Greg Molyneux Photography

Tag: edwin b forsythe national wildlife refuge

  • You’re uninvited

    An HDR photograph taken from the southern side of Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge overlooking the Atlantic City skyline at sunset.
    You’re uninvited — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    I was pressed for time yesterday and unable to post this shot before the Downton Abbey season finale and True Detective. Priorities, you know?

    Prior to all that I made my way to the Edwin B. Forsythe Wildlife Refuge to meet up with my buddy Jon and his mom. Ever since I’ve known about this place I’ve lusted over its obvious sunset potential; sprawling vistas, abundant wildlife, marshland for miles, and plenty of set ups with workable foregrounds. Oh, and birds.

    Going into the shoot I knew exactly where I wanted to setup: toward the southeast end of the refuge is a beachhead with exposed pilings and jetty rock. Jon on I hopped out of our vehicles, scampered off the dirt road down the shallow berm and onto the beach. Not exactly Normandy. We bandied about framing shots all about the beach until we honed in our tripods and set ups.

    And let picture making ensue. No? No.

    Just as I began firing off bracketed exposures an innocuous minivan slowed to a stop. A friendly voice hailed down and after the obligatory pleasantries I was politely told I couldn’t be where I was. In fact, I was told no one may actually step off the roadway—anything in the refuge beyond those bounds is off limits. The good news? Nesting doesn’t begin until April, 1, I learned, so thankfully no wildlife or habitat was put in jeopardy. The attendant was kind enough to let us make our shots real quick and then return to the road. It was the most cordial reprimand ever.

    Yesterday I learned I can no longer exploit the refuge for its once perceived wide angle landscape potential. Instead, I’ll take my bird appreciation to the next level and get myself a proper telelphoto lens and make the most of this beautiful place come Spring.

  • A homecoming of sorts

    Manahawkin, NJ, photographer Greg Molyneux's HDR photograph of Holgate, NJ at sunset. This HDR photograph overlooks the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge
    A homecoming of sorts — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 3 Bracketed Exposures

    The prodigal son returns. Or the fool finds his roots. Or whichever yarn you’d like to spin this is where it all began. Just north of two years back I embarked on what would become my photographic journey—right here at this very spot in Holgate, New Jersey. Only I didn’t know it at the time. That one innocent photowalk down a section of the eastern shore of the Edwin B. Forsythe Wildlife Refuge on one a seasonably warm New Year’s Day; that one innocuous macro shell and here’d I be two years and some forty thousand picture later blogging about it on my own photography website. Sometimes life is strange.

    As I made my way around the refuge today it dawned on me just how much territory on this isthmus there is to explore despite the fact that access on the bayside western shore is restricted to protect the wildlife. I stopped for a second to chat with a local, an elderly gentleman who noted the southern tip of the refuge made its way three miles to the south where a micro sized Atlantic City looms. For another day, I quipped. Short on daylight, and therefore time, I made my way back to the jetty rock. Jetty rock that had been laid waste by years of violent storms—Sandy of course topping the list.

    It was here that I made my stand. Here that I made my shot for this story. Here I shall return for future sunsets as this locale offers both potential and an important link to the past.