“Creativity is strange. Someone may make a suggestion to something you could pursue and it basically goes in one ear and out the other. Then strangely early one morning that idea germinates into a full fledged project with a realization it’s really what you been unknowingly doing for the past several years.”
I’m Steve Atkinson and as a photographer my realization was that for the past dozen years I have been documenting life along the Country Roads on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Actually it’s been more like 15 years.
In the Summer of 2006 I began an online calendar of events that initially was for both Shores of the Chesapeake Bay. It evolved to one that would cover the entire Delmarva Peninsula with less emphasis on both Maryland’s and Virginia’s Western Chesapeake Shores. While the name has changed and in 2020 I put the Calendar on hold.
At this same time I began researching for a possible book on the history and heritage of the Delmarva Peninsula.
These turned into the genesis of my becoming a photographer. First covering/photographing local events, then some regional ones. In 2015 I decided to begin my Delmarva Scenes project of photographing the usual, unusual, beautiful and not so pretty scenes of the Delmarva Peninsula.
Due to many factors, the issues of 2020 being only one of them, this project didn’t spread as far as I would like. I haven’t had a chance to photograph on Virginia’s Eastern Shore at all, nor much on Maryland’s Lower Eastern Shore. While I have spent some time photographing scenes in Delaware, even that has been limited. And even though there were plans to do more on Maryland’s Lower Eastern Shore and into Virginia, that still hasn’t happen.
Late in 2020 I began doing a series of photo-essays of ‘Point of Interest’ on the region on my Website, ShoreToBeFun Photography. When I began I added ‘On Delmarva’ but I dropped this when at the beginning of 2021 I began publishing these on the ChesaDel Crier since I realized most would be on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
In March these Photo-essays were on the Harriet Tubman Byway. And as April began I decided to do a series on the Northern part of the newly named Chesapeake Country All-American Road, which since 2002 was the Chesapeake Country National Byway.
In mid-march someone mentioned that I should put together a photo-book of my photographs. This actually has been a long term goal. I wanted to add photographs to my abandon book on the history and heritage of the Delmarva Peninsula.
On the first Saturday morning of April, it “hit me like a ton of bricks” that for the past several years I have been traveling a portion of the newly established Chesapeake Country All-American Road, the previous Chesapeake County National Byway and this should be the theme of the first of what may become a series of photo-books.
Borrowing on the designation of Chesapeake Country All-American Road, the project will be titled Chesapeake County Roads and the first part of the project will cover the views and destination points of the northern branch.
In late 2022, I opened a pop-up shop to sell my Wall Art and Cards. That occupied much of 2023. But one thing that came out of it is that I have put my Chesapeake Country Photographs on other items that are on sale at the Eclectic Gift Shop in Greensboro, MD and online at ChesapeakeCountryPhotographs.com
What are my plans for 2024? I began a 366 in 24 project where I am posting a photo each day on my Photographs by SG Atkinson FB Page and on Instagram at SGAtkinson_Photographer. I am in the process of putting together a 16 month 2024-25 Wall Calendar that will have Chesapeake Country Photographs that were in pervious calendars. And discovering and photographing Points of Interests to share here.
Follow my Facebook, InstaGram and Twitter social media channels – Hashtag #ChesapeakeRoads
Last Revised: February 11, 2024