Category Archives: Sea

Editing a Storm

This blog entry was originally posted on November 19, 2009

Now that the storm is over, the memory still lingers. Many of us also have images to refreshen those memories. Some of my favorites have already been published on this blog. But I have a few more to share.

At one point, during the fury of the storm the sun popped out for a little while. The seas were building and the water was swirling across the shore. Walking the area of Mirlo Beach, I could see that this was just getting more intense. I can’t explain taking pictures in this situation. It’s almost as though another sense kicks in. I’m surrounded by vibrant, visual energy, and I have to enclose portions of that in the viewfinder. Some shots, I know have impact as they are taken, but many come as surprises, later in the editing process.

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This may be the end of my storm entries for a while, at least I hope so.

NCDOT to the Rescue…… again

This entry was originally posted on November 16, 2009

Yesterday the 15th of November, one day after the storm wiped out a portion of highway 12 at the S-Curve, North Carolina Department of Transportation officials began work to reconstruct the main road coming into north Rodanthe. They are working to build back the berm that was washed away. What they are going to do about resurfacing the road is another matter. In the meantime, only 4-wheel drive traffic is allowed to transit on a temporary sand road west of the affected area. This is in effect only during daytime hours.

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This morning, I looked out my upstairs window over the Pamlico Sound to see the NCDOT ferry “Stanford White” heading to Rodanthe. Once I arrived on the scene, I learned that the ferry operations would begin tomorrow carrying mainly commercial traffic and other vehicles between the Stumpy Point ferry terminal and Rodanthe. This is not an official notice, however, just what I was hearing at the time. It could be rumor. It could be fact. So far I see no notice about it on NCDOT or Dare County web sites.

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The new Rodanthe ferry service has had a few test runs in the past, but never truly implemented.

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Salvo native, Richie Austin seems pleased about the prospects.

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Jack Cahoon, the present NCDOT Ferry Operations Director was personally on hand to help smooth out the transition. Locals here have known for some time that this day was coming. It was just a matter of when.

Camera with a View

I am an admirer of some of the great masters of early photography. It was not only their vision that made the work great, but in many cases, the types of equipment used. They didn’t have the huge array of advanced cameras to choose from, like we do today. Things were a lot more primitive.

One of my favorite early photographers is Edward Weston. He shot with an 8×10 view camera. Can you imagine a finished 8 inch by 10 inch negative? His black and white prints are exquisite, and have a tonal quality and sharpness that is hard to describe. In 1978, I had the pleasure of attending a photography workshop in Carmel, California, where I studied under his son, Cole.

Working in 35mm, I could see the superior quality of large format photography. I examined gallery prints made by Ansel Adams, Edward Weston and his sons Brett and Cole, among others. When I got back home on the east coast, I wanted to apply some large format in my own work. View cameras are expensive. But when I saw an ad in American Photographer for a kit to build my own 4×5 view camera, I jumped at the chance. For $85, it included the lens plate, ground glass, bellows, shifts and tilts, everything except a lens. My friend Allen Jones who was attending RIT at the time, scored my Ilex Acuton 215mm lens for $250 in Rochester.

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The assembled 4×5 view camera kit, designed by architect, Les Fader

Using the finished camera became a learning experience, and I made some mistakes. There were issues with light leaks between the film holders and the camera, and sheet film developing techniques, but I eventually kinda got the hang of it. On the windy, often stormy conditions of the Outer Banks, the bulky view camera has it limitations. So I used it mainly for still life compositions around commercial fishing harbors.

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The “Edwin Jr.” derelict at Avon Harbor

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Crab Skiff at Avon Harbor

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Net Skiff, Rodanthe Creek

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Shad Boat, Rodanthe Creek

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Longhauler, Collins Gray at Rodanthe Fish House

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Knapp’s Narrows at Tilghman Island, Maryland

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Chicamacomico Winter, 1980

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A Dune near Buxton

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A Tribute to Weston

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Broken Glass, Rodanthe Creek

I made about 60 Tri-X negatives, then decided to put the camera away. It was a lot of effort to use. And as photographer Ernst Haas, once told my class, shooting with a view camera was “like carrying the cross”. In a way, that wasn’t far from the truth. Besides at the time, it didn’t quite fit my style of shooting. I never even printed most of the images.

Then a few months ago, I found some negatives stored, with silica gel, in an old ammo box. For the past month, I’ve been making prints. Some beautiful 16×20’s too. I can’t tell you what a refreshing change it is from the popular digital shooting arena. Printing in black and white again is like finding an old long lost friend. Don’t be surprised if you see some new work from this old camera.

Hurricane Bill

I can’t remember how many hurricanes have come and gone, since I’ve lived on the Outer Banks. It seems like dozens. Some of them have made direct impacts on us, while most others have had much less or no affect. One of the most reliable deterrents for these storms is a cold front moving across the country. No matter how powerful they are, tropical weather systems cannot penetrate these natural barriers. Such was the case in our most recent hurricane called Bill. The timing was right to allow the storm to stay hundreds of miles offshore. Relatively large swells were predicted well in advance, and that’s exactly what we got. On Hatteras there was no evacuation, so visitors got a good taste of high seas, Outer Banks style.

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The place was crawling with sightseers and, of course surfers. Twenty years ago, I might have been included in the surfer category, but now more in my twilight, I’m resigned to being more of a sightseer when the swells are so big. Over the years, I’ve photographed just about every storm that’s hit the island, and I still love the thrill of it.

As usual, some overwash and highway closures are expected. But in this instance, it wasn’t quite as bad as it might have been. It was nonetheless, stimulating. North Rodanthe is usually at the center of activity. By Saturday morning the S-Curve road was wet, salty and sandy, but not enough to shut down the flow of traffic.

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The northernmost house at the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge border is called “Serendipity”. It was built about 20 years ago, when there was an existing seaward dune. But this location has one of the highest erosion rates on the island… 14 to 16 feet annually. It’s really hard to believe the house is still there, although it’s been condemned because of damage, numerous times.

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In May of 2007, it was used in the movie set of the Richard Gere chick flick, Nights in Rodanthe. Tourists and movie aficionados alike have been stopping to photograph this landmark, and this event was no exception. I’ve never seen so many people storm watching from here before… ever.

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Later in the day, I waited for more favorable afternoon light and went to the Hatteras Island Fishing Pier in Rodanthe. For a buck, it’s the second best deal on the island. The first being the free ferry ride to Ocracoke, compliments of the North Carolina taxpayers.

By the time I got to the pier, the predicted cold front was also arriving. Black clouds came swirling in from the west. Everyone else out on the end of the pier had gone back to shore. The surf continued battering the pier pilings as it rocked back and forth. How can this structure survive this kind of an environment? The answer is, it doesn’t. It constantly has to be repaired and rebuilt.

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As the cold front passed, the warm muggy air was replaced by cool air and the wind picked up dramatically from the west. Rain squalls came in from the south, and before I realized it, I was standing on the end of the pier in a driving rain, continuing to take pictures, and even changing over to a small telephoto lens in the process. Dripping wet, I ran back to the protection of the pier house and watched the torrent continue.

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In an hour it stopped, and I returned to the end of the pier with a couple of other sightseers.

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Would you believe this is the same pier, exactly where Richard Gere and Diane Lane filmed one of their more romantic scenes for Nights in Rodanthe? If you do, you’d be right.

A Fascination for Flight

I grew up in a Navy family that traveled to new tours of duty every couple of years. Many of those stations required transportation in propeller powered military aircraft. So my fascination for flight began at an early age. I always wanted the window seat. As a nine year old, I distinctly remember flying across the Pacific Ocean to the island of Guam. How I loved peering out of the window at the ocean and islands below!

Today I still hold that same fascination for flight with aerial photography. After Hurricane Isabel in 2003, I made seven flights over Hatteras, Ocracoke and Portsmouth Islands. I wasn’t interested in the destructive power of the storm. Instead I wanted to see and document how nature constantly shapes the Outer Banks.

Last year, parts of the beaches of our National Seashore Park were closed due to bird nesting, including the Cape Point of Hatteras Island. I’ve photographed the Point from the air before, but only with off-road vehicles on it. My intention last Summer was to fly and shoot it’s more natural, pristine state, but I procrastinated and suddenly the point was opened to traffic and I missed my chance.

This year I put it off again until July 26th when I called my good friend and pilot Dwight Burrus. Dwight and his wife Debbie operate Burrus Flying Service out of Billy Mitchell Airport in Frisco. I’ve flown in his beautiful red and white 1971 Cessna on numerous occasions, and I can’t say enough about his expertise. I tell him what I’m looking for and he takes me there, every time. It’s almost as if I’m flying the plane myself. Dwight was raised on Hatteras, and knows the coast and it’s steeped history well. I highly recommend the tours of Burrus Flying Service. Call them at (252) 986-2679 or visit the web site for more information. Tell them I sent you.

Let me show you what I saw on this latest flight, looking down on the scenery below.

cp-south Looking out to Cape Point from the south or “the hook” side.

cpnorth Looking toward the point from the north beach.

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cpsoutheast22 Looking toward the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse from over the Point.

cppond The shoreline of the pond at Cape Point.

lighthouse2 No flight is complete without a lighthouse fly-by.

isabel-inlet This is the site of the inlet that was cut by Hurricane Isabel.

marlin-club The famous Hatteras Marlin Club in Hatteras Village.

hatterasvillage The south end of Hatteras Village at the ferry terminal to Ocracoke Island.

hattsouthpoint The south point of Hatteras Island at Hatteras Inlet looking to Pamlico Sound.

ocracoke-ferry The ferry, Chicamacomico, en route to Ocracoke from Hatteras.

uscgstation The north end of Ocracoke Island at the site of the former Hatteras Inlet Coast Guard Station. The station was destroyed in storms. All that remains are the pilings. This illustrates the lack of stability of barrier island systems.