Shadows of a Waterfront

The Bellingham waterfront has gone through many changes since its first European colonization. Even its geography was re-molded by the late 19th – early 20th century industry and rail. During my own lifetime I’ve seen it host active logging operations with giant islands of timber floating along the edge of the harbor, mountains of salt piled near the docks where towering cranes unloaded and loaded freighters that would make port from distant and exotic countries.

The last few decades have seen the edge of Bellingham Bay slowly move from this bustling and not always pleasant engine of industry to a quieter and cleaner landscape. The cranes are gone. Some of the world class ship builders have moved on, the pulp mill, that hungry consumer of salt and fresh water has closed its doors. Many of these changes are positive to the life of Bellingham and the life under the surface of the water. Yet there is still an echo, a shadow with conflicting emotional resonance that can be sensed if not seen in the half-light of morning. The mists of time and fog sometimes unite to enfold the waterfront in its own memories.

The following gallery presents images from an ongoing project of mine, one that I hope will capture this sense of the fading past of the waterfront I have lived with for most of my life

Showing all 16 results