Michael Kahn Photography

2018 Newsletter

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Morning Reflections

This new stunning image is being offered as a 14×14″ and 19×19″ toned, handmade silver gelatin photograph.

WoodenBoat School Waterfront

Michael is very excited to announce that he will be teaching a course titled “Marine and Seascape Photography” August 4-10 2019 at the WoodenBoat School in Brooklin Maine. Shooting black-and-white photographs is in many ways different than shooting in color. There is much more contrast in black-and-white. Shapes and shades become more important. Each day, with guidance from your instructor, internationally renowned photographer Michael Kahn, you’ll learn to capture images using the building blocks for successful black-and-white photography–texture, tonal contrast, shape, form, pattern, and lighting. The coast of Maine is abundant with unlimited strong photographic opportunities and will provide a wealth of photogenic material.

Registration opens on January 2nd. Click here for more info.

Popham Beach Maine

 

So come to the pond,
Or the river of your imagination,
Or the harbor of your longing.
And put your lip to the world.
And live
Your life.

Mary Oliver

 

The Lynx – Opera House Cup Nantucket

 

On a day when the wind is perfect,
the sail just needs to open
and the world is full of beauty.
Today is such a day.

Rumi

 

Michael on location in New Brunswick

Live the life you have imagined.

Thoreau

 

Michael on location in New Brunswick

Living without expectations is hard,
but when you can do it, good.

Wendell Berry

 

Michael on location on Prince Edward Island

 

And the point is, to live everything.

Rilke

 

Island Dunes

 

Thank you for the day and for the hour and for the minute.

Maya Angelou

 

New work showing at Carla Massoni Gallery in Chestertown Maryland

Mariquita – SOLD! Custom size 48×48″

Bow of the Idem – SOLD! Custom size 56×56″

Let Fall the Topsails – Now available in a 40×40″ special size

Vintage, warmly toned, signed and numbered set of 6 14×14” handmade silver gelatin photographs printed the year they were taken. Please contact us for details.

We are very excited to introduce a new gallery location: Bosham Gallery No. 1 The High Street, Bosham, West Sussex, UK. Click here to visit their website for details.

Please follow us on Instagram!

These new images and more are available in a range of sizes. Enjoy and fair winds!

2011 Newsletter

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Journey

It may be that when we no longer know what to do,
we have come to our real work
and when we no longer know which way to go,
we have begun our real journey.
Wendell Berry

Elena, Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta

The Journey
There is a beauty in all art forms that is exemplified when you combine them, like words and photographs; a mystery develops as words and situations unfold before you, the place, the moment, the lighting. The photographer explores our delicate environment, and the result leads to paths and meanings that go deeper than meets the eye.
This year, I went on a journey deep into my favorite topics and places. I went to the bottom layer of my images and found their substance. It was there that I discovered the essence of photography and the simple secret that it encompasses: being there. Really being present, experiencing the entire moment, being fully engaged with all of the senses. I journeyed down the path of patience, with myself, my camera and film, with my surroundings, the light and clouds. Waiting for a cloud to pass, or the sun to reach a certain height, I discovered what it takes to make a fleeting moment truly timeless.
I visited the same places I have before, places that I am drawn to again and again…
The thing that amazes me is that each time I arrive home with something different than before.
I want to share this year’s journey with you; from small boats, to big boats, to landscapes and seascapes; and invite you in to this magical world that I captured on film, the world that is happening right now all around us.

Ruth

Small Reach Regatta
Lamoine State Park, Maine
Forty boats under 20 feet
four days of sailing

Above the Tide, WoodenBoat School, Brooklin Maine

I have been visiting this place for over a decade. WoodenBoat School has been presenting “hands-on” classes for 38 years with course offerings in boatbuilding, seamanship, and related crafts in which we honor the tradition, history, and craftsmanship. It is a wonderful community and I look forward to visiting each year.

Joyant, Eggemoggin Reach Regatta

1911 P-Class Herreshoff classic racing yacht

Southwest Harbor, Mt. Desert Island Maine

Free, Popham Beach, Maine


The day after Hurricane Irene.

Three Dories

I watched these dories for five years…

Beach Day

South Beach, Martha’s Vineyard, between Tropical Storms Katia & Lee

Autumn Visit

Barnegat Light, New Jersey

Afternoon Walk, Lucy Vincent Beach, Martha’s Vineyard

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Lao Tzu
These new images and more are available in a range of sizes. Enjoy and fair winds!

2012 Newsletter

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Tree Study, Unionville Pa

Passage, Popham Beach Maine

The Rose by Theodore Roethke

There are those to whom place is unimportant,
But his place, where sea and fresh water meet,
Is important…

People of the First Light, Mashpee Ma

A time for watching the tide,
For the heron’s hieratic fishing,
For the sleepy cries of the towhee,
The morning birds gone, the twittering finches,
But still the flash of the kingfisher,
the wingbeat of the scoter,
The sun a ball of fire coming down over the water…

Schooner Nathaniel Bowditch, Penobscot Bay, Maine

As when a ship sails with a light wind-
The waves less than the ripples made by rising fish,
The lacelike wrinkles of the wake widening, thinning out,
Sliding away from the traveler’s eye,
The prow pitching easily up and down,
The whole ship rolling slightly sideways,
The stern high, dipping like a child’s boat in a pond-
Our motion continues.

Wilderness Kayak, Adirondacks, New York

Beautiful my desire, and the place of my desire.

Marsh Pond, Parson’s Beach, Maine

I think of the rock singing,
and light making its own silence,
At the edge of ripening meadow, in early summer,
The moon lolling in the close elm, a shimmer of silver,
Or that lonely time before the breaking of morning
When the slow freight winds
along the edge of the ravaged hillside,
And the wind tries the shape of a tree,
While the moon lingers,
And a drop of rain water hangs at the tip of a leaf
Shifting in the wakening sunlight
Like the eye of a new-caught fish.

Steadfast, Long Point, Martha’s Vineyard

And I rejoiced in being what I was:
In the lilac change, the whit reptilian calm,
In the bird beyond the bough, the single one
With all the air to greet him as he flies,
The dolphin rising from the darkening waves…

Sea-Wind, South Shore, Martha’s Vineyard

And in this rose, this rose in the sea-wind,
Rooted in stone, keeping the whole of light
Gathering into itself sound and silence-
Mine and the sea-wind’s.
the above quotes are from The Rose by Theodore Roethke

Rock Study, Schoodic Penisula, Acadia National Park

There is an intrinsic simplicity and calm in our earth
that is constantly in opposition to elements
like storms, waves, rain, shifting winds.
These photographs are like poetry without words,
because they go beyond words.
The photographer’s job is to show the then and now,
the change that takes place over time and history;
a change that captures the past
and allows us to greet the future.

All Lined Up: Dodge, Opus and Indian, Old Forge, New York

Dodge: 1927 Dodge Watercar Dual Cockpit Barrel Back
Opus 26: 1926 26-foot Hacker Craft
Indian: 1903 Leighton

Classic Summer, Adirondack Region, New York

Gee-Whiz: 17 foot 1945 Century Runabout

Ranger, 135 foot J-Class Yacht, Antigua

Nothing stirs my soul more
than watching a 100 year old classic yacht
roll over a wave, sails flared,
white water crashing, crew attentive.
Michael Kahn on his Classic Collection

The Brandywine, 37×48″ archival pigment print

Showing at the Delaware Art Museum
Centennial Juried Exhibition

Michael on location, Schoodic Penisula, Acadia National Park

These new images and more are available in a range of sizes. Enjoy and fair winds!

2014 Newsletter

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Chatham Beach, Cape Cod

Queen’s Bath, Kauai

This beautiful island is full of enchantment…

Wherever I look you are islands
a constellation of flowers breathing on the sea
deep-forested islands mountainous and fragrant
fires on a bright ocean.
from “Islands” by W.S. Merwin

Lumahai Beach, Kauai

Want the change. Be inspired by the flame
where everything shines as it disappears.
The artist, when sketching, loves nothing so much
as the curve of the body as it turns away.
What locks itself in sameness has congealed.
Is it safer to be gray and numb?
What turns hard becomes rigid
and is easily shattered…

Between Land and Sea

Pour yourself like a fountain.
Flow into the knowledge that what you are seeking
finishes often at the start, and, with ending, begins.
from Sonnets to Orpheus, Rainer Maria Rilke

Early Morning

The morning came so quietly, I nearly missed its perfection.

Beginnings

I believe in the ordinary day
that is here at this moment and is me
I do not see it going its way
but I never saw how it came to me…

Sand Grass

… it extends beyond whatever I may
think I know and all that is real to me
it is the present that it bears away
where has it gone when it has gone from me….

Passing Clouds

…there is no place I know outside today
except for the unknown all around me
the only presence that appears to stay
everything that I call mine it lent me…

Three Waves, Coast Guard Beach

…even the way that I believe the day
for as long as it is here and is me.
“A Momentary Creed” by W.S. Merwin

Shimmering Dune Grass

Michael’s new images from Hawaii, Martha’s Vineyard, Cape Cod, and Maine are offered in limited editions, as handmade photographs and fine art pigment prints.

Vela

Vela is a wooden 50′ gaff-headed sloop. She is named for the spring constellation in the northern sky, meaning “The Sail”.

Velsheda

Look for an upcoming six page spread of Michael’s photographs in Australia’s Ocean Magazine.

Breezing Up

Spartan, NY50- The fleet of NY50s was commissioned by the New York Yacht Club and built by Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. in Bristol, R.I. Spartan measures 72’ LOA. Like her sisters, her topsides were double-planked and diagonally strapped for extra strength in the Herreshoff tradition.

Elena

Mariquita

This beautiful portrait of Mariquita will be included in Michael’s new book “Over the Dunes”.

Over the Dunes includes the best of Michael’s sailing and seascape photographs. This 140 page book is sourced, printed and bound in the United States, and set to be released in January 2015. Book signings are already scheduled for next summer, so keep an eye out for Michael as he visits his galleries. Details about the book, how to purchase it, and signing dates will be included in upcoming emails.

These new images and more are available in a range of sizes. Enjoy and fair winds!

2017 Newsletter

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Velsheda vs Topaz- J Class World Championship, Newport RI

Six J Class Yachts raced this year at the Inaugural World Championship in Newport, RI. Velsheda, Ranger, Lionheart, Hanuman, Topaz and Svea.

J Class World Championship, Newport RI

For almost 20 years, Michael has been following the J Class yachts to beautiful places like Antigua, France, England, St Barths, and most recently, Newport RI. All of the photographs in this newsletter were taken in 2017.

Ranger, Svea and Velsheda- J Class World Championship, Newport RI

So far this year, Michael has processed over 170 rolls of film. Next, he travels to the Cape and Islands to capture his signature seascape images.

J Class World Championship, Newport RI

Velsheda approaches the Claiborne Pell Bridge. Velsheda, JK7 built 1933, was the only original J Class yacht at the World Championship.

Svea, J Class World Championship, Newport RI

Svea JS1, the newest J Class, has a LOA of 143 feet.

Topaz- St Barths Bucket Regatta

The St. Barths Bucket Regatta was an amazing success, where six J Class yachts spent four days racing: Velsheda, Ranger, Lionheart, Hanuman, Topaz and Shamrock. This epic event was the first time these six world class yachts were seen racing together. The waves were 3 meters high, the winds were 15-20 knots, the water was a pristine blue, while the sun and sparkles were abundant.

Beating- St. Barths Bucket Regatta

Beating or Beat to: sailing as close as possible towards the wind

Hanuman- St. Barths Bucket Regatta

Hanuman joined the J Class racing circuit in 2009.

Well to Windward- St. Barths Bucket Regatta

The heart of man is very much like the sea, it has its storms, it has its tides and in its depths it has its pearls too. Vincent van Gogh

Neck to Neck- St. Barths Bucket Regatta

Anything’s possible if you’ve got enough nerve. JK Rowling

J Class Revival, Summer 2017 exhibition at the Carla Massoni Gallery, Chestertown MD

Set Sail” Preview of the 62nd Annual Arts Festival, Solo Exhibition, June 2017 at the South Shore Arts Center, Cohasset MA

J Class World Championship, August 2017 show and reception at the Sheldon Gallery, Newport RI

Please join us for the first Friday in December (12/1) for an opening and reception at the Martin Gallery, Charleston SC

S Boats Racing, Herrshoff Classic Regatta

The S-Boat Class is the oldest one-design class still actively racing and sailing in their original boats.

Columbia, Antigua Classic Regatta, April 2017

Let the rhythm of the water set your soul free. Christy Ann Martine

Quansoo

Happiness, not in another place but this place… Not for another hour, but this hour. Walt Whitman

Michael on location in Antigua

These new images and more are available in a range of sizes. Enjoy and fair winds!

2015 Newsletter

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Zack’s Cliffs, Martha’s Vineyard

The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach…
Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Salt Pond, Cape Cod

Not knowing when the dawn will come I open every door.
Emily Dickinson

Rainbow

I am not afraid of storms for I am learning to sail my ship.
Louisa May Alcott

Coral of Cowes

Built as a gaff yawl by White Brothers of Southampton in 1902. She successfully won prestigious races such as the Kings Cup and the Queens Cup.

Rainbow

In 1934, the original William Starling Burgess Design J Class Rainbow was launched at the Herreshoff Yard in Bristol. She was built to defend the America’s Cup against “Endeavour” in 1934.

Michael speaking to a group during his three person exhibition “Sailing” at the Art Complex Museum in Duxbury, MA.

Marsh Study

Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard.
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

Birds, Topsail Island

we are both salt water mixed with air.
Nayyirah Waheed

Michael photographing Columbia at the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta

Carla Massoni Gallery, Chestertown MD

“Kahn… eschews color in favor of the luminous, infinitely subtle range of shades offered by toned silver gelatin photography.”
– Chestertown Spy interview

“Photographs of the Sea” Solo Exhibition, Mystic Seaport Museum, Mystic, CT 2016

Nantucket Dune Fence

Time changes everything except something within us which is always surprised by change. Thomas Hardy

Michael on location in Cape Cod

These new images and more are available in a range of sizes. Enjoy and fair winds!

2013 Newsletter

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Join us on a journey spanning three countries…

Borgau, Portugal

We stayed in a little apartment,
where the ocean spread out in front of our town.
Blue waves hit the burnt sienna cliff,
next to the white moon rising.

Portugal Coastline

One Day by Robert Creeley

One day after another-
Perfect.
They all fit.

The Cyclades, Greece

Following is a brief preview of Michael’s images from Greece.
There will be more to come, along with a story about our trip,
in an upcoming issue of Cruising World Magazine.

Kythnos, Greece

Keep Ithaka always in your mind
Arriving there is what you are destined for.
Better if it lasts for years, so you are old
by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.
from Ithaka, C.P. Cavafy

The Aegean Sea, Cyclades

They stepped the mast and spread the glistening sails,
the wind blew gusts in the middle of the sail, and around
the cutwater the bow wave, shimmering
dark, sang loud as the ship proceeded.
She swept over the swell, making her course.
from, The Iliad, Homer

Boat reflection, Iraklia

The islands were full of color…

Blue Door, Paros

The hillsides were dotted with white houses,
wild goats, stone walls, olive trees, and grapevines.
The doors and shutters were the vibrant colors of the sea,
that ever present blue sea.

The Acropolis, Athens

People are walking around the temple,
and everyone is staring, looking up.

Studio Camnitzer, Valdottavo Italy

Here, Michael spent his days in the studio
hand-making photo-etchings.
We stayed in the studio’s dormitory,
Le Vigne, in the small village of Valdottavo.

Mariquita

Photo-etching on paper from a brass plate.

American Beauty

Photo-etching on paper from a brass plate.

Cinque Terre, Italy

the delight of swimming in the sea under marble cliffs,
of feasting on a terrace above the tumult of a fishing port,
of tastes of wine, olive oil, almonds, mustard, salt.
Czeslaw Milosz

Breathe, Italian Riviera

Here I came to the very edge
where nothing at all needs saying…
and every day on the balcony of the sea,
wings open, fire is born,
and everything is blue again like morning.
Pablo Neruda

Michael on location in Amorgos, Greece

These new images and more are available in a range of sizes. Enjoy and fair winds!