Anacostia River pollution

The Anacostia, a Chesapeake Bay tributary, which runs right through our nation's capitol is considered one of the watershed's most polluted rivers. Not only is trash prominent, but storm water runoff feeds raw sewage directly into the river, basically whenever it rains. Took a trip to find some of the runoff drains, however I always manage to find wildlife wherever I go, like these Eastern Painted Turtles.

Photos © Jason Lenhart

Eastern Shore

Took a trip to the Eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay to gather some photos of wildlife, farming, shoreline construction, and general iconic images of the bay. News21 Maryland is beginning to come together now as we enter our last full month of work at the Merrill School of Journalism. Also, check out our redesigned blog, featuring a small header with my photos.

Photos © Jason Lenhart

2010 Great Chesapeake Bay Swim

This Sunday, June 13, 2010, was the annual Great Chesapeake Bay Swim. More than 600 swimmers took to the 71 degree water to swim the 4.4 miles across the bay, between each side of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. The swimmers entered the bay at Sandy Point State Park and finished at the Bay Bridge Marina. The winner, 15 year old Andrew Gyenis, finished with a time of 1:28:45. You can check out a complete gallery of my, as well as my colleagues, photos on our News21 Flickr Page.

Photo © Jason Lenhart

Easton and St. Michaels, Maryland

Took a two-day trip to the Chesapeake Bay's eastern shore. I took some shots in Easton, and St. Micheals, while team members conducted interviews. The eastern shore of the bay really is a beautiful place.

Chance, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, was fascinating. He retrieved anything that got into the water. Most of his day is spent badgering people to toss crab basket lids into the water so he has something to do. However, he does actually "work". I got to watch as a worker launched a boat that he recently finished painting. During the launch, three wooden supports were dragged into the water. Chanced dove in, retrieved all 3 supports, brought them up on shore, and placed all three neatly back in the work area. No training at all.

Maryland Blue Crab are almost a currency in the Chesapeake Bay area. Watermen bring in their catches daily and sell them to markets. Generations upon generations have been making a living this way, however, due to increasingly hazardous water conditions, some have had to abandon crabbing all together.

Replacing a windex, an instrument that measures wind direction, on a cloudy afternoon in St. Michaels, MD.

The Nanticoke River.

Photos © Jason Lenhart

Mason Neck State Park Box Turtle

Took a hike today at the Mason Neck State Park in Virginia. It's on the Potomac just south of the Washington area. Right when I got out to the Eagle Bluffs blind it started to rain, on and off, occasionally pretty hard. I sat in the blind for 2 or 3 hours waiting out the rain since I had all my camera gear with me. While I was sitting there I got to watch a mated pair of Osprey dive for fish. I also spotted two Bald Eagles. Unfortunately, the blind was too far away to get anything great. It wasn't a complete bust though - I found this Eastern Box Turtle in the middle of the trail on my hike back.

Photos © Jason Lenhart

Osprey on the Severn

The News21 crew got an awesome opportunity to head out on a boat into the Chesapeake bay and up the Severn River a bit. Osprey are abundant and we managed to get close enough for me to grab this shot of, what I assume to be, a female with her hatchling.

Photo © Jason Lenhart

Washington DC

Got to spend 2 nights in the DC metro area before moving into my apartment further north in College Park. Went to the Newseum twice. A great place and I highly recommend it.

The Journalists Memorial recognizes all the journalists who have died trying to report the news, or have been silenced for doing so.

A selection of front pages from around the US and World.

Photos © Jason Lenhart