We had the pleasure of speaking to Vision(ary) artist, Cheryl Clegg about her adventures photographing lobster fishermen along the coasts of Maine.
Cheryl Clegg graduated with a BFA from the Rochester Institute of Technology and chose Boston to start her photography career. During Cheryl’s time in the Boston area she has maintained a commercial photography studio for over 30 years, and has continued to pursue personal projects. Cheryl’s work has appeared in newspapers, annual reports, magazines, billboards, and catalogs. Cheryl’s personal work has been included in many juried group exhibitions including ASmith Gallery, Vermont Center for Photography, Davis Orton Gallery, Texas Photo Society, SE Center for Photography, Praxis Photo Arts Center. Solo exhibitions have included Schoodic Arts for All (Maine), The Wotiz Gallery & Newton Library (Mass.). Cheryl resides in Newton, MA & Corea, Maine with her husband & 5 kids.
Website: www.cleggphoto.com
Follow Cheryl Clegg on Instagram: @cherylcleggphoto
The Endangered Lobstermen
The Endangered Lobstermen is a series of portraits depicting the men, women, and children who lobster fish off the coast of Maine. They face the risk of losing their livelihood and way of life due to changes and challenges in the lobster industry. Each lobster boat operates as an individual business, with fishers self-employed and navigating these challenges while grappling with the uncertainty of lobstering’s future profitability. This ongoing series documents the families in Maine’s lobstering villages, showcasing the human side of the industry amidst new regulations and the impacts of climate change.
Let’s start talking about the intersection of photography and preserving family legacy. How do you feel about being a photographer documenting a long line of lobster fishermen? And what aspects of this generational connection do you find most compelling to document?
Cheryl Clegg: My immediate thought is, as photographers isn’t that what we do? Preserve family legacies? Give it our own family or if we are taking family portraits for others we are preserving a moment in time and documenting the family for future generations. I love seeing all of the generations together and to hear the stories. One long timefishermen’s comments: “I was six years old baiting bait bags for my grandfather right here in Wonsqueak Harbor.” To give you an idea as to how large Wonsqueak Harbor is- if you blink while driving out of Schoodic National Park, you have missed it. The fact that the lobstering tradition and way of life is passed down from generation to generation is unique in our society today. In some of the families I have met, lobstering goes as far back as 7 or 8 generations. I think this is unique in today’s society.
Guide us through your photographic process. How do you interact with your subjects when preparing a photoshoot? And how do you portray the sense of kinship and camaraderie among these individuals?
CC: My feeling is that every person or group of people are different and in most cases I have a very short time to connect with people. I tend to work fast, as people are busy and don’t have much time (or attention span) to be in front of the camera. When you get a group of people together that know each other, they fall into place. My hope is that their familial relationships with each other will come through visually.
Thinking about the loss of the photograph as an object and your project being about conservation and resilience, do you think it’s important to give these pictures to the people you photograph as a token of family history and preservation?
CC: Yes, I do think it is important for the families to have these pictures for their own personal family archives. I hope that the files I have given them are printed and hanging in their homes.
You mention in your statement that “the Maine lobster industry is facing a multitude of challenges.” Which ones do you sense are the most pressing for these communities at the moment?
CC: The challenges the lobstermen face, be it off shore wind (which takes up ocean space & potentially affect the natural aqua culture), climate change or regulations to protect the endangered right whale are immediate and ongoing. New regulations and closures are not just in the distant future, just last week there was an increase to the size of catchable lobsters.
How has photographing these communities impacted you personally? Have there been any moments or stories that particularly resonated with you during your project?
CC: I think each story that I hear is impactful. The families are tight knit and lobstering is a way of life, starting at a very young age. One of the most heart wrenching stories I have heard was a young father who said, “This small fishing town has given me opportunities in my life that I never thought I would have. When I found out I was going to be a father, this town helped me to overcome addiction of prescription pain killers. Lobster fishing has given me the opportunity to provide for myself, my two children, my stepson and it has allowed me to become a foster parent to my nephew.
Without the lobster industry there are no other options for me to provide for my family in the community or the surrounding communities.”
As you photograph these communities throughout the years, have you already started to notice the impacts of climate change through your interactions with these people and with the environment?
CC: Yes. I have seen the impact of the tidal surges. This past January, the astronomical high tides caused severe damage. Fishermen’s warfs (where their lobster traps are stored and where they work on gear) and work shacks washed out to sea all along the coast. Many are rebuilding, but many are not, changing how they work or for some changing how they make a living.
What have been the biggest challenges throughout the execution of this project?
CC: I’d say one of my biggest challenges is making sure I have the correct information and creating awareness for the industry outside of the state of Maine.
If you don’t mind us asking, how do you handle seasickness?
CC: I have gone out to haul quite a few times but have never acquired my “sea legs.” I do pay the price for being on the boat, that is for sure. My trick for these photos….most are shot on shore or close to shore.
