We knew David Bates of Ocean Grove. He was often seen riding his bike around town, and he also had a residence in Greenwich Village. He did not have a car.
One time he pedaled by our house and he stopped to chat. It was the summer of 2012. I took his picture and posted it on Blogfinger. Recently he biked by my house again, waving as he went.
In recent days I noticed quite a few “hits”on that 2012 post, especially yesterday and today, totaling over 100 visits. A Google search revealed nothing, but a comment today indicates that he has passed.
We do not do obits on Blogfinger, but re-posting a portrait falls under the “by popular demand” category.
THE FANTASTICKS ran for years at the Sullivan Street Playhouse in Greenwich Village, New York City. Here is “Try to Remember” by Jerry Orbach.
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger. Reposted from 2013.
On October 29, 2012, when Super Storm Sandy hit Ocean Grove, Bob Bowné climbed to the top of the Windamer Hotel and went out on a small balcony at the left side. The wind was ferocious, but he managed to remain there while he gathered his photo gear. Bob is a professional photographer, so when he saw the furor of the ocean and the beginning of flooding, he knew that he had to document this huge event.
It was about 4:00 p.m., and the peak of the storm had not yet hit, but the sight of that tumultous ocean was awesome. That is when he obtained the photograph that would become an iconic image of the storm. He said that he preferred making the image while the pier was intact, so that it would document what was, rather than what would be after.
The full strength of Sandy came to bear at about 9:00 pm. after the winds shifted and roared in from the south. Bob was the only person in his building and he watched as the devastation evolved including the loss of most of the fishing pier and the boardwalk. He went downstairs to check his apartment which was in the basement and he came face to face with a large piece of the Hotel’s roof. Water was pouring in over the boardwalk area and onto Ocean Avenue, heading west.
Bob Bowné is a life long Grover and he currently works as a carpenter. In the past he was a commercial photographer who specialized in product imagery. He also was a surfer for many years and he used to photograph for surfing publications.
In preparation for a major exhibit about the storm at the Museum of the City of New York, 10,000 photographs were evaluated. Bob’s spectacular shot of the ocean boiling over the OG pier was judged one of the most dramatic images.
The pier picture is the only one of his in the exhibit, but he has allowed us to publish a few more from that storm day. These gorgeous images are now exhibited publicly for the first time. Bob said that the light was unusual and transient, enabling him to obtain the photographs that we are now showing, without any software manipulation.
Opening of “Rising Waters: Photographs of Sandy.” Bob used a fisheye lens for this shot.
The exhibit opened on October 29, 2013. Bob was there, and people asked for him to sign his photo. The exhibit is called “Rising Waters: Photographs of Sandy”
