Walkabout on the OBX

The chronology of all this is muddled a bit, but that's why I covered the comings and goings in "The Drive" posts. So, the sunrise shots actually followed the sunset shots, but who's keeping track?

When you get right down to it, once you've shot the Cape Hatteras light a few times, the surf (if it's up), and some sea birds (if they're around), there's not much more to shoot around Buxton. You may as well get on the ferry to Ocracoke, which is more picturesque, if not more vibrant. Of course, when you get home, you can play with the shots a bit and squeeze all sorts of enjoyment out of processing your photographs.

Parking in Ocracoke seems to have gone the way of Harpers Ferry. Nobody cares too much whether a visitor with a camera can pull off the road, take a few shots, and move on. . . they all want you to buy something. This is about the only angle a visitor can get on the lighthouse here, though I did see a picture yesterday taken from the beach. In pictures from the village, the light barely peeks out above its neighbors. If you can spot the light, you're satisfied with the picture; if you can't, you feel a vague sense of loss.

The sheltered harbor at the center of Ocracoke village is called Silver Lake. It sounds idyllic, and it is. From a photographer's point of view, however, it starts looking empty by mid-September, after summer's continual comings and goings of cruisers and sailboats and the associated hubbub.

But you can't ignore the miles of beach, sand dunes, and sea oats. . . nor would you want to. Given interesting cloud patterns to emphasize the changing light you can include or take away sea views, birds, or human points of interest and still have photographs that work.