While I have photographed a variety of subjects over the last fifteen years, a subject that has been a constant in both my life and my work ~ is the sea. Toward this goal, I have chosen to caretake the Isles of Shoals for the last six winters. Lying ten miles off the Maine coast, these windswept islands become deserted for five months ~ except of two caretakers, wild animals, and the fishing boats that work the surrounding icy waters.

I live in the place where I photograph. This is how I come to know it deeply, to be familiar with all of its varied and subtle expressions. When I photograph the Isles of Shoals, I'm not seeing with the eyes of a visitor, I'm seeing through the eyes of an intimate.

In winter, the lush island greenery dries up and the rocks take visual precedence... but as always, the islands are dominated by the sea. I photograph the interplay between rocks and water, light and sky.

Lately, I've become intrigued by the buildings that manage to cling to the rocky shoreline. Like the shrubs and twisted trees that inhabit the islands, buildings that survive such a place take on a wild aspect. They seem a part of the organic landscape of the shore and the sea itself, all of which bear witness to the seasons, the ebb and flow of island life and the passing of time on a grand scale.

In wild places where the elements dominate, it is clear that man is only as significant as any other living inhabitant. My perception of many as diminished, vulnerable, and therefore more in harmony with the natural world is a key theme in my work and an important element of my personal philosophy.

All of Ms. de Steiguer’s images have been personally hand developed and printed in her darkroom. Because of the traditional methods used, each image has its own unique qualities. They are printed, mounted and matted to archival standards and have been signed, dated and numbered.