Documenting a morning aboard Jett Set ~ Lobstering Penobscot Bay ~ Patience Cleveland Photography

One of my favorite mornings of summer was this early morning on the water! As most of you know I love the ocean and boats - they are both part of my life and always will be. I love photographing my families so much and I also love to think about what else I can do with my photography passion... my mind is swirling with a personal project documenting families, kids and/or siblings working/learning/teaching on the water - this may develop into something else, who knows!! But for now I love the thought of photographing families working on the water in Maine.

So this summer I asked Lake and Jett if I could come out with them one morning to photograph them lobstering. I've been on plenty of lobster boats and knew it was an early morning and couldn't wait! Lake and Jett are brothers who own and operate their own lobster boat, Jett Set, out of Islesboro, Maine (oh and they are only 14 and 15!!). What these two are doing at their age is so amazing and on top of it they are two of the nicest kids I have ever met. This is the first year for the new boat and as far as I could tell they love her. They started lobstering a few years ago and business for them has been growing every year. They are both High School on Islesboro and haul traps throughout most of the year. They have about 100 traps out with their student license working their way towards a commercial lobster license. A normal day on the water for them is 5am to about 4pm.

It was great to see Lake and Jett work together in so many ways... they had an unspoken plan for everything. They shared all duties on the boat from loading bait bags, hauling traps, setting traps, measuring and putting bands on the lobsters, steering the boat, and deciding where to set traps. And they did it all with knowledge and confidence - totally impressive!!

Thank you Lake and Jett for letting me join you for a pretty awesome morning on the water!

If you are in Penobscot Bay and are in need of Lobsters be sure to look them up and support their lobster business!!!

If you know any families that might be a good fit for my project let me know - I'd love to hear about them!!

Enjoy my favorites from this gorgeous morning on the water!!