Category Archives: Outer Banks

One Lunger

Back in the 70’s, Woodrow Edwards was our postmaster in the village of Waves. The post office located in his home had maybe a dozen PO boxes and general delivery. Woodrow was always engaging. Current events, the weather or politics, you never knew what the morning’s topic might be. It wasn’t uncommon for him to ask for some help around the house. One day he asked me to help clear some vacant lots across the highway. I’d get the going rate of $3 an hour. I hardly ever turned Woodrow down.

Upon clearing the land, we discovered the remains of an old boat. Still on board was a curious looking motor. Woodrow called it a One Lunger, dating back to the 1920’s or 30’s. It was made of cast iron, and extremely heavy. 

After removing some vegetation the shape of the boat became more apparent.

The narrow stern indicated this must have been a sail skiff converted to engine power. It was about 20 feet in length.

With no transmission attached, it must have been direct drive. As soon as it starts, you’re underway.

Remnants of the engine may still be there, although the wooden carcass long gone.

These engines were also known as “Make and Break Engines”. Click this link to see one running.

The Old Make and Break

Frog Blog

Nearly 40 years ago when I built my house, I installed a 1300 gallon cistern next to it. All along, it has fulfilled many yard or garden needs. Several weeks ago I opened the hatch and noticed a tree frog swimming inside. No harm done there. It was likely eating mosquitoes anyway. 

Checking a few weeks later, I began to see the result. There were hundreds, maybe over a thousand tadpoles swarming about.

Within 3 weeks some were getting legs, then loosing their tails.

I put a few cedar shingles on the water to provide more habitat.

Then I placed a wood ramp leading them to the open hatch.

Some began climbing the inside walls of the tank..

They averaged only about a centimeter in length.

Now tiny hoppers are emerging from the cistern, with multitudes yet to go.

So far, they look like they’ll be happy in their new home!

Erin Intrigue

No two hurricanes are exactly the same. As destructive as they can be, they’re awe-inspiring. Over the years, I’ve experienced many. I’d rather not document devastation, but instead the natural display they can produce. Hurricanes are best seen from a distance.

Thanks to modern meteorology, the storm’s forecast was spot-on. With high predictions to stay offshore, we decided to hunker down at home. Depending on the level of anxiety, one can either board up or not. In this case, we didn’t. Our strongest wind maybe gusting to 50, occurred on the backside, after Erin passed Hatteras Island. Rainfall was negligible and my barometer bottomed out at 996 millibars.

The evening before the hurricane made its pass, I walked to the beach to take it all in.

I was rewarded with a sliver of color as the sun set behind me.

Vegetated dunes took a beating with sea oats and beach elder holding fast.

Adding to the show, impressive cloud formations twirled above.

Thanks to the positioning of a frontal system, the main core of Hurricane Erin missed us, recurving offshore.

It was a close call and the result could have been much different. A bullet dodged. And this is just the beginning of a new hurricane season!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Milepost

Over the years, numerous publications have appeared on the Outer Banks. Early on I worked with some of them, but not so much in recent years.  

This past February I was invited to give a presentation at one of the North Carolina Coastal Federation monthly meetings. Expecting a handful of attendees, I was surprised when 30 or 40 folks showed up. My talk went for over an hour and consisted of 74 images, covering about 50 years of work. Matt Walker, editor of Milepost was there, and later asked about profiling me for Issue 14.2, that would come out this summer.

After several onsite interviews at my studio, we finished up when my friend, photographer Daniel Pullen came in to shoot a portrait. I’ve long had great respect for his outstanding work.

Milepost is a free publication and distributed throughout the outer banks. Pick one up to see the big story. As a back issue, it will be posted later on the magazine’s website.

Back Issues

Night Flight

A few years ago after a day on Ocracoke, I was catching a late ferry back to Hatteras, and noticed gathering seagulls awaiting our departure. As the ferry boat captain made way into the blackness of Pamlico Sound, he searched for channel markers with a flood light. Birds flew in and out of the beam picking up any bait fish attracted to it.

I experimented with some long exposures and liked one shot, revealing extended paths of individual gulls. Night Flight was taken using a 200mm lens at f/4 with a shutter speed of two seconds.