Trying Something New
I felt like I was the only person from the East Coast who had never been to the Outer Banks. It wasn’t exactly close to me, seven hours from my hometown and four and a half hours from where I live now. And I’m not really a beach person, but I do love a nice coastal vibe in the off season. So after the long, dark, and cold winter in the DMV, I was clamoring not necessarily to go somewhere “warmer”, but to get out of my own four walls and go somewhere that felt a little more relaxed. And with a targeted late-March timeline, accommodations at the beach were pretty cheap.
I found a pretty nice (and reasonably cheap) Airbnb half a block away from the beach and figured that was my sign. Having to wait until the DMV traffic died down, Sal and I arrived at about 12:30am. We ended up having about three and a half days, always starting out with a sunrise walk on the beach. Sal had never been to the beach before, and she loved running all over the place and digging in the sand, but not so much the rolling waves of the ocean!
The main draw of the trip was just to enjoy a more relaxed area. I did take my camera equipment and had some locations planned out to shoot, but I wasn’t too concerned over getting the best photos. I figured if I came away with a few keepers, I’d be happy. The first priority was rest and relaxation, photos came second.
Since I’m not much of a beach person, there is a noticeable gap in my landscape photography portfolio of sandy coasts. This was my opportunity to address that, but also to build skills shooting in this type of environment. I won’t lie, I really struggled making photos while I was down there, as the compositions and light just felt so foreign. I could find incredible light, but then not find the right composition to maximize it, and vice versa. Coming home from the trip I honestly didn’t do too much beyond just reviewing and rating the photos, as they just weren’t exciting to me and I didn’t think they were that good. Sitting with them a while, there are a few that have either grown on me, or that I’ve come to embrace that they should be shared, even if I don’t love them.
What I can say though, is that even though I came away with few photos that I’m actually proud of, I learned a lot about making sandy, coastal photos and feel much better prepared should the opportunity arrive again. And can certainly incorporate the lessons learned into my other bodies of work.
