Alison Shaw - Photographing Marthas Vineyard: Where to Find Perfect Shots and How to Take Them

Gingerbread cottages, the campgrounds

I am lucky to live and work in what I consider to be one of the most photogenic locales anywhere. Yes, anywhere. Ive traveled the country and many parts of the world teaching workshops and in search of new photographic subject matter. But each time my feet are firmly planted back on the island of Marthas Vineyard, I realize this 100 square miles of sand, nestled off the south coast of Cape Cod, has as many photographic opportunities as any other place Ive visited.

The Vineyard is not nearly as grand as other locales, neither flashy nor precious. It doesnt leave you in awe. Everywhere you look is certainly not a postcard. Its a quieter beauty, a little more mundane, and sometimes you need to poke around a little to find it. Years ago I was commissioned to photograph the building of a 24-foot wooden sailboat under construction at a bustling little boatyard on the shores of Vineyard Haven Harbor. Over a six-month period I showed up a couple of times a week and recorded the progress of Maybe Baby, photographing the warm early morning light bathing the lofting floor, the texture of the rough sawn frames, and drips of a deeply saturated orange lead paint on the planking. Midway through the boats construction, I interrupted my photography to teach a photography workshop in New Zealand, followed by a couple of weeks exploring both the North and South islands with my camera. I expected that a month spent halfway around the world in a country renowned for its natural beauty, with nothing more pressing than taking pictures and enjoying a vacation with my partner, would have meant a portfolio of new images that would clearly put my boatyard project to shame. Instead, as I finished shooting the boat through its launch date, I realized my photos of the modest little sailboat were far more artistically successful and creatively fulfilling for me than my thousands of New Zealand images.

Part of the appeal of Marthas Vineyard for photographers is the variety of terrain and subject matter. I dont believe Ive ever traveled to another place where so much variety is packed into such a small area. (The Vineyard is 21 miles long, and 9 miles at its widest point. You can drive from the eastern to the western tip in under an hour, including a brief ride on the Chappaquiddick ferry to cross the opening of Edgartowns sheltered inner harbor.) Each of the islands six towns has its own unique character, personality, and history.

Oak Bluffs, formerly known as Cottage City, has hundreds of colorfully painted Victorian summer houses from the mid-to-late 1800s. Vineyard Haven boasts a wooden boatbuilding industry that would rival any in this country. Chilmark has a picture-perfect working fishing harbor with the best sunset views on the island. In Edgartown youll find stately white clapboard Greek Revival houses built by the wealthy captains of whaling ships in the 19th century. Aquinnah has a promontory of colorful clay cliffs towering over the ocean at the western end of the island.

The Vineyard also has a diverse community of people. Oak Bluffs is summer home to many of the movers and shakers in the national African American community. Aquinnah has a federally recognized Native American tribe. The island has a long Portuguese heritage dating back to the heyday of the whaling industry. And the Vineyard regularly plays host to presidents, movie stars, authors, and musicians, here not to be seen but because they love what the island has to offer.

An extra bonus: there are many locations for either early morning or late afternoon light. In general, the east coast of the United States has a lot of great sunrise locations, while the west coast is the place to be for sunset. But since were an island surrounded by water, weve got both.

Because of the islands modest size, great locations are also rarely more than a half hours drive away. When I teach photography workshops in Maine or in Santa Fe, my students may drive an hour or more to reach a particular location. Here, you can roll out of bed and be at your sunrise destination in no time.

Bend in the Road Beach