By Trish Minogue Collins 2-11-2020
My goodness, this winter has been quiet! We’ve had a paltry amount of snow and ice, but no nor’easters, no hoarfrost, and certainly no sea smoke to bring joy to the hearts of extreme weather lovers. So when the weather outlets started lighting up with “extreme wind warnings” this past Friday, I thought that might be something to check out.
Temperatures were mild but winds were gusting up to 58 miles per hour. My favorite place to catch weather like this is Montauk Point. The waves can be amazing, and the idea of seeing some surfers out there is always an additional draw for me.
Our first stop was Camp Hero, where you can get a great bird’s eye view of the surf. The ocean was angry indeed, but as W.C Fields once said, it was “not a fit night out for man or beast.” This wind was not conducive to surfing and even standing was a challenge up on the hoodoos.
We headed down to the point. The wind was blowing the clouds at breakneck speed, resulting in ever-changing light. When the sun broke through, spray bows, or prisms in the spray coming off the waves were visible. As sunset approached, we headed to Shagwong outer beach. From there I looked toward Montauk Harbor. The wind was coming directly from the west at this point, and the spray coming across the jetties was insane! This was where the real show was. We left the outer beach and drove over to Gin Beach by the harbor entrance. The wind was so strong it buffeted the truck. The spray was blowing so that it was difficult standing far enough back to avoid soaking my lens. Standing steady was definitely a challenge. I had to keep hiding behind the truck, composing my shot in my head, adjust my settings, then I’d jump out and shoot fast, and duck back to clean the lens.
In other words, I had the best time shooting I’ve had all winter. I hope you like the results. Bring on the snow and ice!
Videos and Photos below were taken by Trish on Friday evening. You can follow Trish on Facebook Instagram and on her website here.
