TITLE: Skeletons in the Wind

Assateague Island is a hauntingly beautiful place. The first thing you notice on the undeveloped sandy beach is the persistent ocean wind. Explore further and the small barrier island on the United States’ mid-Atlantic coast reveals dunes, shrub thickets, pine forests, and salt marshes, all in a long, thin area—just over two miles at its widest. Remnants of past and long-abandoned developments stand in eerie silence, slowly being absorbed back into the wild. All these things are brutally shaped by nature and the elements, from the windswept dunes and plants to the macabre stands of dead pine. This series uses large format infrared film to portray not only Assateague’s raw beauty, but the sense of isolation and exposure felt when exploring the island.

AUTHOR: Jason Chan (United States)

Jason started photography as a kid growing up in Southern California. The anticipation while waiting for film to be developed hooked him. Those early rolls were spent on landscapes and animals, and later, sports. But then came somewhat of a professional detour for the military. His service in the Marine Corps in the U.S. and abroad crystalized the reality that time is limited, that being a Marine wasn’t his calling, and that he’d rather explore with a camera than a uniform.

Working with both large format film and conventional digital cameras, he is convinced of the power of the photograph to transport the viewer to an idyllic version of a place. His images of people and places, often dominated by strong color, show that beauty in the world isn’t always abstract or conceptual—sometimes there are literal views of the world shown through straight photography that evoke emotion. The images make you step into the scene and experience that place in that moment to appreciate the beauty, to find out what comes next, or to spark memories of those small moments of worry-free happiness that become fleetingly rare with age.