THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 3, 1996 TAG: 9602290125
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 07 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
For years, Kill Devil Hills resident Mike Hogan drove south down N.C. 12 to go to work. His 15-mile journey would always end at the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, where Mike worked as the tackle shop manager.
Hogan drove past sea oats, sand dunes, marsh and wild fowl, soaking in the sights as he cruised to work in the family's ``$100 clunker.'' Many times he would stop at the Bodie Island Lighthouse.
Hogan's schedule varied. He'd pass the lighthouse in the wee hours of the morning, late at night and all times in between. Over the last nine years, he's seen the black-and-white banded sentinel wrapped in fog, standing firm with hurricane winds approaching, encased in a glowing sunset and supported by freshly fallen snow.
``I know it intimately,'' Hogan said. ``I saw it in every conceivable situation, at night and during the day, with geese flying around it and deer grazing around it. I literally have hundreds of photographs of it.''
Hogan has always had a passion for nature. When he was still a teenager, he was stationed in Alaska for a year and a half while in the Army. He reveled in the remote and dynamic weather changes there.
But Hogan was disappointed with himself when he came home with no pictures to show off the beauty.
``It was so frustrating,'' he said. ``I couldn't show people what I had experienced. It's such a grand spectacle, the wildlife and the scenery.''
Hogan has been documenting his memories with film ever since.
Some of Hogan's favorite shots have been immortalized on post cards. He has a line of 13 cards out now and expects to add six or seven more this season. Of course, the Bodie Island Lighthouse is featured, along with other exciting images Hogan has captured on film.
He prefers to shoot low-light scenes at dusk or dawn. The atmosphere that exudes from the 3 1/2-by-5-inch cards is amazing. His ``Seagulls Feeding in the Surf at Sunset - Nags Head,'' is like a mini-painting. The colors are rich, mauves and gray-blues enhanced with the warm, sun-flecked underbellies of the gulls. Soft white, hazy waves separate them from the churning sea.
Hogan really captured the feel of a bluefish blitz in one of his low-light effect cards. The sepia and iridescent tones of the water make the silhouetted anglers stand out against a soft sky.
Bodies bend forward, stand still and lean sideways as the birds farther offshore feast on the incoming fish. It once was a common scene; you could pick up a sport fishing magazine and see it every Easter and Thanksgiving. Here, Hogan captured the rapidly diminishing event with a sense of romance.
A favorite with customers is Hogan's leaping dolphins. Hogan's wife Sue convinced him to make the photo into a postcard. He wasn't wild about the shot because it wasn't crisp enough, but he followed Sue's advice, and the card turned out to be the top seller in the bunch.
The Hogans are a good team. Mike struggles, trying to balance art, technical excellence and salability.
Sue offers an objective opinion when he gets too critical. She's also been known to throw bread in the air so he can capture the feeding gulls. He even laughs about choreographing the flight of geese to capture a strong composition with the Bodie Island Lighthouse.
Shooting only the first band and the tower of the structure, Hogan goes out on a limb compositionally. It could have come out looking like a severed limb, or one of those bad wedding photos where the bride is cut in two.
But with the geese flying in V-formation like an arrow toward it, the picture is masterfully balanced. The crisp, flat color and simple composition give the work a beautiful minimalist feel.
Hogan hopes to eventually make what has been his ``first love and second job,'' his first job some day. He's starting with his postcards and is also available for assignments and contracts.
While his 25-cent post cards send beauty and preserve memories for countless vacationers to the Outer Banks, they are framable works of art from a local who shoots with love. MEMO: Postcards are available locally. For custom, decorating and advertising
work contact Mike Hogan at P.O. Box 1898, Kill Devil Hills, N.C. 27948.
Or call 441-6493. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MARY ELLEN RIDDLE
Some of Mike Hogan's favorite photos have been immortalized on a
line of 13 cards. He expects to add six or seven more to the line.
by CNB