Oil Spill hits the beach

After about twenty days away from coverage of the oil spill I was back on assignment with Bloomberg News of Tuesday, well at least for a day. In my previous coverage I really hadn’t personally seen the oil impact an area, as the oil had stayed off shore, this time I found oil and it wasn’t that hard. Of course some areas were impacted much more than others, the beach at the Grand Isle State Park just had a small amount and lightly colored oil hit the coast, while the Port Fourchon beach was inundated with a thick black, tar like oil.

I was only allowed about thirty minutes of access to the Port Fourchon beach which was closed even to public as well as media except for a short tour provided by Lafourche Parish officials, less the twenty minutes away I had better access but much less oil, but I think I still got some good shots.

My day started in Grand Isle at the Grand Isle State Park where there was a large pier that overlooked the beach, I was told that access to the beach itself was restricted and I could be ticketed if I walked down to the beach, so good thing I packed along my long lenses as I needed them for most of what I shot during the day.

First up, a few images I shot in Grand Isle, some were shot in the morning and I returned later and shot again in the evening before returning home to Hammond.

Pelicans some stained with oil fly near the beach at the Grand Isle State Park in Grand Isle, Louisiana, U.S., on Tuesday, May 25, 2010. The BP Plc Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that exploded and collapsed into the Gulf of Mexico continues to release thousands of barrels of oil into the gulf as cleanup and containment efforts continue all along the gulf coast from Louisiana to Florida. Natural wildlife habitats along with marine life are threatened by oil that is now reaching coastal areas throughout Louisiana. Photographer: Derick E. Hingle

Below is a shot I got from looking down from the pier above the beach as the surf rolled in a sheen in the water was noticeable as well as chunks of rusty colored residue left by the high tide.

Oily water washes ashore on the beach at the Grand Isle State Park in Grand Isle, Louisiana, U.S., on Tuesday, May 25, 2010. The BP Plc Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that exploded and collapsed into the Gulf of Mexico continues to release thousands of barrels of oil into the gulf as cleanup and containment efforts continue all along the gulf coast from Louisiana to Florida. Natural wildlife habitats along with marine life are threatened by oil that is now reaching coastal areas throughout Louisiana. Photographer: Derick E. Hingle

A bird feeds as a oil sheen washes ashore on the beach at the Grand Isle State Park in Grand Isle, Louisiana, U.S., on Tuesday, May 25, 2010. The BP Plc Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that exploded and collapsed into the Gulf of Mexico continues to release thousands of barrels of oil into the gulf as cleanup and containment efforts continue all along the gulf coast from Louisiana to Florida. Natural wildlife habitats along with marine life are threatened by oil that is now reaching coastal areas throughout Louisiana. Photographer: Derick E. Hingle

A pelican flies above an oil sheen near the beach at the Grand Isle State Park in Grand Isle, Louisiana, U.S., on Tuesday, May 25, 2010. The BP Plc Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that exploded and collapsed into the Gulf of Mexico continues to release thousands of barrels of oil into the gulf as cleanup and containment efforts continue all along the gulf coast from Louisiana to Florida. Natural wildlife habitats along with marine life are threatened by oil that is now reaching coastal areas throughout Louisiana. Photographer: Derick E. Hingle

A sheen of oil is seen on the surface of the water as a crab crawls beneath the sheen on the beach at Grand Isle State Park in Grand Isle, Louisiana, U.S., on Tuesday, May 25, 2010. The BP Plc Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that exploded and collapsed into the Gulf of Mexico continues to release thousands of barrels of oil into the gulf as cleanup and containment efforts continue all along the gulf coast from Louisiana to Florida. Natural wildlife habitats along with marine life are threatened by oil that is now reaching coastal areas throughout Louisiana. Photographer: Derick E. Hingle

A boat with an oil stained hull passes nearby the beach at the Grand Isle State Park in Grand Isle, Louisiana, U.S., on Tuesday, May 25, 2010. The BP Plc Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that exploded and collapsed into the Gulf of Mexico continues to release thousands of barrels of oil into the gulf as cleanup and containment efforts continue all along the gulf coast from Louisiana to Florida. Natural wildlife habitats along with marine life are threatened by oil that is now reaching coastal areas throughout Louisiana. Photographer: Derick E. Hingle

I only had a small window at two o’clock to access the Port Fourchon beach so I left Grand Isle and returned later to get some more photos. Here are some of the shots from the Port Fourchon beach.

A thick black oil coats parts of the beach in Port Fourchon, Louisiana, U.S., on Tuesday, May 25, 2010. The BP Plc Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that exploded and collapsed into the Gulf of Mexico continues to release thousands of barrels of oil into the gulf as cleanup and containment efforts continue all along the gulf coast from Louisiana to Florida. Natural wildlife habitats along with marine life are threatened by oil that is now reaching coastal areas throughout Louisiana. Photographer: Derick E. Hingle

Workers cleans up oil from the beach in Port Fourchon, Louisiana, U.S., on Tuesday, May 25, 2010. The BP Plc Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that exploded and collapsed into the Gulf of Mexico continues to release thousands of barrels of oil into the gulf as cleanup and containment efforts continue all along the gulf coast from Louisiana to Florida. Natural wildlife habitats along with marine life are threatened by oil that is now reaching coastal areas throughout Louisiana. Photographer: Derick E. Hingle

A worker cleans up oil from the beach in Port Fourchon, Louisiana, U.S., on Tuesday, May 25, 2010. The BP Plc Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that exploded and collapsed into the Gulf of Mexico continues to release thousands of barrels of oil into the gulf as cleanup and containment efforts continue all along the gulf coast from Louisiana to Florida. Natural wildlife habitats along with marine life are threatened by oil that is now reaching coastal areas throughout Louisiana. Photographer: Derick E. Hingle

When I returned to Grand Isle in the evening I shot a few more frames including a frame of a oily mix rolling in with the surf.

A mix of oily water washes ashore on the beach at the Grand Isle State Park in Grand Isle, Louisiana, U.S., on Tuesday, May 25, 2010. The BP Plc Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that exploded and collapsed into the Gulf of Mexico continues to release thousands of barrels of oil into the gulf as cleanup and containment efforts continue all along the gulf coast from Louisiana to Florida. Natural wildlife habitats along with marine life are threatened by oil that is now reaching coastal areas throughout Louisiana. Photographer: Derick E. Hingle

As I was preparing to leave I noticed some national guard troops staging some boom along the beach so I got a few frames with my long lense before starting the long drive back to Hammond.

That is all for now, but you take a look at some more images in the Highlight’s gallery below.

Members of the National Guard stage equipment on the beach at the Grand Isle State Park in Grand Isle, Louisiana, U.S., on Tuesday, May 25, 2010. The BP Plc Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that exploded and collapsed into the Gulf of Mexico continues to release thousands of barrels of oil into the gulf as cleanup and containment efforts continue all along the gulf coast from Louisiana to Florida. Natural wildlife habitats along with marine life are threatened by oil that is now reaching coastal areas throughout Louisiana. Photographer: Derick E. Hingle

Updated 5/27/2010

Photos from this assignment have appeared in The Calgary Herald, San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post, and various newspaper websites including the Charlotte Observer and the Denver Post in what I have found so far.

The Denver Post Photo Blog

The Daily Edit – The Charlotte Observer

The Washington Post
27 May 2010