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.