The Wolf Hollow pack has no trouble finding firm footing even in winter: Wolves’ oversize paws and webbed toes are designed for traversing snow.
Photo Credit : Kieran Kesner
Yankee was fortunate to have the work of many talented photographers in its pages throughout 2017, including that of staff senior photographer Mark Fleming. Unforgettable images were on display in several photo-driven stories, from Joel Woods’s gritty depiction of life at sea (“A Hard Life Made Beautiful”), to Barbara Peacock’s intimate look at small-town life in Westford, Massachusetts (“Hometown”), to Amy Toensing’s scenes from an evolving African immigrant community in Lewiston, Maine (“City of Hope”). As Yankee’s photo editor, I’m delighted that the magazine continued to share such important stories and images from across New England in 2017. And though it wasn’t easy to narrow it down, we’ve put together a collection of our 20 favorite photos from the past year — and we hope you’ll click through to the original story to learn (and see) more. —Heather Marcus
Yankee’s 20 Best Photos of 2017
These fishermen on the herring trawler Osprey, out of Gloucester, typify the wariness that some feel when photographer (and fellow fisherman) Joel Woods first takes their photo. But he says he’s never gotten a bad response. “I always show them the image, and they’ll go, ‘Great shot.’ It’s just normal to the fishermen now.” (“A Hard Life Made Beautiful,” January/February 2017) Photo Credit : Joel WoodsWhile working on the Western Venture, Joel Woods anticipated the feeding frenzy of birds that began as the nearby herring trawler Endeavor brought fish on deck. “The most difficult thing for me is get images that are new and fresh and vibrant from something I’ve done for a thousand days.” (“A Hard Life Made Beautiful,” January/February 2017) Photo Credit : Joel WoodsA scene from the Wolf Hollow sanctuary in Ipswich, Massachusetts, by Kieran Kesner. The pack has no trouble finding firm footing even in winter: Wolves’ oversize paws and webbed toes are designed for traversing snow. (“The Wolves of Winter,” January/February 2017) Photo Credit : Kieran KesnerPhotographers, videographers, and writers Dom Casserly and Jarrod McCabe, otherwise known as Little Outdoor Giants, captured this image during a week spent with friends on a Lake Champlain houseboat. Their caption: “Our anchorage on the north side of Malletts Bay on Lake Champlain in Vermont (where Elizabeth snorkeled in crystal waters at sunset) is a dream.” (“Slow Boat on a Big Lake,” May/June 2017) Photo Credit : Little Outdoor GiantsShot by senior staff photographer Mark Fleming, this scallop crudo with citrus-ginger sauce was featured on the first season of Weekends with Yankee, which senior food editor Amy Traverso previewed in the magazine’s March/April 2017 issue. “As crudo should be, the dish is a play on contrasting flavors and textures: hot and cold, silky and crunchy, sweet and sour. The heat from the chilies feels like sunshine.” (“Weekends Warrior,” March/April 2017) Photo Credit : Mark FlemingMark Fleming ventured to North Brooklin, Maine, to photograph what would be Yankee’s ultimate House for Sale: the saltwater farm that once belonged to writer E.B. White. (“The House at Allen Cove,” September/October 2017) Photo Credit : Mark FlemingAs seen through the lens of Rikki Snyder, designer Ellen Allen’s 1745 farmhouse porch in Woodbury, Connecticut, is a picture-perfect blend of handmade brick, recycled barn wood, and granite. (“Blend the Past with the Present,” January/February 2017) Photo Credit : Rikki SnyderDan Tawczynski surveys the corn crop at his farm in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, in this portrait by Adam DeTour. (“Fields of Gold,” July/August 2017) Photo Credit : Adam DeTourSenior staff photographer Mark Fleming and writer Ben Hewitt teamed up for a profile of Vermont veterinarian Tom Stuwe, which yielded this memorable photo of Stuwe and his partner, Emily Comstock (both in blue coveralls), leading the effort to position a sedated Holstein for surgery at the Sutton farm of Ryan Simpson (far left). (“A Farmer’s Best Friend,” March/April 2017) Photo Credit : Mark FlemingThe intensity shows in the faces of Nantucket football players, from left, Bodie Sargent, team captain Cory Ryder, and Ampherny Garcia, in this Mark Fleming photo. (“The Only Game That Matters,” November/December 2017) Photo Credit : Mark FlemingAdrienne Anderson captured this image of seaweed harvester Micah Woodcock as he collected kelp along the Maine coast. Woodcock was introduced to the profession by Larch Hanson, aka “the Seaweed Man,” one of a handful of back-to-the-landers who began working with seaweed in the early ’70s. (“Seaweed Dreaming,” January/February 2017) Photo Credit : Adrienne AndersonPhotographer and forager Jamie Salomon created this stunning still life for a Yankee feature on wild mushrooms. (“Fruits of the Forest,” September/October 2017) Photo Credit : Jamie SalomonPhotographer Corey Hendrickson followed along as a Vermont Christmas tree farm prepared to ship its trees to Brooklyn, New York. Here, two members of the loading crew, Lance Moody, top, and Brandon Taylor, muscle a snow-laden tree toward a pile to be craned onto a tractor-trailer. (“A Movable Forest,” November/December 2017) Photo Credit : Corey HendricksonAnother portrait from Mark Fleming: Blair Marvin of Elmore Mountain Bread, a wood-fired bakery and stone-ground flour mill that she founded with husband Andrew Heyn in Elmore, Vermont. (“On the Rise,” November/December 2017) Photo Credit : Mark FlemingCarl Tremblay caught this moment between Krista Diego and one of her four-legged charges at the working farm at the Mountain View Grand in Whitefield, New Hampshire. (“Where Winter Is Grand,” January/February 2017) Photo Credit : Carl TremblayRecognizing the iconic power of this 1980 Peter Ralston photograph, Pentecost, Ralston’s friend and mentor Andrew Wyeth once compared it to his own Christina’s World. (“‘Wyeth World,’” July/August 2017) Photo Credit : Peter RalstonQueens and Minutemen, 2010 was part of a collection of photographs by Barbara Peacock that Yankee published under the title of her project and book, Hometown, documenting life in Westford, Massachusetts. “I saw the juxtaposition (between the minute men and the girls) and positioned myself so each group had its own identity,” Peacock said of this photo. “I waited for the gunfire, and thought it was funny how most of the girls just carried on in conversation.” (“Hometown,” July/August 2017) Photo Credit : Barbara PeacockBarbara Peacock’s Parent’s Market, 1982. “One day I saw five kids hanging out on the stoop of a local market… They seemed bored to death, yet savoring their daily ritual,” Peacock recalled. “At that moment, I was aware of the impermanence of the present and how this daily ritual would ultimately be replaced by memory, childhood by adulthood, and perhaps even the story may disappear.” (“Hometown,” July/August 2017) Photo Credit : Barbara PeacockA boardwalk in Parker River National Refuge on Plum Island, Massachusetts, photographed by Libby DeLana. (“Walks Worth Their Salt,” March/April 2017) Photo Credit : Libby DeLanaAmy Toensing’s portraits of life in a Somalian community in Lewiston, Maine, included this timeless photo of friends Ali, left, and Faisal. (“City of Hope,” March/April 2017) Photo Credit : Amy Toensing
Heather Marcus
Heather Marcus is the senior photo editor for Yankee Magazine. She works closely with the art director and a large group of contributing photographers to tell our stories about people and place in a compelling way. Living and growing up in New England, she continues to be inspired by the communities, the landscape, and the wonderful visual opportunities the region affords.
