Interview with a HURRICANE

Going wide in the storm.

Mark Wallheiser is interviewed on 97.9ESPN Tallahassee by Brien Sorne.
Dated 05052012 http://tallahasseetalks.com/listen 

By Mark Wallheiser 

mark@markwallheiser.com 

To me there only one way to cover most anything and especially the only way to cover a hurricane is ditch the 70-200 and pick up the 16-35. Going wide in the storm forces one to interact with the survivors to get to know them, empathize with their plight and bring a piece of their personality to the film plane. 

Don’t get me wrong, I have a 70-200 slung over one shoulder and in many instances it makes the best frame in a series but after editing for my “Interview with a Hurricane” exhibition opening at 621 Gallery in Tallahassee May 6th through the 26th almost always the 70-200 was quickly followed up with the 16-35. In the film, pre-zoom days, it was the 24mm. 

It’s interesting going back and editing negs 25-30 years later for the exhibit and seeing how I shot, the progression and in most cases read my notes and IDs that I almost always stuffed in my negative envelopes. The first few hurricane notes were hard to read because the ink had run until I discovered that pencils don’t bleed in the rain. 

Interview with a Hurricane is a 50 print exhibition curated by Kenny Irby of the Poynter Institute, from the 16 hurricanes and 11 tropical storms I’ve covered since landing in Tallahassee in 1981. 

Sunday May 6^th from 3 until 5 pm, stop by the Nan Boynton Gallery inside 621 Gallery for the official opening.  

The show runs the month of May leading up to the 2012 hurricane season and is showcasing my photo reportage over the past 30 years. Cold beer and wine is part of the lure, of course.