News camera crew and talent stuck on storm duty today may have no other choice than to be chasing this category 1 hurricane heading up the East Coast. Here's hoping all the rest of you, your cameras and your glass are sealed up tight inside while we all wait out the storm.

But if you're still curious what this monster storm with the beach-blanket name really looks like, don't risk the shot: the folks at Stormstock are already out there shooting the toll Hurricane Sandy is taking on New Jersey and New York City. At this writing, the team is in Bayside, Queens (seen above) capturing the developments as they happen.

The Stormstock team is no stranger to getting right in there with hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural disasters and weather events, but even this crew reports what they are witnessing today is "simply insane." The massive storm surges and preliminary flooding the Stormstock crew is seeing may be only part of more savage effects to come as this storm wends its way inland.

Stormstock cinematographer Martin Lisius just told me the crew is using special raincoats "and other means" to keep the all-Sony cameras and other gear dry. "We have a method we’ve developed over the past 20 years," he said, which was put to the test during Hurricane Katrina and other devastating storms. "More important than the gear is our experience with storms," he added. "That's what keeps us from getting killed. The photo may make it look easy, but we are aware of our escape routes and when they will vanish." Lisius pointed out that the photo at top of today's storm is reminiscent of what Katrina looked like ten miles inland.

Barring potential power outages, Lisius says he hopes the broadcast- and film-ready 1080p HD footage will be available on the Stormstock website within 24 hours.