Nets & Doors: Shrimping in Southern Waters

Jack Leigh has another winner in this collection of nautical photos. Makes me want to run out & catch the next sloop to anywhere..

A photograph is much more than just a piece of paper, especially if Jack Leigh's touch is on it. Then it becomes art - - photographic genius. As he captures the shrimping industry near his coastal home, his perspective is awe inspiring. Leigh manages to portray the mystery and beauty of the sea, while at the same time capturing the humanity and realism of the arduous life of the shrimpers. After setting the story with his introduction, Leigh keeps the written commentary brief; allowing the reader to be enfolded into the story told in the pictures. Though only still frames, each photo has a fluidity as if in motion: the sea's waves, the reflections of a boat, the flight of the gulls. The textures and shadows provide a clarity which might be lacking, had Leigh chosen a format other than black and white photography. By the end of the book, one knows that not only is this story over; but an entire Southern family heritage is also passing away.