This time of year, skeletons are everywhere. In 2019 during a regional 4-city concert tour, I followed Lord Huron. In each show, frontman Ben Schneider performed his song Wait by the River behind a larger-than-life puppet. I made this shot from the pit, at their performance in Richmond, Virginia’s National Theater.
Mike Genger was one of my best friends in high school and college. We shared similar interests, most notably surfing and music. We learned to surf on 10-foot longboards, and attended rock concerts in the DC area. As fate would have it, we eventually went our separate ways. I moved to Hatteras and continued to surf. Mike went on to become a roadie for some touring bands. He worked with the likes of Little Feat, Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne.
In July of 1981, Mike called to say he’d be in Virginia on the 14th at Hampton Coliseum with Jimmy Buffett and his Coral Reefer Band . The Coconut Telegraph Tour was in full swing. My roommate BJ, and I headed north to get treated with backstage passes.
Before the concert, we hung out on the tour bus. I was taken by this graphic on the exterior.
I had no experience shooting concerts, but used a roll of Kodak Tri-X black & white film.
Mike led us back stage in the wings, where I was immediately mistaken for singer-songwriter, JD Souther. Like him, I had long brown hair, and reddish beard. He was a huge influence in the California music scene. I was merely a doppelgänger taking pictures.
My camera was in manual mode. Shutter speed, f-stop and focus, all hit or miss.
This picture intrigued me. Thinking the negative was scratched, I took a closer look. The white mark going down Buffett’s left side is a broken guitar string.
These have never been seen or published before. After I developed the film, I filed it with all my other negatives. It was a memorable, not-to-be-missed opportunity. What a great show, exactly 44 years ago!
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.
Nearly a lifetime ago I began searching for a better way of life. Out of school and more on my own, I was content, but the suburbs of DC was not where I wanted to be. Surfing had given me a taste of Hatteras Island and after some trips there, I was inextricably drawn back to the island. It was uncrowded, relatively undeveloped, and there were waves. An extended visit of 6 months turned into 50 years. Where did that time go?
All along the way, I nurtured an interest in photography. I loved the environment, and culture. Before long those things embraced me and wouldn’t let go.
Nowadays I spend time evaluating and organizing what I’ve done as a photographer. There are lots of images… too many count.
A recent job got me digging in, editing and printing for a permanent display in our neighborhood Community Building. I made a photograph of some of those finished prints on my work table to see how they looked. Collectively it’s a record of the past. Documenting history was never my intent as I shot the surroundings, but time passing made it that way.
I’m grateful for what the island has given me, the experience of finding my niche, and encountering a colorful cast of characters. It’s been a great run!
Dad was a career Navy officer so my family flew military transport to various bases overseas. At 7 years old, I remember flying a DC-4 (or something similar) to Newfoundland. A few years later, we were on long round trip flights to and from the island of Guam on a (MATS) Lockheed Constellation. Ever since, I’ve had a fascination for airplanes.
On a west coast trip recently, we visited the Palm Springs Air Museum in California, where there was plenty to see.
Highlights for me included a replica Memphis Belle used in filming the 1990 movie of the same name.
The B-17 is powered by 4 nine-cylinder air-cooled radial engines. This bomber is undergoing extensive maintenance to be flown again for a living history experience.
Who wouldn’t love the graphics on this P-40 Warhawk Fighter?
During World War II at 18 years old, our 41st President flew and bailed out of a TBM Avenger like this one.
Of personal interest was the museum’s extensive collection of POW/MIA Vietnam era bracelets. During that war, my brother-in-law flew as a navigator aboard an A-6A Intruder off the USS Kitty Hawk. Returning from a mission over North Vietnam, Jim and his pilot were lost and listed MIA. After years of searching, remains were located and verified through DNA testing. 2006 he was brought home and buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.
It was emotional to see 2 bracelets with Jim’s name and missing-in-action date. My family wore these for years in hopes of his coming home alive. He was 23 years old and the loss changed our family dynamic forever.