Where is the birthplace of America’s modern shrimping industry? If you guessed Amelia Island, a barrier island off the coast of Northeast Florida, you’re correct. Well done!
Gray Edenfield, once the Education Director at the Amelia Island Museum of History, describes this Florida island’s rich coastal heritage in his book Amelia Island, Birthplace of the Modern Shrimping Industry.
More than 100,000 visitors celebrate Amelia Island’s heritage by visiting historic downtown Fernandina Beach for its annual Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival, a civic celebration that began more than 50 years ago in 1964.
I spent several days on Amelia Island in April 2023, visiting its historic sites including Fort Clinch State Park, the city of Fernandina Beach and nearby Jekyll Island in Georgia. I was looking forward to expanding my American Main Streets series with images from a new state and especially one in the southeast. This would be my first photographic journey in the southeast.
Fernandina Beach historic photography
When I come to a new American main street to photograph, I don’t arrive with a list of scenes to capture. I prefer to allow myself to visually explore the main street and discover what catches my attention. I look for any vintage memorabilia, historic places, or something important to the town’s identity that provides a sense of place.
On this beautiful spring morning as I walked along Fernandina Beach’s main street, one of the first places I noticed and wanted to test as a possible photo location was the Palace Saloon. It is the oldest saloon in Florida and was the last to close during Prohibition. According to the Visit Florida website this tavern has been operating since the 1800s.
I mention “test” as a way to describe a possible location because sometimes a visual concept doesn’t turn out the way I hope it will. The light may change unfavorably (e.g., clouds come by and reflections dim), unwanted cars may spoil a scene or the building you want to highlight in a scene might not be visible enough.
In this instance I photographed across the street from the Palace Saloon twice with different lighting conditions. While there were elements that worked, I felt that the Palace Saloon might be too small visually compared to other parts of the scene, making it too hard to find in the resulting image. I wasn’t convinced that what I had would work the way I wanted with the other photographs in my series.
Celebrating coastal heritage through photography
I was fortunate to be in the city of Fernandina beach a couple of weeks before the big festival on Amelia Island that celebrates its modern shrimping heritage. While I continued to explore historic downtown, I saw retailers decorating stores for the upcoming shrimp festival. This created wonderful photographic opportunities for American main street photography unique to Fernandina Beach, which showcased its long history and cultural heritage.
By concentrating on shrimp iconography and festival decor, I felt I was beginning to capture Amelia Island photography that provided a unique perspective on its culture and identity.
Isle of 8 Flags Shrimp Festival photos
I continued walking down main street toward the harbor and found a few other spots to create artistic photographs. One highlighted coastal culture with pirate memorabilia and, strangely, the Grinch! Seeing those two things side by side isn’t something you see every day so I had to photograph it.
It wasn’t until I started to head back to the historic B&B I was staying in near the main street that I that I found a true gem, as the saying goes.
After capturing more than 150 images I discovered a store that was celebrating the island’s shrimping heritage and its overall coastal heritage in a way that could be very interesting photographically. And the scene outside the store was just as interesting.
Once I find a scene that fits with my artistic vision for the American Main Street portfolio I’ll stay at that location until I get the composition the way I want it. Sometimes this happens quickly and other times I may capture at least 50 images to ensure I have it right. Often, I’m removed from my New England home when I’m on visual journeys. It is easier to spend a bit longer photographing while I am on location than to have regrets later.
I’m pleased that I captured a photograph that reflects the story of Amelia Island’s heritage in a way that is consistent with the other images in my series. Rather than documenting a literal streetscape, this series uses reflections to invite viewers to look both inside and out — to perceive beyond the surface and uncover subtle echoes of culture, era, and emotion.
My visit to Amelia Island reminded me once again how diverse America is in terms of its cultural traditions and festivals that celebrate our long history. Amelia Island’s shrimp festival uses one flag for each nation that claimed this barrier island during its long history that began in 1000 with the Timucuan people who settled it. Thereafter came the French, Spanish, English and more who claimed this beautiful island.
My American Main Streets photographs reveal how our main streets reflect both the uniqueness of a town and the shared threads of Americana. With images currently spanning some 50 small towns and two cities across 16 states, American Main Streets is a study of history, community, and connection. Visit the American Main Streets gallery to see more images from this series.
Until the next journey of discovery ….
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