A Life Spent in Streams

David Harp’s fondest childhood memories are of his time spent on the water, including the family’s annual trip to Dewey Beach, Del.


Harp’s father, Joe, snapped this photo of him with his first plastic camera while they were out fishing on the Delaware River about 1957.

Harp’s father, Joe, snapped this photo of him with his first plastic camera while they were out fishing on the Delaware River about 1957.

One of the first photos Harp took with his camera was this image of his brother, mother, and father headed out to do some crabbing on a Dewey canal in 1956.

One of the first photos Harp took with his camera was this image of his brother, mother, and father headed out to do some crabbing on a Dewey canal in 1956.

Six-year-old Harp and his brother, also named Joe, dip netting crabs aboard their skiff on the Delaware River in the early 1950s. Collection of David W. Harp

Six-year-old Harp and his brother, also named Joe, dip netting crabs aboard their skiff on the Delaware River in the early 1950s. Collection of David W. Harp

“Being there” in order to get the right shot means venturing out into and onto waterways using any means necessary, under a variety of conditions. Photographs by Bill Thompson.

Harp on a shoot in his kayak at Trap Pond State Park in Laurel, Del., c. 2015.

Harp on a shoot in his kayak at Trap Pond State Park in Laurel, Del., c. 2015.

Sheltering his equipment from the rain and wind, Harp shoots a time lapse series of a house being raised above high tide level in Crocheron, Dorchester County, for the film High Tide in Dorchester , in 2015.

Sheltering his equipment from the rain and wind, Harp shoots a time lapse series of a house being raised above high tide level in Crocheron, Dorchester County, for the film High Tide in Dorchester, in 2015.

In order to capture images of gravestones which have toppled into the water from the eroding Honga River shoreline in 2016, Harp had to wade into the brackish water.

In order to capture images of gravestones which have toppled into the water from the eroding Honga River shoreline in 2016, Harp had to wade into the brackish water.