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Yankee’s 20 Best Photos of 2017

Yankee is fortunate to have the work of so many talented photographers in its pages. Here’s a look back at 20 of our favorite photos from 2017.

By Heather Marcus|Feb 01 2018| Print icon

The Wolf Hollow pack has no trouble finding firm footing even in winter: Wolves' oversize paws and webbed toes are designed for traversing snow.

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 Gloucster, typify the wariness that some feel when 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.”

Credit: Joel Woods
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)
Credit: Joel Woods

While working on the Western Venture, Woods anticipated the feeding frenzy of birds that began as the nearby herring trawler Endeavor Brough 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.”

Credit: Joel Woods
While 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)
Credit: Joel Woods

The Wolf Hollow pack has no trouble finding firm footing even in winter: Wolves’ oversize paws and webbed toes are designed for traversing snow.

Credit: Kieran Kesner
A 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)
Credit: Kieran Kesner

A photograph from the Little Outdoor Giants week long odyssey on Lake Champlain in Vermont. “Our anchorage on the north side of Malletts Bay (where Elizabeth snorkeled in crystal waters at sunset) is a dream.”

Credit: Little Outdoor Giants
Photographers, 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)
Credit: Little Outdoor Giants

Scallop Crudo with Citrus-Ginger Sauce from Weekends with Yankee, our television show in collaboration with WGBH. With about 40 shucked scallops in hand, I duck into the heated wheelhouse and carve a work space out of a 2-foot shelf. The waves make it difficult to slice evenly, and I have to brace one leg against a bench to stay upright. But I manage to juice two oranges and a lemon, grate some ginger, and arrange the scallops on a plate with the citrus sauce, a little oil, and a sprinkling of chilies, mint, slivered shallots, and sea salt. 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

Credit: Mark Fleming
Shot 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)
Credit: Mark Fleming

Though chickens and sheep have given way to flower gardens, this North Brooklin, Maine farm once home to writer E.B. White, still looks much as it did when its most famous occupant lived here.

Credit: Mark Fleming
Mark 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)
Credit: Mark Fleming

The porch of Ellen Allen’s 1745 farmhouse in Woodbury, CT features a bold mix of handmade brick, recycled barn wood, and granite.

Credit: Rikki Snyder
As 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)
Credit: Rikki Snyder

Dan Tawczynski suveys the corn crop at his farm in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

Credit: Adam DeTour
Dan Tawczynski surveys the corn crop at his farm in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, in this portrait by Adam DeTour. (“Fields of Gold,” July/August 2017)
Credit: Adam DeTour

Veterinarians Tom Stuwe and his partner, Emily Comstock (both in blue coveralls), lead the effort to position a sedated Holstein for surgery at the Sutton farm of Ryan Simpson (far left).

Credit: Mark Fleming
Senior 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)
Credit: Mark Fleming

Even with a 28-0 lead at the half, the intensity still shows in the faces of Nantucket players, from left, Bodie Sargent, team captain Cory Ryder, and Ampherny Garcia.

Credit: Mark Fleming
The 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)
Credit: Mark Fleming

Michah Woodcock, harvesting kelp along the Maine coast. He 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.

Credit: Adrienne Anderson
Adrienne 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)
Credit: Adrienne Anderson

A mushroom still life displayed on pottery made by artist Debbie Salomon Smith of Westport, Connecticut.

Credit: Jamie Salomon
Photographer and forager Jamie Salomon created this stunning still life for a Yankee feature on wild mushrooms. (“Fruits of the Forest,” September/October 2017)
Credit: Jamie Salomon

As members of the Houles’ loading crew, Lance Moody, top and Brandon Taylor muscle a snow-laden tree toward a pile to be craned onto a tractor-trailer.

Credit: Corey Hendrickson
Photographer 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)
Credit: Corey Hendrickson

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.

Credit: Mark Fleming
Another 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)
Credit: Mark Fleming

Krista Diego welcomes guests of the Mountain View Grand in Whitefield, NH to the hotel’s working farm, where wool and fiber are gathered from sheep, llamas, alpacas, goats, and rabbits.

Credit: Carl Tremblay
Carl 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)
Credit: Carl Tremblay

Recognizing the iconic power of Peter Ralston’s 1980 photograph Pentecost, friend and mentor Andrew Wyeth once compared it to his own Christina’s World.

Credit: Peter Ralston
Recognizing 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)
Credit: Peter Ralston

Queens & Minutemen, 2010. Westford’s Apple Blossom Festival has long been one of Barbara Peacock’s favorite subjects, since she went every year as a young girl. “At the end of the parade, everyone gathers at the top of the football field, where the Apple Blossom Queen will be crowned…I saw the juxtaposition (between the minute men and the girls) and positioned myself so each group had its own identity. I waited for the gunfire, and thought it was funny how most of the girls just carried on in conversation.”

Credit: Barbara Peacock
Queens 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)
Credit: Barbara Peacock

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,” photographer Barbara Peacock recalls. “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.”

Credit: Barbara Peacock
Barbara 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)
Credit: Barbara Peacock

A boardwalk in Parker River National Refuge on Plum Island, Massachusetts, is shrouded in fog.

Credit: Libby DeLana
A boardwalk in Parker River National Refuge on Plum Island, Massachusetts, photographed by Libby DeLana. (“Walks Worth Their Salt,” March/April 2017)
Credit: Libby DeLana

Originally from Somalia, friends Ali, left and Faisal are now fourth-graders in Lewiston, Maine.

Credit: Amy Toensing
Amy 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)
Credit: Amy Toensing

Heather Marcus

Heather Marcus is the senior photo editor for Yankee. She works closely with the art director and 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.

More by Heather Marcus

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