The 2010 Hurricane Season was a labor of love. Thinking back on it, I wonder what I was chasing. Photo: Struck
The Surfer’s Path usually does a hurricane feature around this time of year. What’s really unique is that they display images from all over the Atlantic Ocean, including Europe. Ireland looks like it went bonkers. Imagine scoring a hurricane swell at your nearest legitimate slab? I think more guys should chase hurricanes over there instead of the Caribbean. Actually, the Carribean sounds nice right about now.
Anyway, you won’t want to miss the current Jan/Feb issue of The Surfer’s Path. New Jersey native Jay Alders painted the cover, and there are a slew of Garden State surfers pictured within its pages. Former New Jersey resident, photographer Nick LaVecchia, has an awesome few pages describing his hurricane experience. Same goes for Steve Fitzpatrick. I am still enjoying the article. New Jersey seems to be everywhere.
I have to say the 2010 Hurricane Season was a labor of love…except I didn’t realize that until maybe yesterday.
My goal last fall was to pull a dynamite photo out of the 2010 Hurricane Season’s hat. In 2009, when I first started pursuing surf photography, I was especially struck by Hurricane Bill. The shot that stood out most for me was a photo of Peter Mendia at Jenks, snapped by D.J. Struntz for Surfing Magazine. Hopefully, that’s not considered name dropping, because I don’t know those guys. I’m generally just a stoked individual when it comes to surf imagery, and I loved that shot. I had my first published photo (in print) during Hurricane Bill in Eastern Surf Magazine. I was pretty pumped, although it was just a lucky shot that I wasn’t actually sure I should be taking (Think: me, greenhorn, and surf industry poaching paranoia. What did I know!?… I’m still not sure I do).
I vowed that in 2010, I was really going to do some damage.
If you plotted my movements from late August through late September on a map, the New Jersey coast would dominate most of the track. Sandy Hook. Cape May. Monmouth and Ocean Counties. Ocean City. Multiply each by at least two; try and plot your course. I slept on friends’ couches and floors, in multiple states. A couple of those map lines would reflect trips to and from the Northeast for a three-day two-night mission chasing Igor.
When you’re that busy, you don’t have time to think about much else. Thinking back on it now, I wonder what I was chasing. I appreciate the reminder of those times as we’re on the downswing (or is it upswing?) of winter. I wouldn’t exactly say that I did damage in 2010, but I am happy with my progress so far. I forgot how hard I’ve worked for it.
