Some of these photos, and some of the ones I wish I had been authorized to take, are the result of a large amount of very obnoxious bureaucratic media handling. BP might call it Public Relations. I’d call it Media Control, as there’s no relationship whatsoever, other than journalists eating up what BP says because there’s no alternative. BP is being far too totalitarian of what is photographed and released about this incident, and in the long run their lack of transparency is only going to damage their image more than it’s already hurt. In the mean time, and while I craft this piece based on some interviews that I was fortunate to get, enjoy the photos I was lucky enough to take.

There is more on the way. And I am angry, and I am ready to share.

A dead fish floats in froth created by oil sheen in Pensacola Bay, Florida.

An offshore platform near Fort Morgan, Alabama.

FSU student Bridgette Balderson holds a cup of petroleum tar found on the beach of Dauphin Island, Alabama. Tar balls reached the Alabama coast several weeks ago, prompting cleanup efforts by BP along the coastline.

Hay barriers on the shoreline near Fort Gaines, Alabama.

Bales of hay put into place by BP cleanup crews. The hay barriers will inhibit the spread of oil when it washes ashore in liquid form.

A national guard chopper flys out of a restricted beach area on Dauphin Island, Alabama.

BP cleanup crews construct large earthen berms on Dauphin Island, Alabama. As Dauphin Island acts as a natural partial barrier to the mouth of Mobile Bay, these will help to stop the flow of oil inland during high tide or hurricane season.

Crews managed by CleanHarbour, a company contracted by BP to man the skimming and monitor vessels, prepare to board boats searching for offshore oil slicks.

My escort for the duration of the photo opportunity I was granted inside the compound. While inside, I was allowed only to walk the length of the main concourse, once, and take photos. Additionally, "You are to speak to nobody. You may not ask questions, even of me. No questions will be answered."

Booms ready for deployment when oil is sighted near the shoreline of Dauphin Island. "We are getting 4000 feet of boom every other day," says a head BP cleanup executive to me during an interview.

A BP-contracted worker poses during my tour inside the cleanup compound.

Workers help each other put on protective shoe covers before tackling oil and tar balls on Dauphin Island beach. When asked how long they had been there, "We can't talk to you. We were told to tell you to contact our supervisor."

A tar ball found on Dauphin Island beach

BP cleanup crews remove oil and tar balls from Dauphin Island beach, Alabama.

A local kitesurfer enjoys one last run before the oil makes the beach unusable. Many local residents are taking advantage of the so-far little oil to take 'last swims' and enjoy the still-white sand.

Unnamed FSU students working for BP remove tar balls from Pensacola Beach, Florida. When asked their employer, "Sorry, we can't talk to you."

A bag of oil-drenched sand from Pensacola Beach, Florida.

A worker hauls a bag of oil to the disposal point at Navarre Beach, Florida.

Tar balls strewn on the shoreline at Navarre Beach, Florida. An oncoming storm forced crews to cut cleaning work until the rain and wind passed.

In the path of an oncoming thunderstorm, BP cleanup crews pack up operations into vans until the storm passes over.

The sign at Pensacola Beach, Florida, warning tourists not to take cleanup into their own hands.

As a proud native Floridian, I was and continue to be devastated by the unravelling events of the BP oil spill. So when the idea came up that I should travel to the Gulf Coast and photograph the worst environmental disaster in US history, coupled by the fact that oil’s been sighted just off the coast of Pensacola Beach, it didn’t take very much convincing to get a plan into action. So, tomorrow, as early as I can get everything I need together, I’m hopping on I-10 and making my way to the Panhandle to document the events as the unfold.

What’s been gnawing at the back of my mind, however, is that BP is being exceptionally restrictive to the media in allowing their precious oil to have its picture taken. What is even more disturbing is that local authorities are working with them to prevent the devastation from being documented. Are you kidding me? Think about it: the local authorities, whose beaches are tainted with grimy oil and whose air reeks of acrid crude, are stopping the documentation of this tragedy, not at the orders from the federal government, but from the orders of the company that caused the damage to begin with. What authority does BP have? It’s a private company: it doesn’t need to be in charge of the media, it needs to be embarrassed and humiliated. It makes my blood boil, folks.

I am still trying to decide what route, be it a photojournalist college student, or a freelancer, or an ignorant tourist, or an angry local, is going to get me the largest chance of getting onto that oil-soaked beach and taking photos. Hell, It might even involve sneaking through the woods or a swamp. I’m not above that.

I feel a huge obligation to document this. I want to show current and future generations how important it is that we hold accountable the large corporations that are defiling our natural resources, and how integral to the future of our society alternative energy needs to be. I want to show that there are faces behind the oil on those beaches, faces that belong to people whose ways of life have been ruined. I want to show people that this is the stuff that our cars and trucks guzzle, and when it’s handled irresponsibly, this is what happens.

As things evolve, I’ll keep posting. Wish me luck against the BP Media Machine.

I am genuinely curious to know what most people think of these things. They supposedly hold about three times as much ketchup as the previous versions. Additionally, they make dispensing that oh-so-glorious red goop onto your processed, chemically flavored fries as you fly down the interstate going 93 miles an hour (while juggling your iPhone and nursing a coke shoved between your nads, of course) a breeze.

What’s going to happen with this +∆ : K/Pq (scientific expression for increase in Ketchup per Packet)? Here’s my prediction: Americans will overconsume ketchup like never before, and due to the heightened levels of high fructose corn syrup consumption, the country will soon suffer obesity levels so high that they will be considered an epidemic.

Wait. I feel like I’ve overlooked an important fact. What could I be missing?

Try this.

Haha yes, yes, I know that these two things are almost completely unrelated. But do I care? Not really. The thought gave me a chuckle and that’s why I shared it with you.

crunch.

I came across this article (http://www.blogaboutbeer.com/2009/02/21/its-easier-to-reach-your-beer-when-your-blanket-has-sleeves/) talking about one of the most horrific things that could be known to man: a pub crawl. In snuggies.

These people have got to be shitting me. Perhaps you enjoy the economic and fuzzy warmth of the snuggie in your own home. But I don’t understand the appeal of stumbling about drunkenly in a major city looking like a klan member who sent their robes to a dyeing facility instead of the cleaners. Wtf, really? Fail.

Click here for my personal opinion on snuggies.