Open Window

Open Window's Second Year

It's official, Open-Window is now two years old. I can hardly believe I began this blog on a cold January day, sitting at the island in my kitchen, 730 days ago. In the past two years, Open-Window has focused my days on creating stories, snippits, and photographs that I hoped you would find entertaining, sometimes informative, and maybe even amusing. We've covered a lot of ground and many diverse topics over this time ranging from Hawaii to Paris, Hamburger Relish to Caviar, Horse Racing to Airshow Acrobatics. As time has passed, we increasingly focused on the images and slide shows that would accompany a post, and have worked diligently to improve the quality of all that we delivered. Peter has continued to emphasize wide-angle HDR (high dynamic range) photography whether on his DSLR (digital single lens reflex-camera) or his, ever-handy, iPhone, and I have continued with my love of all-things-macro, although we each dabbled in the other's specialty just to keep it interesting.

Mexican Train Tiles and Turtles
Photo © 2011 Claudia Ward 

Over the past twenty four months, we've made 388 postings to Open-Window which is an average of almost 4 per week, nearly every one containing at least one photograph and 60 of which included a slide show with music. When we embarked on this endeavor, we expected to focus on travel, food and photography. As it's turned out, the focus has been just that ... but in reverse - photography, food and travel. See, we'll photograph nearly anything - food that we eat, games that we play, children at the beach, machines of any sort, flowers and their residents, landmarks and landscapes, moon-rises and sunsets, and even light itself. 

The Outer Banks of North Caroline
Photo © 2011 Claudia Ward taken with the iPhone using the Pro HDR App

This year has been quite a journey photographically as well as geographically. Peter and I traveled over 14, 500 miles. We drove the entire east coast from the east end of Long Island to Orlando, Florida, traversing Florida, and turning north to reach Memphis Tennessee. We crossed the states of Tennessee and North Carolina end-to-end (west to east), photographing some of this country's most beautiful scenery in the Great Smoky Mountains. When we reached the Atlantic Ocean, it felt like we'd returned home, for tidal waters are in our veins, and the days on the Outer Banks are now cherished memories. Early morning sunrises over the ocean, wild horses on the beaches, hang gliding from the dunes, and fish tacos are just a few of the things we captured in-frame. With tornadoes nipping at our heels from western Florida, to Memphis and eventually to eastern North Carolina, we headed home just hours before their destruction hit the locales we'd come to know and love. Atlantic City was our refuge from the storms, before returning to the calm, untouched East End.

Spanish Mustang on the Outer Banks
Photo © 2011 Claudia Ward

Thirty days and thirty nights, and 4,000 miles on the road gave us a tremendous, renewed appreciation for the beauty and diversity of this country we live in. A couple of hundred more miles were covered seeking out horses at Saratoga Springs in August. For one who isn't known as an animal lover, I do love photographing them. Whether in their stance or stride, they speak volumes to me and hopefully that is being captured by the lens. Finally, the balance of those miles (nearly 10,000) were accomplished by a trip to The Big Island of Hawaii, where we were able to photograph the incredible diversity of this island's landscape and all of its beauty from a helicopter. 

Antique Hood Ornament
Photo © 2011 Claudia Ward 

More locally, we visited Belmont Park just a week before the Stakes were run and attended the Hampton Classic Horse Show every single day it was held over Labor Day weekend. There were at least three Antique Auto Shows, one Road Rallye and a Mini Cooper Scavenger Hunt that we shot as well. Our beaches on the east end of Long Island are some of the most breathtaking in the country (right up there with North Carolina's) and we spent many happy hours either hip deep in snow in January or ankle deep in sand in August, capturing the undulating shapes of their dunes draped in snow or the power of their seas after a storm.

Light Painting for New Year's
Photo © 2011 Peter Tooker 

The holidays that dot our calendars were also not ignored. Memorial Day is always an homage to the "Opening" of the Hamptons season. Flag Day, the 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the Christmas season were all duly noted and celebrated with photographs too.   

Meaty Tomato painted by Barbara Andolsek

Let me also add, ever so humbly, that I have once again been thrilled that Barbara Andolsek continues to make paintings based on some of my photographs. Barbara and I have yet to meet but feel a friendship beyond pen-pals. Nearly 3,000 miles apart but with a shared appreciation for the beauty of the world around us, Barbara and I have forged a friendship that could only occur in this wonderful 21st century. It still astounds me at how incredibly open and selfless so many people are using the internet to connect, communicate, and share. I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to be a part of it.

The word "blog" is derived from the expression "web log", which originally was an online journal of sorts and has morphed, over time, into a platform for communicating and exchanging information and ideas. I want to thank you all for your enthusiasm and support over the last two years but more importantly for your participation - "communication and exchange" are exactly what has occurred when you've left comments for us, and you've made it just that much more fun and interesting.

So here is a slide show which represents a snapshot of Open-Window's second year. It's shorter than last year's and yet still longer than most at just under 10 minutes. Perhaps you can set aside a little time next Sunday morning. We've made this for you, to enjoy and remember a year that we shared, and for that I want to say with great sincerity "Thanks for the memories". 

  

Photos & Slide Show by Claudia Ward & Peter Tooker © 2011
Music: Concerto in E-flat Major for Trumpet & Orchestra: 1. Allegro Con Spirito by Wynton Marsalis, National Philharmonic Orchestra & Raymond Leppard 

 

P.S. Please feel free to leave a comment and let us know what you thought of year two and if there is something you'd like to see more of in the coming months.

 

 

Hurricane Irene's Aftermath

Whether she was a Hurricane or a Tropical Storm, Irene brought destruction to every place she visited. Rains to the west and winds to the east were all part of her arsenal that weekend, as she slowly crept up the east coast. On the east end of Long Island, we were spared the rains and flooding that have wreaked havoc and destroyed so many villages and towns in New Jersey, central New York and Vermont. Here, howling, constant winds brought down trees and power lines crushing houses and cars, and blocking some roads for days. Many were without electricity and water for 6 days.

Peter and I usually venture out in storms to see what is happening and what the ocean looks like. With sustained winds in excess of 40 mph and gusts to 70, we let prudence prevail and we stayed inside all day that Sunday. When we did venture forth on Monday, we were astounded by much of what we saw and pleased as well. At several beaches it was apparent that the ocean had completely breached the dunes, mangling the beach grass, transporting benches and storm fences in to the parking lots, and filling those lots with sand. But unlike nor'easters we've had, Irene didn't eat away at the beach and dunes taking them with her, but rather she washed over them. Once she'd past, the beaches and dunes revealed the thrashing they'd taken, and yet stood defiantly bruised and beautiful.

The world and its occupants are incredibly resilient, and just one day after the storm had cleared, the beaches were teeming with people and their pets, all eager to shake off their cabin fever. Surfers couldn't wait to hit the waves and puppies couldn't wait to play. The sun was shining, the breezes were once again light, and Irene was fading, albeit slowly, in to memory.

 Photos and Slide Show © 2011 Claudia Ward

Music: I'm Better at Hello (Karen's Theme), by John Barry from the Soundtrack of "Out of Africa"

Note: If you want to see the slide show in the highest quality possible, first click on the start arrow on the left, then click on HD in the lower right hand corner of the image. This will bring up a large HD and the words "Watch this Video in High Definition". Click on those words and you'll be transported to Vimeo. HD should be highlighted in the lower right hand corner of the opening image. Click on the start arrow once more and then the four arrows to enlarge it. This is a new process apparently, so please bear with us.

 

I'm OK. You're OK?

It's been one week since my last post, that's a first in over a year and a half. One week ago today, we were bracing ourselves for Hurricane Irene which arrived in Tropical Storm form the following day leaving a path of destruction and outages in her path. Long Island was hit quite hard with downed trees every where, hitting houses, cars and power lines. We fortunately survived unscathed, however we did lose phone, TV, and my beloved internet on Sunday and just got it back, thus the reason for my silence. There are plenty of photos of the impact of Irene and its aftermath ... being worked on; however, the work is being interrupted by the Hamptons Classic Horse Show which began four days late due to the storm but is now underway and wonderful. So please be patient with this "gap"; I promise I'll be back to regular posts shortly. In the meantime, here's just a few images from the time of Irene.

All Boarded Up

Irene's Fury

Tattered But Not Torn

Signs of Irene

Hurricane Donna, Gloria, Bob and now Irene. These are the significant Atlantic hurricanes that I recall the most.

I was a young girl in 1960 when Donna came over Cape Cod. What I remember the most about that storm was my father piling us all into his "jalopy" during the eye of the storm to drive the loop in Chatham, to see the effects of the storm before it started up again. I recall the flooding, and branches and leaves being everywhere, but most of all I recall how calm it was compared to the hours before and the hours after.

For hurricane Gloria in 1985, I was on the island of Manhattan and being a true New Yorker at the time, I was, for the most part oblivious, although I did keep an eye on what was happening on the east end of Long Island where friends had a boat in Sag Harbor.

Hurricane Bob was the one that affected me physically the most. It was August in 1991, I lived on the east end of Long Island and ran a bed & breakfast in my home which was a former whaling captain's house. Tornadoes "touched down" in Noyac, just around the corner and winds brought down several very tall trees in my yard, just missing one of our cars.  It also wreaked havoc with power lines and we were without electricity for over four days. Electricity was restored and the trees were cleared away (at an exorbitant price) just in time for the next weekend's guests. Whew!

And now, Irene. I have never heard such preparation for a storm of any sort. Between the Weather Channel and our politicians, they have truly convinced me of the danger that comes with this not-so-little lady, but I must say the anticipation is agonizing. We knew she was coming and every detail of her characteristics and quirks has been broadcast to advise, inform, and prepare us - I'm exhausted and she hasn't even reached us yet. The stores are empty now of the throngs of people who have emptied the shelves of water, flash lights, cereal, canned ravioli, paper towels and, of course, batteries. I'm looking forward to the end of this weekend (that's a first), when we'll know how the story ended. 

Good luck to us all, and please stay safe.

 

Hurricane Season

 Flys Beach Southampton, NY - Surf Resulting from Igor 2010
Photo by Claudia Ward ©2010 All RIGHTS RESERVED

Hurricane season - did you know that it's really a six month season - yup, that's right - June 1st to Nov 30th, each and every year. And each and every year they name the tropical storms that may become hurricanes. If winds are over 39 miles per hour (mph), they get a name; if winds are under 39 mph, then they're just a really big wind! To make it to Category 1, i.e. entry level for hurricane status, a storm's winds must equal or exceed 74 mph.

Calling "HER-icanes" by the names of woman began in 1953, a practice that was liberated in 1978 with the addition of male names for such tempests. These were affectionately dubbed "HIM-icanes" by "libbers" of the time.

Donna (1960), Gloria (1985), and Bob (1991) all created significant memories. From Gloria, I remember my father driving us around "the loop" in Chatham (Cape Cod) during the eye of the storm to see all that had happened and not recognizing the street I lived on for all the flooding. From Gloria, the worries were boats moored in Sag Harbor; and, from Bob ... a cypress tree nearly took out Peter's car, we lived without electricity for five days, and everything had to be cleaned up and operational for my bed-and-breakfast guests by the next weekend.

This year, we're already up to the letter "N" and it's not even October. We all prepared for Earl, but that really didn't happen, at least on the east end of Long Island. Igor did his best to stir up the surf, as you can see above, and brought us extra high tides. And, Tropical Storm Nicole is clawing her way up the east coast battering the coastline and flooding towns as she goes.

Sagg Main as Tropical Storm Nicole Travels North 10/01/10 

As devastating as these storms can be, they are rarely un-photogenic and these are just a couple of the images we captured as Igor and Nicole traveled north and east of our shores.

Slide Show-Storming the Beaches

The Northeast just can't seem to catch a break. It started raining on Friday and here we are on Monday morning and it has yet to stop. But the rains have been only part of this storm sequence; the winds have been gusting at gale force since Saturday afternoon. Gusts of 54 mph were reported in Wainscott, the hamlet just east of Bridgehampton. All of this naturally wreaks havoc on our beaches, which were battered with nor'easters last fall, and snow storms and squalls all winter.

The beaches on the east end are our treasures and every town works diligently to protect them as best they can. Snow fences are common on all of our beaches and are strung along the dunes with the hopes that they'll fight off the ocean's relentless waves and high tides, and act as a retaining wall for our precious sand dunes. They truly are our front line soldiers. They take tremendous beatings as you can see but hold their ground until the bitter end.

At one beach, the town even fortified the dunes with used Christmas trees, burying them under tons of sand and building the dunes out beyond their core. As you can see in the slide show these efforts were all for naught with this week-end's storms. These fortified dunes were clawed apart by the waves and winds, sending the sand out to sea and littering the beach with the dunes' protectors.

Slideshow photos by Claudia Ward and Peter Tooker 2010 All Rights Reserved

The news is reporting trees and power lines down, and outages across the northeast and I'm afraid it's probably affected many of you who visit this blog. Peter and I hope you all have weathered the storm and come through on the other side, not too much worse for wear.

Note: Remember to click on the number 360 and change it to 480 for the best quality "view". Also enlarge the pictures by either clicking on the box that looks like arrows going in four directions, next to the numbers mentioned above, or by double clicking on the slide.

Have you got any storm stories you want to share? Leave a comment and let us know how you fared.