Coastal Liberty: Shooting in the Outer Banks
There are places where you can still go out and shoot the coast any time you want...
The Driftwood Trap
Olympus OM-D E-M5 and M.Zuiko 9-18mm f/4-5.6 lens and 32x ND filter
Originally published September, 2012
No equipment reviews, just fun on my vacation in the Outer Banks of North Carolina -- barrier islands in the Atlantic Ocean. It's an amazing place with vast expanses of open beaches you can wander onto at almost any time of day to do photography.
The Places I Shot
- Roanoke Island: much more of a "locals" area devoted to fishing and some of the less active tourist attractions like an aquarium, outdoor theater, and so forth. The north end of the island has a view of the sunset over Albemarle Sound (the water between the island and the mainland) that has many potentially interesting elements in it. The south end of the island is where the village of Wanchese is and that is devoted to commercial fishing and I would like one day to accompany one of those boats out and photograph their fishing. The north end is primarily the small town of Manteo. Both are named for American Indians who figured prominently in the first colony in the America's which was founded on the island. Interesting story that.
- Bodie Island: A little bit of area that spans between Nags Head on the penninsula and Hatteras Island. Pronounced "Body" and not with a long "Oh" sound. Has some interesting marshes and a lighthouse and you can camp there.
- Pea Island and Hatteras Island: A long, narrow barrier island that has a great nature reserve and many, many miles of beaches on both the ocean and sound sides. Although environmental groups want it closed, it's still free and open to visit and as you know that's a vanishing freedom on the Atlantic coast. The shot above was shot on Pea Island at the very north end facing out into the ocean.
You have to explore to find the good spots -- but that too is part of the fun. I still don't know very much about the best places after visiting just twice in two years so I'm sure there are so many opportunities there for many different types of photography.
I do tend to avoid the more typical beach-tourist areas like Nags Head, Kitty Hawk and so forth except for some of the great restaurants and the museums and some great thrift stores where I sometimes find collectible cameras.
The access issue really comes into play at sunrise and sunset -- in some areas you can't necessarily access at these times to get the great light. Also, the density of people in some locations makes capturing just the scene problematic.
Roanoke Island Photography
I spent most of my time on the north end of the island at sunset. Here's some shots from this years time there as well as some from last year which have radical color because of the wildfire (peat moss burning underground) that afflicted the mainland and made for some great sunsets.
Most are shot with an ND filter to allow longer shutter times to "smooth" the water. You should be able to tell those.
2012 Photography On Roanoke Island
On a Pedestal
Olympus OM-D E-M5 and M.Zuiko 9-18mm f/4-5.6 lens
The Old Pier
Olympus OM-D E-M5 and M.Zuiko 9-18mm f/4-5.6 lens
The Remains of the Monoliths
Olympus OM-D E-M5 and M.Zuiko 9-18mm f/4-5.6 lens
Coastal Entropy
Olympus OM-D E-M5 and M.Zuiko 9-18mm f/4-5.6 lens
Where the Wreckage Washed Ashore
Olympus OM-D E-M5 and M.Zuiko 9-18mm f/4-5.6 lens
Boathouse
Olympus OM-D E-M5 and M.Zuiko 9-18mm f/4-5.6 lens
That's pretty much everything worthwhile I did on Roanoke Island during this years visit.
2011 Photography On Roanoke Island
Here are a few from my 2011 trip -- my first to this location.
Wildfire Sunset
Nikon D7000 and Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II lens
Golden Glow
Nikon D7000 and Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II lens
These last two were a different approach without the ultrawide lens. Also, the color from the wildfire smoke in the sky was radical.
Pea Island Photography 2012
The Driftwood Trap
Olympus OM-D E-M5 and M.Zuiko 9-18mm f/4-5.6 lens
Remote Weather Station
Olympus OM-D E-M5 and M.Zuiko 9-18mm f/4-5.6 lens
This year, I did advance scouting and had just a few very specific photo ideas I wanted to execute -- pre visualized pictures if you wish. I didn't take many, but worked on specific ideas I had in mind.
Here is one that I found by chance as I making the long walk back from where I shot the above scenes.
The Thing on the Beach
Olympus OM-D E-M5 and Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 25mm f/1.4
2011 Pea Island Photography
Desolation by Dawn
Nikon D7000 and Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 VR lens
The Last Fire Hydrant
Nikon D7000 and Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 VR lens
Dawn Patrol
Nikon D7000 and Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II lens
Crab Demise
Nikon D7000 and Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II lens
The following photos were taken in 2011 within the Charles Kuralt nature area on Pea Island just before and after dawn and I called the area "Mosquito" alley. I was slathered in DEET and my wife still counted over 90 bites on me before she gave up -- there were many, many more. I've spent time in the moquito ridden pine barrens of southern New Jersey and I've NEVER seen anything like this. I decided I didn't need to be a "wildlife photographer" in 2012.
Crab Walk
Nikon D7000 and Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II lens
Nutria Swim
Nikon D7000 and Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II lens
Otter Breakfast: Eels are Yummy Nummy
Nikon D7000 and Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II lens
Nutria Salad
Nikon D7000 and Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II lens
White Ibis Fishing
Nikon D7000 and Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II lens
Bodie Island Photography
Bodie (prounounced "Body" like a human body) Island is somewhere I didn't even really consider last year. This year I didn't get any scenics there but I did find a cute father/son team doing some recreational crabbing: catching crabs using raw chicken pieces for bait to lure them to where they could trap or net them with hand nets.
Happy Crabber
Olympus OM-D E-M5 and M.Zuiko 9-18mm f/4-5.6 lens
The Terrified Minnow
Olympus OM-D E-M5 and M.Zuiko 40-150mm f/4-5.6 lens
Crabby Family Time
Olympus OM-D E-M5 and M.Zuiko 9-18mm f/4-5.6 lens
Crab Exploration
Olympus OM-D E-M5 and M.Zuiko 9-18mm f/4-5.6 lens
So, that's a bit of what I got from the place. I also got a little bit of action photography of wind surfers and what not from last year but they weren't so special. I saw some work from the islands native photographers covering surfing in particular (look up Daniel Pullen for instance) who do AMAZING work down there.
I think no matter what kind of photography you're into, you could have a great time in the Outer Banks.
Peace,
John
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