Against the Tide

Point Judith, Rhode Island, on the western tip of Narragansett Bay, is home to one of the few remaining deep-sea fishing fleets in New England. Trawlers, scallopers, lobstermen, gill-netters and trap fishermen all work from this productive port, bringing in fish worth over forty-five million dollars a year. In this handsome volume, photographer Markham Starr chronicles in images this vanishing vocation and way of life. Through his masterful black & white photographs, Starr provides a glimpse of what it is like to make a living from the sea and reminds us of the longstanding traditions from which modern fishing practices have evolved. His views of the fleet are solid and evocative of what it feels like to be there, and his pictures of the fishermen honors their spirit, experience and dignitiy. The 133 photographs in Against The Tide have been culled from the thousands Starr shot while going to sea with the fleet in 2006 and 2007. In his introduction he details The Port; The Fleet; The Fishermen; The Project and The Photographs, and plate descriptions describe the subject of each of the works of art.