Catching iconic images of the Island

Doug Allen’s new exhibition, “Salty Air & Island Days,” on view in the Feldman Family Artspace at the MV Film Center through September 6, offers a respite from the crowded Vineyard summer scene. “My favorite time of year is off-season,” says Allen about the images in his show, curated by Featherstone Center for the Arts.

“I’m all about storytelling,” says Allen, who has been coming to the Vineyard for 40 years. The tale of the off-season begins in Aquinnah. In “Moshup — Beach Chair Brigade,” four men march away from us after a long day at the beach, as late-afternoon September sunlight casts long shadows. They carry chairs on their backs, wet towels, and sandals, with a cooler in hand, having caught the last of the summer’s rays before the cold weather sets in.

The dramatic colors in “Aquinnah Cliffs — Ocean Monuments” are the first to catch our eye. But Allen encourages us to keep looking. The rocks in the foreground dot the water like lazy seals, and the old World War II bunker, way off in the distance, tipping toward the ocean, becomes the monument in his title.

The Jeep, bathed in the fall sunset light, heads straight toward us across the narrow bridge in “Squibnocket — Woody.” The classic Jeep Wagoneer, with its familiar exterior vinyl wood-grain side panels and raised wood-toned trim, holds special meaning for Allen. Produced from 1963 through 1991, these vehicles defined an era of rugged American family transport. “We always owned Woodies, so it’s a personal favorite,” Allen explains. “It’s so Vineyard to me.”

Clouds rush forward, filling the entire sky and creating a cool backdrop that makes the colors in the dramatic rock formation pop in “Lucy Vincent — Gateway.” Allen captured the once-familiar formation, caught between its original structure and its complete collapse. 

Moving down Island, we see the slight ripples in the water endowing “Lagoon Pond — Reflection” with a visual texture as the billowing clouds reflect on the water’s surface. The warm colors of the distant Fall sunset, which slices the picture in half, create an otherworldly effect in this utterly serene seascape. “It was the reflection that got me,” Allen says. “They call me the sunrise and sunset guy.”

In “Oak Bluffs — Polar Bear, 80th Anniversary (Tradition)” Caroline Hunter’s daughter helps her mother—the grand dame of the Polar Bears—into the water to join her group on the opening day of the morning exercise gathering. The sparkling light from the left glints off the water, lending a spiritual air to the group’s longstanding bonding and sense of community.

“I happened to be here during the infamous blizzard last winter,” Allen shares, describing his photographs that capture the Island’s beauty when covered in snow. The white mounds that all but obscure the row of mailboxes in “Chilmark — Blizzard ’26, No Delivery” immediately convey the monumental amount of cold white fluff we received, so much so that it stopped all mail delivery. “That’s how much snow we had. It’s not like the snow was pushed up onto the mailboxes,” Allen notes about how high it accumulated. 

Allen also captures the iconic Oak Bluffs attractions in the midst of the winter, including “Frosted Gingerbread — Blizzard ’26,” where white blankets the once-green lawn and concrete pathway. The soft white virgin snow, as yet untouched by humans, sets off the beautiful deep maroon of the old carousel building in “Oak Bluffs — Blizzard ’26, Flying Horses.”

Allen, who started taking pictures at 14 years old, says, “Photography is all about F-U-N, not a J-O-B.” He hopes that visitors to “Salty Air & Island Days” will see the Vineyard’s uniqueness when the crowds have gone home. 

Doug Allen’s “Salty Air & Island Days” is on view at the Feldman Family Artspace at the MV Film Center through September 6. The artist reception will be held on Sunday, August 30, from 1 to 3 pm.