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Editing a Storm

Now that the storm is over, the memory lingers. Many of us 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.

NCDOT to the Rescue........ again

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.

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.

 

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

Salvo native, Richie Austin is pleased about the prospects.

Jack Cahoon, the present 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.

November Northeaster

One of the things that originally attracted me to Hatteras Island was the raw nature of the place. As the son of a meteorologist, I must have had this fascination ingrained in me. Dynamic weather conditions have shaped the Outer Banks for centuries, and this recent northeaster was a prime example. 

Forecasters had this one pegged pretty well. There was ample time to prepare, but for those with real estate interests on the Rodanthe oceanfront, all the preparation in the world could not hold back the force of the sea. 

I've photographed this particular location during storms for decades, and the coastline here has one of the highest erosion rates on the North Carolina coast. The ocean has chipped away storm after storm, year after year. In that time, people have chosen to build dream homes by the sea. Many have fallen victim to the waves, and many linger close by.

  

Looking north toward Mirlo Beach.

Serendipity on the north end of town, holding on.

Highway 12 at Mirlo Beach facing north.

The infamous S-Curve

The S-Curve 2 days earlier.

The S-curve one week ago.

Remnants of the S-Curve

This time the raging sea not only threatened beach houses, but it took a portion of our only roadway connecting us to the mainland. The State of North Carolina has spent millions of dollars trying to keep highway 12 intact. In a couple of spots, NC12 has had to be relocated to the west as previous roadways succumb to the sea. The S-Curve has been moved 3 times since I've lived here, but now it's running out of room.

Stay tuned for further developments!

Camera with a View

I am an admirer of the great masters of photography. It wasn’t only their vision that made great work, 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 much 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 clearly 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 board, ground glass, bellows, shifts and tilts, everything except a lens. My friend Allen Jones who was attending RIT at the time, scored my 215mm Ilex Acuton for $250 in Rochester.

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, bulky view cameras have limitations. So I used it mainly for still life compositions around commercial fishing harbors.

The “Edwin Jr.” derelict at Avon Harbor

Crab Skiff at Avon Harbor

Net Skiff, Rodanthe Creek

Shad Boat, Rodanthe Creek

Longhauler, Collins Gray at Rodanthe Fish House

Knapp’s Narrows at Tilghman Island, Maryland

Chicamacomico in Winter, 1980

A Dune near Buxton

A Tribute to Weston

Shot 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 those negatives stored, with silica gel, in an old ammo box. For the past month, I’ve been making prints. Some are 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.