Brigantine Golf Course Community, Brigantine, New Jersey (Steve Greer)
This year the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is predicting an active hurricane season for the Atlantic coast. Now that Hurricane Irene has safely passed, New Jersey’s shore towns came through the storm relevantly unscathed.
With this in mind, I was looking for a unique vantage point to illustrate the development of Brigantine Island and how precariously perched the people that live on it are. With the back bay on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other, most of the island is just 5 to 10 feet above sea level.
I made this photo from a Robinson R44 helicopter. The pilot took the doors off and I was strapped in and able to lean out. From this unrestricted perspective I had complete freedom to look out at spectacular views up and down the coastline.
When shooting aerials you need to use a high shutter speed. The vibration from the helicopter and its wind drag from the main rotor wash can make for a wobbly flight and some possible blurry images. It’s important to keep your elbows in, isolate yourself from the vibration by not touching any part of the helicopter, except the padded seat, and shoot a lot of frames. And don’t forget to keep your camera strap around your neck!
To see more aerial photos of the New Jersey coastline visit my website.
My setting were 24mm, 1/1000sec, ISO 400
Located in the heart of Trenton, the New Jersey State House is history come alive. It is the nation’s second oldest capitol in continuous use, the first being in Maryland
Its rotunda and145-foot dome was an essential keystone image for my latest book entitled
“Our New Jersey”
Because I wanted maximum depth of field to capture all the details in the foreground and the background, I dialed in an aperture of f/16. And being pressed so close to the sheer size of the space, I needed a 16mm wide angle lens. With my ISO set at 100, my faithful light meter advised me the sensor required a 15 sec. exposure. Ok, break out the sturdy tripod with a cable release, and be thankful for the unshakable solid marble floor.
All under the watchful eye of Abraham Lincoln’s bronze statue, sitting squarely in the center of the rotunda, it’s a wonderful introduction on your way to the gallery to watch the New Jersey Senators, Assemblymen, and Governors making the laws of the state.
Side note: In 1999, the dome was covered with 48,000 pieces of gold leaf. Each piece of gold leaf cost $1.00 and was paid for with money raised by New Jersey school kids through the “Dimes for the Dome” program. As a thank you for their contributions, the dome stands in honor of New Jersey children.
For more image of the State House visit my website
Atlantic City Boardwalk
Summertime tourists enjoy the timed-honored tradition of walking Atlantic City’s famous boardwalk. With the casinos as a backdrop, the boardwalk attracts more than thirty million people each year.
Back in 1870, the casinos and hotels of Atlantic City had one big problem to contend with…SAND. It was everywhere, from the train cars to the hotel lobbies. Alexander Boardman, a conductor on the Atlantic City-Camden Railroad, was asked to think up a way to keep the sand out of the hotels and rail cars.
Costing half the towns tax revenue that year, an eight foot wide wooden foot walk was built from the beach into town. This first Boardwalk, which was taken up during the winter, was replaced with another larger structure in 1880. On Sunday September 9, 1889, a devastating hurricane hit the island, destroying the boardwalk. Most of the city was under 6 feet of water, and the ocean met the bay at Georgia Ave. The Boardwalk of today is 60 feet wide, and 6 miles long.
Atlantic City is also well known as the inspiration for the board game Monopoly.
For more images of Atlantic City visit my site
Horeshoe crabs breeding on the Atlantic Coast, Delaware Bay, New Jersey
For many years I’ve been attempting to create an image of the horseshoe crabs ancient migration, a mating ritual that predates dinosaurs. Closely related to the spider family, these crabs crawl out of the frigid waters of the Delaware Bay and onto New Jersey beaches once a year to lay their eggs. This event only happens at a very specific location on the planet, at a very specific time. Anticipating the correct moon cycle, high tides, time of sunrise, and cooperative weather, are important elements in making this photo-op possible. The challenges of combining intriguing light, movement, and a sense of rhythm and pattern have led to many failed attempts in the past.
For more on my field notes and information on horse crabs, visit my website
Exploring the meaning of the sea in our lives, where time is marked by the ebbing and flowing of tides, I’m very proud to participate in the project “The Sea Around You”; the companion book to the “Smithsonian Ocean: Our Water, Our World” by scholar at MIT’s Earth System Initative, Deborah Cramer.