Cherry Hill Photographer Lacked Permit For Island Beach State Park Dune Photo Shoot: DEP

ISLAND BEACH STATE PARK, NJ — A photo shoot on the dunes at Island Beach State Park Sunday that infuriated residents and environmentalists was organized by a Cherry Hill-based photographer who charged amateur photographers $108 apiece to participate.

The "High Society Beach Shoot" also lacked a special events permit to conduct the photo shoot in the park, said Bob Considine, spokesman for the state's Department of Environmental Protection.

The "High Society Beach Shoot" was organized through a pair of meetups — informal organizations of people who share a common interest and have connected through social media. The meetups — Expressions Glamour Club NYC and Expressions Glamour Club Philadelphia — are both led by Eric Wang, a professional photographer who operates Expressions by Eric Wang, a photography company in Cherry Hill.

Wang, reached by phone Monday morning, confirmed he was the event's organizer. When asked if he had a permit, he said, "I have no comment," and hung up.

Commercial uses of the park require a special permit, which includes a $150 fee for New Jersey residents and $200 for nonresidents of the state, according to the DEP website.

Considine said the DEP is still considering the potential penalty for holding the event without a permit.

According to the meetups' websites, the groups were created to provide portrait photographers "top-notch modeling talent and upscale venues from which to build an amazing portfolio to attract paid work," as well as weekly shooting opportunities where newer photographers could receive mentoring and "learn how to perfect their art."

Six members of the two meetups, including Wang, and a pair of models, had committed to participate in the shoot. Patch was not able to confirm the names of the other photographers who participated in the photo shoot based on information provided on the Meetup event list. Each member who RSVP'd paid $108 to participate, according to the event page.

Photos of the group standing on the dunes, taken by Helen Henderson of the American Littoral Society, were circulated on Facebook Sunday evening, stirring anger among environmentalists, fishermen and local residents who visit the park regularly.

Signs throughout Island Beach State Park tell visitors to stay off the dunes, critical to protecting the dune grass and other plants that help to stabilize the sand and make the 10-mile barrier island a protection for the mainland from the ocean during hurricanes and severe storms.

More than 400 plant varieties exist in the park, along with a number of species of wildlife, including foxes and ospreys, according to Islandbeachnj.org.

Henderson said the group was on the dunes just north of Area 21 in the park, well south of the bathing beach but just north of the area that is currently closed to beach driving due to a nesting endangered piping plover.

Henderson said in addition to taking photos of the group, she called park rangers afterward to ask them to tell the group to get off the dunes. The group left the dunes quickly after she spoke to them, she said.

"Not sure if that means they didn’t know it was wrong — or because they realized that what they were doing wrong was now documented in photos," Henderson said Sunday evening. " So many beautiful places you could shoot photos other than the dunes. I don’t understand."

There have been issues with photographers in the park before. Two winters ago, an influx of snowy owls brought out dozens of photographers who were eager to capture the birds that are rarely seen at the Jersey Shore, and they set off a furor when some climbed on the dunes to get a closer shot.

Sunday's event had commenters on the Friends of Island Beach State Park Facebook page calling for more strict enforcement of the rules, and many recounting experiences of telling people to get off the dunes.

"State parks are not some place you go to do as you please when you please," one commenter wrote.

"There are no shortage of signs and instructions to not go on the dunes at Island Beach," Considine said. "Clearly, these folks just ignored them.”

“We thank Ms. Henderson and all the other dune watchers who post photos of people conducting activity that’s not permitted at the park," Considine said. "We can’t have eyes everywhere at all times at a 10-mile park, so bringing public attention to this incident and others in the past where people have been caught walking on the dunes probably serves as more of a deterrent than any fine or warning that would get issued."