Blog
Plenty of chop on the way out this morning, even more than yesterday. The captain was headed back north again – plowing straight into the wind. Early into the trip I got blasted pretty badly by an unexpected wave that came careening right over the bow. Suprised the shit out of me. I seem to always learn lessons the hard way. Hanging out in the cabin until we slowed down seemed to be a good course of action, and I dried out after about 30 minutes (the water was actually kinda warm, to be honest, which also surprised me).
The weather was a bit cooler though, the wind was stronger and the whale sightings were even more scarce. Bright spot of the trip was when we spotted over nine (9!) North Atlantic Right Whales in a rather small area. Unheard of in this day and age. I believe the naturalist on board said current estimates indicate there are only about 200-250 of them left, so seeing this many at once was jaw dropping and would probably never happen again in our lifetimes. Sad to say the least.
Several Fin Whales and Sei Whales were also observed but there’s really not much to see with them… other than a fin poking up here and there. About two miles off in the distance we did see a pair of whales breaching but we couldn’t tell what they were. As far as my own personal experience goes, this last trip was one of the slowest activity-wise that I’d ever been on. Yes, seeing the super rare Right Whales was neat but there really wasn’t much else. I was kinda bummed, but figured that’s just the way it goes sometimes. Note to self: don’t do the trip leaving at 11am again – go with another company that leaves early morning or later in the day. I think timing had a lot to do with the lack of activity… just like birds or other wildlife, dawn and dusk are the most active times. Also, when you do an early morning trip, you have the benefit of getting home earlier – we ended up leaving around 3:30-4pm, and we didn’t get home until 11pm on a Sunday night (which I hate).
Anywho, dats dat. Looking forward to trying again next year.
Friday morning found me tired and wet, yet somehow energized at Herring Point. It was a sticky, humid morning and I was up at dawn, stoked to witness the mega-swell that was *supposed* to arrive early on. Well, mother nature proved herself to be unpredictable yet again and Earl really started to lose steam as it tried to push inland. There was a point where I said to myself… “Jesus, this thing is moving so slow, we’re not going to get anything until Friday night.” Folks on the beach were saying the effects would probably be the equivalent of a strong nor’easter. Great.
I tried to occupy myself on my laptop for a while in the car but ended up napping for a few hours. In an act of desperation, I actually went to the weather channel’s website and was immediately bombarded with a higher than normal level of disaster! DOOM! and “it’s the end-of-the-world!” predictions. The hype machine was in TOP GEAR. Unreal.
Noon came and went with almost nothing out of the ordinary… so I went to grab some Taco Bell with Kenman and Mel. I figured if the weather wasn’t doing much, four cheesy gorillas (cheesy gordita crunches) would up the ante and make the afternoon just that much more unpredictable. On our way back to Henlopen around 2 o’clock, things began to get interesting. Rain started to come down steadily. The wind really started to howl and made for some nasty, nasty chop, and the surf was breaking from both the north and the southeast – really weird shit.
None of these things were good for the surfers and there were only a few stout souls out there willing to try and catch the filth that was swirling in. The majority of nuts in the water were on boogie boards and even those guys were having issues catching a decent barrel. Dozens of hard wipeouts and thrashings were handed out over the course of the early afternoon. So I waited and watched as patiently as I could.
As the tide came in there were just a few hours of really solid surf. You’d see one clean wave every ten to fifteen minutes surrounded by a bunch of others that could kill you. I’d guess most were somewhere between the 6-8 foot zone. Things were pretty bad until late afternoon. Around 4:30pm the sun started to really shine, the clouds vanished and the chop all but disappeared. The problem was that the wave heights really started to diminish as well. By 6pm the tide was well on it’s way out, and you were lucky to find a wave over chest high. They were breaking much cleaner, but the oomph just wasn’t there anymore. Earl had exited stage right in a hurry.
I was dead tired by 7pm and decided to do the same. A quick trip up to the point revealed a bunch of kitesurfers enjoying the post-Earl winds, and another really nice sunset. Overall, it was a good day and worth the effort – but I’ve seen much better out of that break. I’m really hoping there’ll be one more good storm before the end of the season.
End of summer finds things winding down here again. Not much to see since the main pools have been drained pretty low. Temperatures were fantastic, around 75-80° with a beautiful cool breeze out of the north, compliments of Hurricane Earl’s visit earlier this weekend.
- Great Egrets are in declining numbers (maybe 100 left) and leaving the refuge to head farther south.
- Barn and Tree Swallows are making a killing on the flies and other bugs – thousands can be seen at dawn and dusk divebombing insects.
- Speaking of bugs, not as bad as they were last month. Biting flies are relatively gone. Mosquitoes are less prevalent, however still making their presence known.
- New bug spray made with “Picaridin” only – NO DEET – worked about as well as the Deet. 20%-40% Deet stuff I was using prior was MELTING plastic parts in the car and on my gear.
- Thistles and Queen Anne’s Lace are at the end of their days, but the remaining Thistle blooms still attract some wayward Monarch and Swallowtail Butterflies.
- Hunted for the Great Horned and Barred Owls at Finis Pool, but didn’t hear or see hide ‘nor hair of them.
- No Eagles, Ospreys or Hawks – which was kinda weird.
Here’s to hoping things pick up as the fall progresses.
…are on their way! Barrel-assing towards us like a frieght train, Hurricane Earl will finally mark the end of this summer’s doldrums. Earl is forecast to become a Category 4 storm by Tuesday, and should provide some monsterous swell for the mid-to-upper Atlantic seaboard starting sometime late Thursday. I’m planning on hitting the Naval Jetties @Henlopen (Herring Point) at first light on Friday to catch some serious surf action.
One thing is for sure… when you combine incredibly warm water over the Atlantic with a decreased wind shear (due to a strengthening La Nina), we’re going to be in for several more ass-kicking storms before the end of this season. It would be nice, however, if they could all be glancing blows like Earl is forecast to be…
Check out these pages for up-to-date surf forecasts and strike estimates as Earl gets closer:
http://www.swellinfo.com/surf-forecast/delaware.html
http://www.surfline.com/surfdata/forecast_five_lola_nfd.cfm?id=2148
As nature and wildlife photographers, we have to accept the fact that mother nature runs the show. She’s in total control of the lights, temperature and moisture in our studios, so it behooves us to study her ways and try to figure out what she’s going to be up to next. But how? Where? What’s the best way to figure out what kind of weather is coming?
I’d like to share a few tools, programs and webpages that I use to gather the information I need to make an informed decision about the weather conditions for a given day of photography.
Weather Forecasts:
- NWS (National Weather Service) forecasts – I’m an ex-army gov’t man. When I need weather, I opt for my good ‘ol taxpayer funded* NWS. These guys have all the cool equipment and the scientists that know how to use it. From satellites & radar to hurricane hunters & computer models, the folks at the NWS get the job done accurately, scientifically – and without any hype. You won’t find any banner ads or campy “Big Storm” hysteria at their website, http://www.nws.noaa.gov/. There is an unbelievable amount of totally free* information at their website, and they’ve proven themselves to have the most accurate forecasts time and time again.Secret weapon from the NWS: “Scientific Forecast Discussions“. By reading these, you can gain a huge amount of insight as to why a forecast is trending in one direction or another, or why they’re calling for a foot of snow or only four inches. *Highly* recommended to read when there are approaching storms of any kind. Learn to read these and you’ll know exactly what’s up.
- Wunderground.com - Runner up for most accurate weather. These guys have super accurate hourly forecasts and a very impressive “WunderMap” feature that will overlay animated radar/satellite data on google maps of your location. Some ads are mildly annoying, but not tremendously bad.
- Bushnell FXi 960900C 7 Day Internet Weather Forecaster – This thing is awesome. Thinking of picking up a second one for home. Basically, it sits on your desk and grabs the current conditions and forecast for the next couple of days off the internet. Updates every 15 mins. Very handy to be able to look down throughout the day and see the current temp, winds, humidity and chance of precip. I love the way the backlight changes colors based on the temperature outside. Picked mine up at Amazon.com for a lot less than retail.
- I also use several iPhone Apps daily, listed here by frequency of use:
MyWeather – featuring push alerts for bad weather, clean and easy interface. Very nice full screen horizontal wind and precip. graphs.
Fizz Weather – this was my long standing #1 app for weather before MyWeather came along, and still gets the job done nicely. Very user friendly and packed with loads of great information, maps, forecast data and trends.
RadarScope – a bit expensive for just radar ($9.99), but it’s the best radar out there on the iPhone. Wish I could somehow combine this with one of the other two above.
Special Note: I try to avoid any forecast information from “The Weather Channel”, “weather.com” or my local TV news outlets at all costs. They tend to lean towards hysteria with their forecasts and make things sound as overly dramatic as possible in order to get people to watch. Very important to remember that they’re out to sell a commodity - not help you. They also *love* to feature drug commercials and other advertising b.s. & web banners, etc.
Sun & Moon Rise and Set:
Probably one of the most critical pieces of information for any outdoor photographer, the sunrise and sunset times will dictate how early you need to get up, and when the golden hours will be occuring. The United States Naval Observatory is the authority for accurate daily rise and set calculations, which can be found here. Why use them over anyone else? The USNO serves as the official source of time for the U.S. DoD and the GPS system, keeping track of precise time determination (accuracy within 10 nanoseconds). They also keep track of stuff like, oh, celestial polar offsets and the exact orientation of the entire planet. So yeah – they’re the guys to see about sunrise and sunset times.
iPhone apps: There’s a million out there handling sunrise and sunset times, but two stand out above the rest: Helios and Focalware. I’ve been using both very frequently, and they’re both extremely good at what they do. Helios is much more “sun” specific and only gives info related to the sun, while Focalware does both sun *and* moon times. Helios is expensive at $29.99, but for as frequently as I use it and the data it provides, it was worth it for me. If you’re on a tight budget, Focalware isn’t quite as in-depth, but will get you the correct times for a lot less, at $4.99. Both are highly recommended, see their respective websites for details.
Severe Weather Alerts:
When the weather’s about to get really nasty, there are a couple of special tools I use to keep me updated automatically:
- Interwarn - Runs on my home PC and checks for severe weather alerts every 5 minutes. When an alert is issued, it plays a warning sound and emails a copy of the alert text to my iPhone. When big storms are rolling through, it can get a little out of hand and send quite a few emails, but the program definitely keeps me up to date of any severe weather. Highly recommended.
- Oregon Scientific Public Alert Weather Radio With SAME - If I’m out camping or hiking in an area where there’s no internet, this little radio is the best way to figure out what kind of weather is headed your way. I don’t use it very often, but if the power’s out, and there’s no internet around for miles, this is my surefire backup to stay current and know if anything severe is coming. Again, check Amazon.com for the lowest priceand quick shipping.
Is all of this overkill? For me, the answer to that continues to be a resounding “NO”. I like being “in the loop”, and in my world the weather is just as important as the type of lens you’re using or your choice in studio lights. Weather will make or break any outdoor photography. Clouds, sun, temperature, rain, wind, snow – all drastically determine the outcome of any photograph taken outdoors. So to brush it off or not pay attention to it with the same amount of fervor as any other photo-gear is just asking for trouble, and usually results in sub-par photos or a really bad day. Using just one or two of the things I’ve listed above will definitely help you stay at least one step ahead of mother nature, and could mean the difference between a great shot and a mediocre one.
After another 4:45am wakeup and a long dark drive through the pine barrens, Barnegat light was in view by sunrise on Saturday. The forecast called for a sky full of sun, highs around 45° and light to moderate winds. I was mentally prepared for a half-decent day. When I arrived, however, it was closer to 28° with strong 20-30mph gusts coming off the ocean… sand and sea spray coming at you sideways. Make-your-eyes-water-nasty. I’ll say it again: I hate wind. Absolutely hate it. Abhor would be a much better word, actually.
Moving right along… The jetty was out of the question unless you had some urgent reason to meet Davy Jones. Taking a fall into the icy drink wearing four layers of clothes and heavy boots was not my idea of how I wanted to go out. Those rocks were slippery as hell, and every couple of seconds a big wave would come crashing over their tops. I’ve seen people have their feet swept right out from underneath them – even with a small amount of fast moving water. No way was I going anywhere near that mess. Not being able to get reasonably close or up on top of them meant I was pretty much SOL. Target species of the day were supposed to be Sea Scoters and Eider, and there were *plenty* of them there…they were just way the hell out in the inlet, bobbing up and down on the swells. After an hour of wistfully watching the activity in the inlet, my hands and face were totally numb. The tide wouldn’t even be high for another several hours. I decided to call it a morning and trudge back to the car – skunked. Oh well. You know what they say.
On the way back, there were a couple of Semipalmated Sandpipers flirting around the edges of a tidal pool. Grabbed a few half decent shots there, which brightened my mood just a hair.
When I got back to the car and started to warm up, I decided to head south to the E.B. Forsythe NWR. Initially, I had considered heading up to Jamaica Bay (near NYC) but figured if it was this bad in Jersey, it couldn’t be a whole lot better up there. Action at Forsythe was pretty decent, even though it was mid-day, and the light was well… mid-day light. Lots of birds there, saw the standard duckage and lots of snow geese – which have been scarce in Delaware this year for some reason. Seeing them again en-masse brought a smile to my face. A quick note to anyone heading to Forsythe in the near future: they’ve got the loop road closed at Jen’s Trail. This means that there’s two-way traffic the whole way around, and you’ll have to turn around at the end to come back. Not a huge deal, but something to consider on busy weekends. I stuck around for a bit of shooting, but was getting fidgety. You can only grab so many pictures of snow geese.
By this time, it was about 12:30 and I didn’t want to call it a day. I’d gotten up early and driven all the way out here… but just didn’t feel like I had gotten what I came for. I really wanted to add those Scoters and Eider to my list. It was winter, the sun was relatively low in the sky, and by 3:30, the light would be getting semi-nice. So I opted to take the 45 minute drive all the way back to Barnegat.
When I arrived for the second time that day, the only thing that had changed was the temperature and the number of people. Increases in both, which was a blessing and a curse. The place was crawling with people, dogs, kids screaming, etc. There were even a few crazy nuts that were attempting to walk the jetty. One guy got blasted by a wave pretty good – I mean a “head-to-toe-lost-him-in-the-spray” type soaking – and I thought for sure he was going in, tripod and all. Knocked him on his ass, and some pieces of gear went flying off into the rocks. Still not sure how he managed to hang on, but luckily for him it looked like the only thing that was hurt was his ego. Yeesh. I kept trudging all the way out to the end once again, only to stand there and watch the same Scoters and Eider doing just about the same thing I saw them doing 8 hours before. Hanging out in the middle of the inlet, bobbing up and down on 5 foot swells. There were a few Long Tails and Loons making close approaches here and there, but unless you were up on the rocks the shots just weren’t going to happen. Meh. At least the wind was starting to die down a little. I started the long walk back a bit sooner this time, taking my time with some Sandpipers and Turnstones on the way.
I was really getting tired of walking in the soft sand so I climbed up onto the concrete walkway that led back to the lighthouse. Wouldn’t you know it, there were a couple dozen Ruddy Turnstones and Sandpipers hanging out on the shady side of the jetty not more than 100 feet from the lighthouse. Every time a wave would come in it would force them up onto the tops of the rocks and into the last bits of remaining sunlight. As I sat there shooting away, I thought to myself, “Man, I drove all that way, walked all that way… and it comes down to getting some decent shots at the end of the day about a football field away from where I’m parked. Grrr.” All part of the photographic journey, I guess. Wouldn’t be the same any other way. I packed up with the intention of heading home and felt like I had gotten a requisite numbers of “keepers” for the effort I had put in for the day. It was 3:30, and I had to be headed back to the parking lot since the gates were shutting at 4pm again. (Tip: It was on this trip that I discovered one can park across the street and not have to deal with the schedules and deadlines of the park gate ever again)
About 20 paces later, I noticed a crowd of about 40 people gathered around the far corner of the lighthouse – “What the hell is going on over there?”, I asked a guy headed the other way. “Ah, somebody saw a seal”, he said. He made it sound like it was such an everyday occurrence, almost like seals fell from the sky or appeared on his lawn each morning. With a slight trot to my step I headed over to see what the commotion was. Sure as shit, there was the seal. A young Harp Seal, I’m pretty sure – in darn good shape and spirits. He was just hanging out on the rocks warming up in the sun, making faces, rolling around, yawning. You know, the stuff seals do. He was quite the ham and curious to boot. Didn’t make any noises – just a mutual “checking out” of each other.
To my surprise he was staying put. With each passing minute the sun crept down a little further, continuing to bathe him in just a little better light. This was it. This was the reason I had gotten out of bed. The day had taken several twists and turns, highs and lows, but there it was. For almost 15 minutes, I was in heaven. As I fired away, I realized the crowd around me was starting to disperse. A quick watch check showed that 4pm was quickly approaching, and anybody that didn’t want to get locked inside the parking lot better leave *now*. I contemplated running out and moving my car, but figured I’d had my fill. So I said my goodbyes to Mr. Seal, and quickly headed back to the car. I hadn’t necessarily gotten what I came for, but I felt like mother nature had somehow rewarded me for putting in the effort. I’ve learned that anytime she decides to shine on you in that manner, it’s better to bow gracefully in thanks and take it all in rather than press your luck any further.
Funny how things just work out sometimes.