Cambridge Powerboat Regatta

Had an awesome experience photographing the 100th annual Cambridge Powerboat Regatta in Cambridge, Maryland. It featured ten different classes of boats over 4 days of adrenaline-fueled racing. For Sunday, the finals, I got on the turn boat with the inside turn 1 referee. I was about 15 yards from the turn buoy - when the Grand Prix boats went by at around 150mph, not only was it deafening, but you could feel the vibrations in your chest. Quite an experience.

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