As the nation prepares for the unofficial start of summer on Memorial Day, New Jersey's coastal communities are facing a landscape massively altered in October 2012 by Superstorm Sandy.

All photos © Mike McLaughlin

Union Beach

New Jersey native Mike McLaughlin turned his camera to these now ersatz versions of themselves in the months after the storm wreaked havoc on the state's shoreline.

Union Beach

Photographed at night and in the early morning hours, McLaughlin used a technique called light painting. Using long camera exposure times that reveal the sky and stars, he lit his subjects with a combination of ambient light, moonlight, and/or artificial light (a flashlight).

His photos depict a dichotomy of beautiful imagery and nature's savagely destructive powers.

Ocean Grove

Atlantic Highlands

Ortley Beach

Normandy Beach

Seaside Heights

Sea Bright

Ortley Beach

Union Beach

Ocean Beach

Union Beach

Ortley Beach

Seaside Heights

Seaside Heights

See more of Mike's work on his website and on his Facebook page.

See more featured photography curated by ABC News' photo editors, and at Picture This, the ABC News photography blog.