Photo of city during Sandy used in Time Magazine

Link to photograph

The Saint Gabriel's Rectory made it to national news after a photo of it being pounded by waves during Hurricane Sandy was featured in a Time Magazine photo slideshow.

Professional photographer Stephen Wilkes took the photo around twilight on Oct. 29.

"Seeing the power it [Sandy] had at low-tide was amazing," he said.

Wilkes was one of five photographers that documented the day of the storm for Time Magazine.

This isn't Wilkes' first time documenting a natural disaster; he has also covered Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

"I'm drawn to events that really speak on a lot of different levels," he said. "I think this is a warning...a tectonic shift."

Wilkes was referring to the number of extreme weather events in recent years and its possible connection to global warming. 

Time Magazine had Wilkes cover the day of the storm across the Connecticut coast, he said. He made his way to Milford after not being able to get access to parts of Bridgeport.

Downed trees and other obstacles forced Wilkes to find other assess roads to the beach area, he said. He made it down the street in time to capture the photo.

"I just went my instincts and made a turn down the street," he said.

Wilkes has been taking aerial photographs of storm-ravaged areas, including Seaside Heights, NJ and Breezy Point, NY. He said the roller coaster in the water by Seaside Heights was "one of the most unbelievable things I've ever seen."

The destruction caused by the storm was quickly overshadowed by the election, Wilkes said. He added that he hopes the aftermath of the storm will be covered extensively due to its large magnitude. 

Time photographers also took documented the storm live through Instagram photos. 

"The iPhone is interesting, its not in your face and people don't take you seriously," Wilkes said. "You look like a tourist."

Although the iPhone isn't as capable of a camera as a professional one, its main advantage is in capturing candid shots.

"It's not about the tools, its about what you're seeing," Wilkes said.