Category Archives: Outer Banks

November Northeaster

This entry was originally posted on November 14, 2009

 

One of the things that originally attracted me to Hatteras Island was the raw nature of the place. As the son of a meteorologist, I must have had this fascination ingrained in me. Dynamic weather conditions have shaped the Outer Banks for centuries, and this recent northeaster was a prime example. 


Forecasters had this one pegged pretty well. There was ample time to prepare, but for those with real estate interests on the Rodanthe oceanfront, all the preparation in the world could not hold back the force of the sea. 


I’ve photographed this particular location during storms for decades, and the coastline here has one of the highest erosion rates on the North Carolina coast. The ocean has chipped away storm after storm, year after year. In that time, people have chosen to build dream homes by the sea. Many have fallen victim to the waves, and many linger close by.

 

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Looking north toward Mirlo Beach.

 

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Serendipity on the north end of town, holding on.

 

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Highway 12 at Mirlo Beach facing north.

 

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The infamous S-Curve.

 

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The S-Curve 2 days earlier.

 

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The S-curve one week ago.

 

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Remnants of the S-Curve.

 

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This time the raging sea not only threatened beach houses, but it took a portion of our only roadway connecting us to the mainland. The State of North Carolina has spent millions of dollars trying to keep highway 12 intact. In a couple of spots, NC12 has had to be relocated to the west as previous roadways succumb to the sea. The S-Curve has been moved 3 times since I’ve lived here, but now it’s running out of room.

 

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Stay tuned for further developments!

 

A Fascination for Flight

 

I grew up in a Navy family that traveled to new tours of duty every couple of years. Many of those stations required transportation in propeller powered military aircraft. So my fascination for flight began at an early age. I always wanted the window seat. As a nine year old, I distinctly remember flying across the Pacific Ocean to the island of Guam. How I loved peering out of the window at the ocean and islands below!

Today I still hold that same fascination for flight with aerial photography. After Hurricane Isabel in 2003, I made seven flights over Hatteras, Ocracoke and Portsmouth Islands. I wasn’t interested in the destructive power of the storm. Instead I wanted to see and document how nature constantly shapes the Outer Banks.

Last year, parts of the beaches of our National Seashore Park were closed due to bird nesting, including the Cape Point of Hatteras Island. I’ve photographed the Point from the air before, but only with off-road vehicles on it. My intention last Summer was to fly and shoot it’s more natural, pristine state, but I procrastinated and suddenly the point was opened to traffic and I missed my chance.

This year I put it off again until July 26th when I called my good friend and pilot Dwight Burrus. Dwight and his wife Debbie operate Burrus Flying Service out of Billy Mitchell Airport in Frisco. I’ve flown in his beautiful red and white 1971 Cessna on numerous occasions, and I can’t say enough about his expertise. I tell him what I’m looking for and he takes me there, every time. It’s almost as if I’m flying the plane myself. Dwight was raised on Hatteras, and knows the coast and it’s steeped history well. I highly recommend the tours of Burrus Flying Service. Call them at (252) 986-2679 or visit the web site for more information. Tell them I sent you.

Let me show you what I saw on this latest flight, looking down on the scenery below.

 

cp-south                      Looking out to Cape Point from the south or “the hook” side.

 

cpnorth                                                         Looking toward the point from the north beach.

 

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cpsoutheast22                                                            Looking toward the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse from over the Point.

 

cppond                                The shoreline of the pond at Cape Point.

 

lighthouse2                                                          No flight is complete without a lighthouse fly-by.

 

isabel-inlet                       This is the site of the inlet that was cut by Hurricane Isabel.

 

marlin-club                          The famous Hatteras Marlin Club in Hatteras Village.

 

hatterasvillage                The south end of Hatteras Village at the ferry terminal to Ocracoke Island.

 

hattsouthpoint                   The south point of Hatteras Island at Hatteras Inlet looking to Pamlico Sound.

 

ocracoke-ferry                 The ferry, Chicamacomico, en route to Ocracoke from Hatteras.

 

uscgstation                     The north end of Ocracoke Island at the site of the former Hatteras Inlet                    Coast Guard Station. The station was destroyed in storms. All that remains                    are the pilings. This illustrates the lack of stability of barrier island systems.

 

oislandbackside                                       Ocracoke Island from the sound side.

 

island-marsh                               An island in the sound behind Ocracoke Island.

 

silver-lake                             Silver Lake surrounded by scenic Ocracoke Village.

 

springers-point                            The beautiful maritime forest at Springer’s Point on Ocracoke.

 

o-beach                                                       The untouched beach at Ocracoke’s South Point.

 

o-inlet-bar                       A sandbar where Ocracoke Inlet meets the Pamlico Sound.

 

o-inletbackridge                                                       An underwater sand ridge extending into Pamlico Sound from Ocracoke Inlet.

 

o-sandbar                            A sandbar in the Pamlico Sound near Ocracoke Inlet.

 

o-inletwing                              Dwight’s Cessna banking over Ocracoke Inlet for a shot at the                                                 untouched South Point.

 

o-inlet-mouth                    The South Point of Ocracoke in a pristine state from 1,000 feet.

My Date with Tropical Storm Hanna

Like most residents of the Outer Banks, I keep an eye on tropical weather system development. This isn’t only due to to survival, but also because I relish these storms as photographic subjects. Recently, Hanna was no exception. Once again, we were fortunate to avoid a direct hit. My sister in Raleigh had more wind and rain than we did.

As the storm moved inland up into the piedmont region, we saw large seas and swirling clouds. Strong westerlies brought some minor flooding from the Pamlico Sound. By mid afternoon the skies brightened as my wife and I watched a dark band of rain move eastward over the ocean. The swells cleaned up, and remained strong. I went to work shooting beachscapes on Pea Island, accompanied by Denise.

Later that afternoon, the clouds and lighting conditions were setting up for another go. I returned to Pea Island for the end of the day. The ocean and sky were spectacular. After lots of exposures and experimenting with different shots that day, I felt pretty good.

The Henry Pigott House

Another shot from my trip to Portsmouth Village, the Henry Pigott house image was taken just minutes prior to the Doctors Creek photo in my previous post. The image shows Doctors Creek looking in the opposite direction. The low light of sunrise was fleeting quickly, and didn’t last very long before turning to bright sunshine. Fortunately as that occurred, the mosquitoes became somewhat less voracious as well.

Doctors Creek

Last week I shot an assignment for OUR STATE MAGAZINE about volunteers in the park working on Cape Lookout National Seashore. This required arranging boat transportation and accommodations on an isolated and uninhabited barrier island on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I followed 2 volunteers throughout the day, and also at the same time, was able to capture numerous landscape shots. Since I was also spending the night, I was able to witness a beautiful sunset, then a sunrise the following morning. I also have to add that the mosquito population is like none other you’ve ever seen before. At one point, after shooting early in the morning, I looked down at my tripod-mounted camera to see a hundred mosquitos on it. Lucky for me I was wearing a net over my head, and covered with long clothing, gloves and a generous amount of repellent. Nonetheless, over the last 30 years, Portsmouth Island has always been a wonderful and emotional experience for me. There is no place on earth quite like it.