Around 1845 Hill and Adamson took a camera across the Firth of Forth to St Andrews, where they photographed the buildings in the harbour and the Fishergate. The width of North Street enabled them to capture a large and spread-out group of the fishwives and children, working outside their own houses. The high viewpoint indicates that the photograph was taken from one of the stairs opposite the women. The composition is impressive, with all individual figures appearing sharp and distinct. Most remarkably, the scene is given life by the central figure who is apparently striding across the street with a child on her arm. In reality, she would have had to stand motionless for at least a full minute in order not to appear blurred.