Photography may not be Tim DeWitt’s full-time job, but finding the perfect scene often takes up a full day for the landscape photographer and Gazette contributor.
“Usually I start at 4:30 in the morning,” Mr. DeWitt said of a normal day photographing the Island’s natural beauty. On average, he spends about two days a month like this, first savoring his coffee and then heading out with his camera before the sun comes up.
Mr. DeWitt likes to have a plan, but sometimes the situations that yield his favorite photos seem to happen to him. One of them, a snapshot of Moshup Trail that he took near Red Gate Farm, was almost a coincidence. Mr. DeWitt was out on a foggy morning and the sun began to shine while the fog lifted.
“I just happened to be driving around, looking,” he said. When he saw the scene, he parked his car and got to work.
That photo now hangs at the Chilmark Library alongside 11 other Vineyard scenes that Mr. DeWitt has captured over the past decade. The show is his first time sharing a collection of his work with the public.
“It’s wonderful,” he said. “I’ve never had the bunch all in one room before.”
A part-time Islander, Mr. DeWitt has been spending summers on Martha’s Vineyard since he was a child. His favorite places to shoot are those he remembers loving as a kid.
“Probably 25 per cent of my pictures are at Chilmark Pond,” he said. “It’s a special place because I grew up there.”
The Island’s natural scenery, his personal knowledge of it and a unique community are what makes photographing here so special, he said.
Mr. DeWitt is also teaching a series of classes titled Capture the Island with the help of The Trustees of Reservations. During each class, he will guide a group through a different property managed by the Trustees, providing creative direction and critique so that participants can improve their landscape photography skills.
The first class takes place on Sept. 9 at the Menemsha Hills trail. The next classes, on Oct. 21 and Nov. 18, will visit Long Point Wildlife Refuge and Wasque. More information on how to sign up is available on the Trustees’ website: thetrustees.org.
Mr. DeWitt said his hope is for people to consider what kind of impact their photos will have in 40 or 50 years. For him, the goal is to appreciate and preserve the Island’s beauty. The exhibit at the library and the photography classes are a way to share that feeling with others.
“I’m really only interested in the Island,” Mr. DeWitt said. “When I leave, the camera stays here.”
The Chilmark Library exhibit continues through Sept. 20.
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