of surf, a stretch of cloud catching the last light of the day.
Some of these photographs took years to make. The right tide had to coincide with the right weather and the right time of year. With large format film, you cannot bracket and pick the best frame later. You set up, you wait, and you commit when the moment arrives.
Minot Beach
I didn’t discover Minot Beach until a few years ago, even though it is only twenty minutes from my home. It then took me two years and multiple rolls of film before I could capture it the way I wanted. Minot Light is on the horizon in the far distance. The patience this image required is one of the things I like most about working in this medium. You cannot rush a photograph that depends on tide, light, and weather all arriving at the same time.
Moonrise Race Point
Moonrise Race Point is one of my only images with a distinct moon in the scene. It is extremely difficult to capture the moon with proper luminosity using low ASA film and have it balance with the foreground at the same time. In the distant horizon there is a small group of birdwatchers who had just left from photographing a snowy owl. They have no idea they are in the frame.
A Break in the Weather
I shot A Break in the Weather because of the wide range of tonality. I liked how the thin band of green water was separated from the foreground by the surf. The sun popped out just enough to get a more radiant white in the waves and bring out a subtle blue in the clouds. Three things had to happen at once for the frame to work, and they all did.
Why film, why large format
I get asked this every time someone sees one of these prints in person. The answer is the same as it has been for thirty years. A large format film camera makes a different kind of photograph than a digital sensor does. Film holds tone. It compresses highlights softly. When I print a photograph at 60 inches or 90 inches wide, the grain becomes part of the image. There is nothing to sharpen artificially. What I saw is what is on the wall.
Digital is a wonderful tool. It just isn’t this tool.
The other reason is pace. With large format, you set up the camera, you compose, you wait for the light, and you commit. Each frame costs something. You think before you take it. That slowness shows up in the work, even if you cannot put your finger on why. It is the difference between a snapshot of the ocean and a piece of fine art photography of the ocean.
More from the collection
Black Rock. I still don’t know if Black Rock, also called Doctors’ Island, is in Hull or Cohasset. I shot it from the beach perspective and waited for a decent surf to add some dynamism, plus end-of-day light to bring out the color in the rock.
Silver Crest and Ocean Luster. Two images from Nantucket, shot about ten minutes apart with the exact same composition. They are remarkably different in tone and feel. I could not decide which one to add to the collection, so they ended up paired. Buyers tend to choose between them based on the existing room and paint color where they will hang.
Provincetown #1. This scene was all about the sunset. I saw it developing and found something panoramic to put in the foreground for depth and scale. Apparently this is where the locals go to watch the sunset. I turned around and there were about a dozen people capturing the same scene.
Sachuest Point. This image is from a series of commissioned pieces I made for a client who hangs my work in his homes in Middletown, Rhode Island and Greenwich, Connecticut. The geologic patterns in the rocks at Sachuest really add to the landscape there.
Chatham Surf. I shot this specifically to capture the tonality of the sand. I like its rich warmth.
On limited editions
Every photograph in the Water and Sky collection is a limited edition fine art photograph, hand-numbered, printed in small runs. When the edition is sold, that is the end of it. The negative still exists, but the edition does not get reopened.
There is a great deal of fine art photography for sale online that calls itself limited edition without actually being limited. I print mine in genuinely small runs. When I say the edition is closed, I mean it.
Bringing a photograph into your home
Open coast photographs work best on long, uncomplicated walls. A horizontal piece in a great room, an entry hall, a hospitality lobby. Anywhere you want a sense of openness without competing visual elements.
These are the quietest photographs in the collection. The horizon line and the surf carry the composition. There isn’t much else for the eye to do, which is the point. At 80 or 90 inches wide, a piece becomes architectural. It opens the wall up the way a window would.
If you want the room to feel calmer, the open horizons of Water and Sky tend to do more of that work than any other collection.
See it in your space before you buy
One of the things I built into the website is a tool called See It In Your Space. You upload a photograph of your wall, give me rough measurements, and pick a piece from the collection. I send back a rendered preview of the framed print on your actual wall, in the size and frame option you are considering. It takes about a day. There is no charge and no obligation.
Buying fine art photography at this scale is a meaningful decision, and a flat image on a screen does not always tell you what a 60 inch print is going to feel like in a real room. For sizing reference and current pricing, the Print Sizes and Pricing page lays out everything from the 40 inch standard up through custom installations.
See the full collection
You can browse the full Water and Sky collection here. The collection is updated when new work is finished, which is a few times a year.
Related collections you may want to see
If this collection speaks to you, the work in these collections often appeals to the same buyers:
- Vessels. The companion collection to Water and Sky, with small wooden boats and harbor scenes from the same coastline.
- Dunes and Estuaries. Marshes, dune paths, and tidal scenes from the South Shore and the Outer Cape.
- Driftwood, Lake and Stream. Black and white work from the Maine lakes.
- New Releases. The most recent additions to the body of work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these photographs digital or film?
Every photograph in the Water and Sky collection was shot on film with a large format camera. Nothing is generated, composited, or digitally captured.
How large can these prints be made?
Standard sizes range from 40 inches to 90 inches on the long edge. Custom sizes beyond 90 inches are available for installations that need them. The largest prints I have made have been over 10 feet wide.
Are the prints framed?
Framing is offered on every print. I work with museum-grade framers and match the framing to the image. Unframed prints are also available if you have a framer you prefer.
Are these limited editions?
Yes. Each photograph is hand-numbered and printed in a limited run. Once the edition sells out, no more prints of that image are produced.
Where are most of these photographs taken?
The Water and Sky collection is shot along the New England coast, including Cape Cod from Truro and Provincetown to Chatham, the South Shore from Cohasset to Duxbury, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, and the coast of southern Maine.
Do you offer trade pricing for interior designers?
Yes. The Designer Trade Program is open to working interior designers, architects, and stagers. Trade pricing applies to the full collection.
