Only in Crisfield

Crisfield Traffic

Whaddya do when you are the feature shot? The eyes of newspaper photographers are always a step ahead of their minds. Our eyes are constantly looking for any movement that could become a sentence in one snap of our camera's shutter.  Sometimes, the way someone crosses the road at just the right time of day makes for a colorful statement. In the case of the  two photos shown below, chatting with friends in the middle of the road says something, that being that this is a common scene around Crisfield. So what makes a "common" scene so special? Come on - can you do this in your town? Without nasty looks or horn-honking?

I had stopped my car to chat with one person, and soon six people were chatting in the road, completely oblivious to the traffic that we have all learned will politely slow down and pass with no fanfare, except for perhaps a friendly Eastern Shore wave.

So you count four people in the photo? Let's step back in time. A moment after I had stopped my car, another truck pulled up behind me, then the golf cart showed up, giving us a total of two vehicles, one golf cart (they are legal here), and six people, all engaging in friendly, "How ya doing?" Crisfield speakease. One of the people ran back to the truck for a few minutes; I waved back at the driver of the truck and continued my conversation.  Just as the truck was pulling off, I waved once again to the driver who waved back, and suddenly realized that I had misssed out on a photo that could have said a lot about our town. What to do?  - Especially if you are the subject and photographer. I quickly accessed the lighting situation, adjusted the settings on the one camera that I had with me (a photographer never leaves without one camera), and handed it to the best qualified person, Phoebe Ferguson, and crossed my fingers in hopes that no bracketing would be needed. Great job, Phoebe. And you even made sure the water tower was included.


Earlier in the day, I had stopped my car twice to talk to people, and on the first stop I garnered four people at my mini in-the-road party. In Crisfield, times moves slowly. We are in no particular hurry, and manners are important. So when visiting our friendly town, be mindful that a few cars backed up in the road is no cause for alarm. In fact, you can always pull over and join us. We love company. In the interest of safety, please use your blinkers.

Photos by Phoebe Ferguson.