The Outer Banks: Sunrises on Corolla Beach

Nancy and I stayed in a home right on the beach in Corolla. Our bedroom window faced toward the ocean. I am almost always awake before dawn when I have nothing going on in my life. To be able to shoot sunrises on the beach, I didn't need an alarm clock. As soon as I opened my eyes, I could turn my head and get a good idea about what kind of morning I was going to have for shooting. The only rain we had during the entire week came in the middle of the night. I was never out in the rain shooting photographs the whole time we were in the Outer Banks.

Clear skies are pretty, but they aren't very interesting for photography. Each day had entirely different clouds, and with these differences came entirely different light and color. It was really fun to shoot each of these mornings. I had all of my camera gear in a room at the back of the house. I had my batteries charging and all of my memory cards and lenses organized. I had a quick cup of coffee, got my gear together, and then headed out the back door of the house. Down a flight of stairs, and I was on the beach.

Each of the mornings we were in Corolla, I was on the beach from before sunrise and for at least a few hours. The differences between each of the days was amazing. And the transformations that took place each day was also amazing. In addition to the changes in light and color, the tides, waves and wind dramatically changed the ocean and the beach.

There is just an amazing amount of crap in the ocean, and I'm not referring to plastic or glass. The amount of broken shells, wood, plants and piece parts of once living things is astounding. The beach was clean on a few of the mornings and it was covered in so much crap the other mornings that it was difficult to get a clean shot of the beach as a foreground. Fortunately, nature has a way of cleaning up after itself.

I am going to do separate postings of my beach abstracts. I get the sense that my abstracts are not the most interesting images for people, but they are most definitely the photographs I most appreciate. I'll save my perspective on these images for those postings. In the context of my seascapes, I try to use the reflections and the abstracts as the foreground elements. The patterns, textures and lines help to lead the eye through the photograph. The beach is constantly changing. If you spend the hours on the beach that I have over the years, you learn how to time the best shots. There is a difference between the quality of the sand and the reflections depending on the spread and depth of the water. As the waves leave the beach, you can watch the most dramatic transformations in light, color and texture. When I am able to catch it just right, the sand has a three-dimensional quality and it appears to shimmer. I can almost see movement in these images. Just as the waves leave the beach, I am looking for the reflections from the sky and clouds. Often times, I can find the same dramatic colors in the sand and water on the beach that I see in the sky. When I can match the sky to the reflections on the beach, I have achieved what I am seeking. I am almost always seeking this symmetry.

The changes on the beach are constant. I am perpetual movement, looking to capture my best shots and they are fleeting. I am constantly checking the settings on my camera to be sure I have the right depth of field and exposure for the shot. And if I see it, I shoot it because I know that in a moment, it will be gone.

For me, it is a wild experience. It is a dance with the waves. And not the least important goal is avoiding getting my shoes soaking wet. It was November and it was cold. The time just flies by because I am so engrossed in the hunt. I can spend hours at it because it is mesmerizing.

Each day as the sun was moving up in the sky, Nancy would make her way down to the beach with Pepper for their morning walk. I had my sunrise hours and was both exhausted and exhilarated from all of the running around up and down the sand. Our home was located in a great spot for the scenes I was interested in shooting, and I never had to wander too far from our place.

Since I first starting shooting on the beach some years back, I've always carried the thought about what I must look like to the casual observer. Here's this guy who is spending so many hours running back and forth and up and down the beach, looking in every direction, including directly down at his feet. He focuses on one particular patch of sand and he's circling it to find just the right light and reflections. He might be standing upright or he might be attempting to squat a bit lower to the ground. At some point in time while I'm shooting, I allow myself to think about what I look like, often with a hat on my head backwards. It's a pretty funny thought. And I love every minute of it.