Peter Ralston is a brilliant photographer who is also one of the most engaging conversationalists you’d ever want to meet. It is almost impossible to dislike the man, and he has never met a person he did not instantly consider a friend, with the possible exception of a few pompous authority figures.
As his annotated images demonstrate, Ralston has talked his way into the homes and hearts of countless islanders from all walks of life—a skill as natural as breathing to him, and one which has enabled him access to day-to-day life as few others have been privileged to see. Andrew Wyeth, Ralston’s neighbor and mentor, once said of him, “Peter thinks with his lungs.” But it is the gift of his tongue that provides the opportunity for his eye to capture the true but fleeting sense of our inner selves.
For the past 30 years, Island Journal has served as a regular vehicle for Ralston’s prodigious photographic virtuosity. He has produced most of the iconic island images of the past generation, from breathtaking landscapes to scenes of the daily grit of fishermen and their families. The images in this folio, selected from a lifetime of work, most of which have not been previously published, reveal the grace and dignity of his island subjects with his common touch.
-Philip Conkling
