In the summer of 1979 Nubar Alexanian stepped aboard the vessel Joseph and Lucia II for ten days of fishing on Georges Bank with the Brancaleone family of Gloucester, Massachusetts and their crew. More trips followed in 1980 and 1981, and the photographs taken on those voyages form the heart of this book. They show the photographer’s intimate connection with his subjects, and with Gloucester itself.

Gloucester: When The Fish Came First is as much an invitation as a documentary work. Alexanian’s photographs reveal the spirit of this place and the strength of her people. Complex and ruggedly beautiful, they honor Gloucester’s enigmatic soul, her resilient spirit, and her hard-won character. Against all odds, this is a place that continues to believe in itself.

These images manage to be beautiful and honest at the same time. They are the real Gloucester, hard edges and all.
—Sebastian Junger, author of The Perfect Storm

Alexanian is ever moving, ever growing, enlarging scope and depth, yet rooted in our rock and water—and in us. Join him in his explorations of our Gloucester and ourselves, and make them yours.
—From the Foreword by Joseph Garland

Nubar Alexanian’s skill, experience and aesthetic help infuse the soul of this work. He has photographed in several dozen countries, shooting on deadline for Life Magazine, Geo, Time, The New York Times Magazine, and many other publications. But as a New England native and 40-year resident of Gloucester, he brings something deeper to this work that he couldn’t elsewhere. Gloucester: When the Fish Came First is the antithesis of the parachuting photojournalist’s assignment. For decades, Nubar has returned to the same location, shooting and re-shooting, year after year… The result is not only a love poem to Gloucester; it is, as Nubar says, a “historical document describing a way of life that will never ‘be’ again….
— From the Introduction by Sandy Tolan