AllenSklar

Galleries

The Old Assateague Island Hunting Lodges : Known today as a national park, Assateague was once the premier duck hunting destination on the east coast. Many local hunters built lodges, some for profit, but mostly just to enjoy the awesome hunting and to get away from their wives..........one lodge was actually called "The Hen-Pecked Lodge" but was burned down many years ago. I have photographed the remaining buildings which are now sealed. Owners were paid for their properties and given up to 25 years to continue to use them, this time has long expired and the NPS is just letting them "naturally rot away"...seems a shame to me, but after talking to Carl Zimmerman about them I understand the impracticability of the situation.. But A lot of history lost here. My fishing mentor, Capt. Mac Simpson, now 86 worked at some of these lodges when he was sixteen as a guide. He was kind enough to spend most of one winter hiking to all the clubs and telling me many a story of the "good ole days." Since then I have hiked and explored pretty much of the 12 miles of "Oversand Vehicles" area and re-photographed much as digital cameras have come a long way since 2003...enjoy! P.S. I have attempted to be accurate in my captions but I am not an historian nor claim to be one.....One other thing, the photos are in sort of an order and the captions, at times, flow into the next image so if you have the time or inclination run through them in order.......allen

The Old Assateague Island Hunting Lodges

Flying with J D Quillin : Decided to put some excitement in my life today and took J D up on his kind offer to take me flying.....I've been pestering him for about twenty years to take me up, never thinking it would ever actually happen. Yesterday he appears at the bike shop on his bike and says tomorrow at 1 pm liftoff..........so I get to the hangers and the open one has an antique piper cub in it... vintage 1941. It has 86 horse power, no radar, no door (actually there was a door, it was folded down) and a cockpit tighter than you know what. You turn the prop to start it. J D says it's what flying is all about......Since I've already wet my pants when I realized this was what I was going to be in, I figure I might as well do it. J D showed me how to slither into the cockpit seat behind his....there's a big metal stick sticking up between my legs...it's how you fly the plane.....no room for nothing, my cameras both hanging around my neck in some sort of choke hold........After starting her up by manually spinning the prop he got in and off we went into the sky. We flew for an hour, burned 4.5 gallons of fuel. Took 850 photographs and wasn't even scared (much) when we landed (on the grass) at the airport (its easier on the tires.) Freeking most awesome day I've had in YEARS!!!!!! There was a lot of haze in the air preventing a lot of detail but I still am enjoying the images and reliving the experience. Flight of a lifetime for me no doubt! For you Assateague lovers I shot some of the hunting lodges including Bob-o-Dell which I have never been to as it is on an island. Good shot of Buntings Lodge and road, valentines, and the Clements house and boat shed. I will add more images as I get them processed. Enjoy!

Flying with J D Quillin

Decided to put some excitement in my life today and took J D up on his ...

Updated: Mar 02, 2015 3:01am PST

2015 Winter daily snapshots :

2015 Winter daily snapshots

"Delaware" Snowy Owl Release : Well, I have photographed a lot of Snowy Owls in the past few years but none happier than "Delaware" who was released by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources at Assateague State Park today. This owl was banded by Steve Ach Huy Dec 31 2013. It was later found injured and passed through various rehab facilities until its release today. I was invited to photograph the release by David F. Brinker DNR Ecologist who I met years ago while I was surf fishing. These images were in the first seconds of its first taste of freedom in a long time. Time to kill some ducks and have a real meal! Thanks to Dr. Cindy Driscoll and the rest of the DNR staff. I have added a few images taken during the past month.

"Delaware" Snowy Owl Release

Assateague Fall 2014 : Fall snapshots

Assateague Fall 2014

Fall snapshots

Updated: Jan 02, 2015 5:42am PST

New Snowy Owl : A few shots from last week. In order to get these images it was necessary to spend time to approach the bird unseen from adjacent dunes and remain basically motionless. While the bird did seem to see me at times, it did not flush except when it was ready to move on. I mention this in the hopes that if additional birds visit, birders and photographers will not approach the bird directly. Energy expended to get away from you is energy unavailable to hunt, it also keeps the bird from resting. While Snowys' hunt both day and night it has been my experience on Assateague that the day is generally spent resting, especially if it has fed during the night. Please be respectful and enjoy these birds with binoculars/scopes from a reasonable distance. If you are going to craw for a closer look be aware the dunes are covered in sand burrs so protect yourself and carry a pair of needle nosed pliers to pull the burrs out of you body. Photographers remember to drop your exposure a click or so to avoid blowing the whites. Plants in your frame can throw off your focus so be prepared to focus manually if necessary.

New Snowy Owl

Peregrine Falcon Research 2014 : William Seegar, PhD and Biologist Mike Yates have been counting/banding Peregrine Falcons on Assateague for forty four years! While I have been seeing them yearly for my 20 years fishing, I never paid them much attention until a few years ago when I took a photographic interest in birds. The most interesting people I know are usually obsessed with something, and these guys are definitely obsessed with Peregrines. Their definitive research has included counting more than 63,000 birds and banding more than 14,500, and doing counts of all raptors seen while they are here. Their research on Assateague and South Padre Island was instrumental in getting the Peregrine Falcon off the endangered species list and now includes both blood and feather samples to build a data base of solid information about the health of the birds. This year they captured several birds near my fishing locations, and invited me to photograph the process. It was something special to watch them work, in nine minutes they assessed the health of the bird, banded it, took a blood sample, painted the neck red and released. The red paint is a harmless bird dye that fades away after about 4 weeks. Its purpose is to prevent them from counting a bird twice and also to avoid re-capture, it can clearly be seen as they fly over the beach. It has been a great pleasure to meet them, their critters, and to learn more about the Peregrine Falcon. Captions on the images explain the photograph (if necessary). Please enjoy learning a little about the fasted bird on earth. For a more complete and statistical description of their work please visit Earthspan.org. I have also added Falcon images from previous years that were in another gallery.

Peregrine Falcon Research 2014

William Seegar, PhD and Biologist Mike Yates have been counting/bandin ...

Updated: Oct 19, 2014 2:27am PST

Summer 2014 : Daily snapshots from Ocean City and Assateague.

Summer 2014

Daily snapshots from Ocean City and Assateague.

Updated: Sep 15, 2014 5:24pm PST

Fishers Popcorn :

Fishers Popcorn

Dew Tour 2014 : Hoping to capture the flavor of the competitors and their work.

Dew Tour 2014

Hoping to capture the flavor of the competitors and their work.

Updated: Jul 09, 2014 3:19pm PST

Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers. Freeman Stage Fenwick Delaware :

Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers. Freeman Stage Fenwick Delaware

OC Air Show 2014 :

OC Air Show 2014

Updated: Jun 19, 2014 1:49am PST

Spring 2014 :

Spring 2014

Hi Winds 2/20/14 : A winter walk to my favorite Gunning Club.

Hi Winds 2/20/14

A winter walk to my favorite Gunning Club.

Updated: Feb 21, 2014 3:26am PST

"Hungerford" :

"Hungerford"

Winter 2014 : Winter's snapshots.

Winter 2014

Snowy Owls at Assateague Island : I've seen Snowy Owls three out of the last twenty years I have spent on Assateague fishing and doing nature photography. This year (end of 2013 start 2014) the invasion or irruption has resulted in several birds being on the island in December and January. Newest images are first.

Snowy Owls at Assateague Island

Assateague Island Landscapes and Critters, a random blend of everything non-fishing. :

Assateague Island Landscapes and Critters, a random blend of everything non-fishing.

Snowy Owl Banding and Transmitter Fitting : On the 17th of December I was very fortunate to photograph the banding and transmitter fitting on a Snowy Owl I had photographed earlier in the day on Assateague Island. David Brinker (Maryland DNR ecologist), Scott Weidensaul ( pulitzer nominated author and field ornithologist) and Mike Lanzone of Cellular Tracking Technologies successfully trapped, banded, and fitted a hi-tech tracking device on a Snowy Owl. Captions briefly describe the photographs. First Snowy Owl ever banded in Maryland.

Snowy Owl Banding and Transmitter Fitting

Hungerford Christmas Cards from Assateague : Way back in the sixties and seventies there were several homes and lodges still active on Assateague. One tract of fifty two acres belonged to Mabel and Churchill Hungerford. They used Assateague as a part time home, Churchill owned a large company that was on the forefront of water treatment technology located in New Jersey/Philadelphia and commuted weekly to Assateague. The couple loved to hunt geese and they had some fine property to do it from. At Christmas Mrs Hungerford always decorated a cedar tree at the end of their long driveway and commissioned an artist to do a painting for their Christmas cards. One of the select people who was lucky enough to receive these cards was Fred Hodges, who became friends with the Hungerfords while he was employed at the Clayton Bunting Lodge as a cook and caretaker. Fred was a most likeable fellow and the story goes that he was able to fix most anything.......making him a most valuable guy to know on an isolated barrier island with no road to the mainland! I met Mr and Mrs hodges years ago but sadly they have both passed. Their Daughter Paula some of you locals probably remember from high school....anyway when her mom passed she gave me the cards as she knew I had a deep affection for Assateague's lost history. I like all of them but santa in the blind baiting geese and in a boat with corn and oats for the critters are my favorites. Mrs Hungerford was a avid collector of odd animal shaped drift wood and several cards depict her favorite pieces. Some of the cards were dated...... the dates are in the caption if available, earliest was 1966, latest 1975. Note the card with the moon displays a flag on it....the year was 1969......we had walked on the moon that summer, how neat is that!

Hungerford Christmas Cards from Assateague

Fall 2013 daily snapshots :

Fall 2013 daily snapshots

Nor'easter 10/9/13 Morning 8 am to about 11 am. : Nice to have a change in weather, perhaps not to everyone's liking, but beautiful.........

Nor'easter 10/9/13 Morning 8 am to about 11 am.

Ocean City Summer 2013 Dailys : Not much time for photography this summer I'm afraid, loss of an employee has sent me back to my roots.....still grab a shot now and then especially before 6 am when i open the shop........

Ocean City Summer 2013 Dailys

Not much time for photography this summer I'm afraid, loss of an emplo ...

Updated: Oct 03, 2013 1:56am PST

"El Galeon" visits Ocean City :

"El Galeon" visits Ocean City

Bike World : Welcome to Ocean City's oldest and finest Bike Rental Shop! Founded in 1978 by local bike racer and life time resident Allen Sklar, Bike World features everything you want in a bike rental location; Surreys, Bikes, Funcycles, BMX, Tandems, and Choppers! Not only is our equipment clean and new but Allen and Keith will go out of their way to make your rental experience the best you ever had! To save you money we have discount coupons available in the "Ocean City Visitors Guide" and in the "Killer Coupon Book" if you can't find them just mention you saw it on our web page and we will give you the best deal possible. We also honor all other company's coupons! During June, July, and August we offer an early bird special 1/2 price anytime between 6am and 7am, save MONEY come early!!! We now have a new website! It's address is: http://www.bikeworldoc.com

Bike World

Assateague Island Fishing :

Assateague Island Fishing

"Scotts Ocean House Hotel" : I enjoy local history very much, especially the good old days on Assateague Island. I've known about Scotts Hotel for several years from reading, but its location eluded me even though I knew where it "should" have been. Yesterday my hiking buddy Bill Powell and I set out to find some clams and maybe the Hotel. Bill walked the sandy shoreline while I did the marsh. When he felt a clam that turned out to be a brick we knew we may be close to the hotel.....a short walk into the woods and there it was........The first Hotel on a barrier Island in Worcester County. Built some 143 years ago in 1869 when Henry Ford was three years old! Near the hotel they dumped their oyster shells that their guests must have gorged themselves on.....the marsh had actually built over this mountain of shells. I wonder how they dealt with the skeeters though, this part of the backside is one of the worst places for them. Very cool if you enjoy this kind of local history. The down fall of the hotel was the building of a railroad to Ocean City, this simplified travel and allowed quicker trips. Getting to the western shore by carriage then crossing five miles of open bay on a sailing schooner to get to your hotel was a lot of work and could even be dangerous. The actual closing year of the hotel was either 1894 or 1912, some details are lacking at this time. Here is a link to an article in a Snow hill newspaper about the place, the article was written in 1906. http://eshore.vcdh.virginia.edu/node/1882

"Scotts Ocean House Hotel"

Images Available For Sale at "The Framing Corner" in West Ocean City. : I am now offering some of my most popular photographs for sale at "The Framing Corner." Colleen Powell (daughter in law of "Fish" Powell), is the best framer in the area, and a swell person to boot! For display in her shop I have had 5 images printed on Float Mounted Aluminum, you have to see these to believe the impact and color. As float mounts are very expensive, I have supplied the Framing Corner with prints which can be traditionally framed for a more reasonable cost. Colleen's phone number is 410 213 8266. Her shop is located on Old Bridge Road where Elm street intersects it. The address is 12732 Old Bridge Road. She is closed on Sundays and Mondays.

Images Available For Sale at "The Framing Corner" in West Ocean City.

Snow Jan 24 2013 Ocean City and Assateague :

Snow Jan 24 2013 Ocean City and Assateague

The Riddle Gun Club (High Winds) Assateague Island : Government sponsored research has given us a "paper" history of this Gunning property, but it lacks photographs and "local" coloring. I am attempting to correct that with this gallery. The captions will hopefully give enough history to be interesting without boring you. The property changed hands seven times since 1870, but it was Sam Riddle who constructed the buildings in the early 1920's. He died in 1942 and the property was then sold to Thomas McCabe (friend of Richard Nixon) then president of Scott Paper Company. The club became "locally owned" when E R Bounds bought it in 1948. Four years later it became the property of Dr. Francis Townsend and friends. The government purchased it in 1968 with 25 years of hunting rights retained by its owners. The "heydays" of local lore were from 1948 to 1993. During this forty five years the lodge was hunting and party headquarters for many of the well healed and connected local family's. Enjoy! Many thanks to John Townsend for letting me go through his old photographs of the years when His Father "Dr. Frank" owned the property.

The Riddle Gun Club (High Winds) Assateague Island

Government sponsored research has given us a "paper" history of this G ...

Updated: Feb 01, 2013 3:01am PST

San Diego 2013 : My wife treated us to a week in Coronado California recently. As our new son in law is in the Navy we were able to stay in the "Navy Lodge" on base for several days...it was sweet as there is only one hotel on all of Coronado's mile of beach (the Navy owns most of the island). It's a great town with good restaurants, shops, and museums. We visited the San Diego Zoo one day, it was really fun! I will add photos as I get them processed.

San Diego 2013

Stumps : My interest in, and fascination of the stumps of Assateague may seem a bit eclectic, and it is, but there is also science involved. While the Park Service uses high tech gps based mapping of the coastline, I use my friends the stumps to gauge erosion and westward migration of the island. For eighteen years I have fished the 12 miles of OSV and after every storm noted the exposure of various stumps at the tide line. After years of doing this, I have become attached to various stumps and look forward to seeing them after a storm or wind event that may cause beach erosion at a particular location. Besides the stumps there are several sailing ship wrecks that are occasionally exposed. Also a well head at the old Green Run Rescue Station is a reliable marker. Sadly in the past few years wind and tide events have conspired to remove many of my markers, some of which I came to believe were invincible. A few days ago we had a tremendous southeast blow which slammed the area know as "The Levels" to locals...this is the area where airplanes landed back in the fifties to bring patrons to Green Run Lodge. In this 3/4 mile stretch were some of the most magnificent stumps on the whole island. These were the trees of the Indians who named the island, for hundreds of years they laid safely entombed in sand below the tide line preserved and intact. Besides their use as markers of erosion these stumps, to those with an open mind, contain the spirits and likeness of hundreds of animals both real and imaginary whose shapes I like to believe are preserved in the root structure. Open your mind a bit and enjoy the beauty of the trees of yesteryear for they will soon be gone with the rising seas...............

Stumps

Ten 2012 Sunrises : From Ocean City and Assateague.

Ten 2012 Sunrises

Assateague Island Eagles : .A few from my collection.

Assateague Island Eagles

Sandy day 4 We escaped again! : Very little real property damage in Ocean City. It could have been a lot worse but the wind turning west on Monday saved us.

Sandy day 4 We escaped again!

Very little real property damage in Ocean City. It could have been a l ...

Updated: Oct 31, 2012 2:25pm PST

Sandy day 2 : Day 2 of Sandy was quite a bit worse than yesterday, but the wind still wasn't honkin' yet which made it all that much more worrisome. I fear that flooding will be pretty bad, I imagine even golf course road will get covered at some point, hope I'm wrong though. Emergency mandatory evacuations from 17th street south after I left the beach. Just starting to rain hard now at 330 pm. Good luck everyone wish i could be in town to photograph it but not possible.

Sandy day 2

Day 2 of Sandy was quite a bit worse than yesterday, but the wind stil ...

Updated: Oct 29, 2012 4:13am PST

Stacy Sklar Johnson : A few snapshots by the "Father of the Bride"....... Rehearsal > Rehearsal Dinner > Wedding > Reception As Stacy lives in Coronado Ca, Pat entirely planned and executed the wedding down to the very last detail. The people at Baywood wanted to hire her. She did a fantastic job, actually incredible would be a better word. The wedding went off without a glitch or a bitch, forever thankful of that. Both Pat and I are overwhelmingly proud of both Stacy and Chris. Love my baby girl, miss her sometimes......And a big thank you to the Johnson family for hosting the Rehearsal dinner at Sunset Grill, the food was fantastic and the party was very cool of course! Gretchen Peters also helped out using her mansion for the girls to dress and get made up at....love you! If you would prefer not to scroll through all the images click "style" to see viewing options. Please enjoy 2 very special days!

Stacy Sklar Johnson

Dew Tour 2012 : First day....A few shots through a local's eyes.........will update this week.

Dew Tour 2012

First day....A few shots through a local's eyes.........will update th ...

Updated: Aug 19, 2012 10:17am PST

The Angler :

The Angler

Fireworks Ocean City Maryland 2012 : A few nice ones, taken from the Ocean City Fishing Pier, courtesy of David Horn.

Fireworks Ocean City Maryland 2012

Donald Fisher : My friend Donald Fisher has passed on, a few photos of him from my collection. My thoughts and prayers are with Mrs. Fisher, Cindy, Marty, and Donald.

Donald Fisher

Sunday Feb 12 Assateague.... early morning : Got up early this morning, hoping for some "snow on the beach" shots at Assateague. Wasn't much snow there just a dusting and with the wind blowing 20 mph at 22 degrees it didn't stick on the beach. But in the woods the snow was a nice addition to the early morning light and made photography more interesting and challenging than normal, I probably changed settings fifty times to record it like I saw it. I walked to Valentines lodge and then took a horse trail detour north on the way back, the trail was so beautiful I'm really helpless to describe it. I followed a ridge of old sand dunes with trees until a horse trail turned west. I trust the horses, they don't like brier thickets or deep mud so I ventured into the unknown without too much hesitation. On the way I ran into a fresh water pond that was obviously, buy the hoof prints, a local watering spot. After getting a nice deer in a clearing I backtracked to the pond only to find an old horse in the path. We stared at each other for a while as I fooled with my cameras. As the horse was a lot bigger than me and rather unfriendly looking, I stepped off the path and gave it the right of way, sure enough the pond was it's destination. If I had had rubber boots on I think I might have gotten a killer shot of it drinking, but my hiking boots weren't made for that so I got what I could....

Sunday Feb 12 Assateague.... early morning

A Few Snow Shots.....Jan 31 2010 :

A Few Snow Shots.....Jan 31 2010

Sea Oats : The Smithsonian says the northern most natural habitat of the Sea Oat is North Hampton County, Va. Well, not exactly.....the oats can be found in Accomack County and I know of four plants that exist on the beach at Assateague Island Maryland. That doesn't matter though, the fact is the plant is pretty interesting, beyond it's rarity, as well as being a sought after piece for high-end floral arrangements. My hiking buddy Mac Simpson first pointed out the plant years back as we hiked the northern most portion of the Virginia's slice of Assateague Island. I've drawn the following images from my many hikes on Assateague over the past 8 years, but it wasn't until 2011 that I ever saw the "flower" of the seed pod, a delicate tiny yellow thing so small you might not even know it's there.

Sea Oats

Dec 26/27 2010 Boardwalk Snow! : First five are Early morning Dec 26.....before it got BAD! The rest are Monday Morning Dec 27. Try the slide show option, these photos were processed to be viewed large. Enjoy the boardwalk snow, I sure did!

Dec 26/27 2010 Boardwalk Snow!

Assateague Mystery's : Some things I can't explain...........Please start from the beginning to follow the stories......

Assateague Mystery's

Local People : Here's a few local folks, mostly people I know, doing their thing...........

Local People

Ocean City Boardwalk and Dew Tour wrap up 7 24/25 2011 :

Ocean City Boardwalk and Dew Tour wrap up 7 24/25 2011

My Ocean City...... : My home town is a beautiful interesting place.......

My Ocean City......

Eclectic Desktops : These photos are one's I have used as screensavers. Feel free to "borrow" if you like.

Eclectic Desktops

Irene : A few images from Ocean City Sunday morning about 10-11 am and some from monday. While I do not condone the extreme "sensational" TV coverage, the fact remains if winds here had been stronger there would have been massive damage......anyone who was here in 1962 knows what wind can do.......this storm was only a wisper from the storm gods................

Irene

Bowl Breakdown : The breakdown and removal of the Dew Bowl, July 26 2011

Bowl Breakdown

Dough Roller Fire : This Gallery is dedicated to the Ocean City Vol. Fire Company.......who are always there when you need them. For viewers who have never witnessed the speed at which a structure can become ingulfed PAY ATTENTION! Picture your house as the tee shirt shop.....plan ahead you have less time than you think. If you have a current flash player on your computer try the slideshow option, it is awesome!

Dough Roller Fire

Shaun White in Ocean City : A few from the warm up today 7/21/11 The hazy sky makes some of these images look crazy cool!

Shaun White in Ocean City

"DEW Tour" skateboard setup Ocean City Md : "Dew Tour" set up on the beach in Ocean City Maryland. I will add images as the event progresses. The slide show is a nice way to view them, you can adjust the speed and remove the comments ,if you wish, with your cursor. Very cool. I have set up this free gallery so you may copy (right click) at all sizes. The bowl was designed by Chris Miller and fabricated in California by Spohn Ranch. If you would like to see some cool images of the metal construction go to Concrete Disciples Skateboarding Magazine.....there is a great article there all about this bowl, which is quite unique. Read up and enjoy yourself!

"DEW Tour" skateboard setup Ocean City Md

Old Ocean City Postcards : The postcards are courtesy of David and Su Lane. They are made from photographs taken in black and white and then hand colored. My grandfather was a portrait photographer and this was the method his wife used to color all his images. The postcards came in a pack connected to one another,printed with a different image on each side. I remember when the beach ended at 15th street and the one of the Coast Guard station is how I remember it....that street is where I have had my bicycle rental business for 33 years. Pretty cool!

Old Ocean City Postcards

Ocean City Air Show 2010 : These photos are for your desktop, just right click to copy. The size is 1920 px by 1200 px @96dpi The slide show is a nice option, try it!

Ocean City Air Show 2010

Blizzard Feb 7 2010 : Sunday Feb 7 2010....the day after.

Blizzard Feb 7 2010

Grateful Dead : ....for all you old hippies. I photographed the band for a couple fan magazines, Unbroken Chain in the US and Spiral Light in Europe. It was great fun, unfortunately the time required to scan negatives has left hundreds unseen. Here are a few I've done so far.

Grateful Dead

Mexico 2009 : A surf fishing adventure a world away....

Mexico 2009

Bike Shop For Sale! :

Bike Shop For Sale!

"Scallops" : Martins Fish Company in west Ocean City recently invited it's patrons to see how scallops are shucked, and explain a few things about the critter and its fishery. It was a very interesting demonstration and quite instructional.

"Scallops"

Jamaica 2007 :

Jamaica 2007

Slideshow

Your Bio

allensklar@aol.com