Outer Banks and Beyond

 I set out in late April to join a workshop to be held in the Outer Banks of North Carolina to shoot piers, lighthouses, and beaches - hopefully with the Milky Way gracing us with dark sky views. We also had a few days to head over to an inner banks animal refuge where we might see bears, alligators and other wildlife. I stayed in Rodanthe at the KOA (in an actual room) arriving a few days early to get adjusted. I also planned an extra few days after to shoot wild horses on the beach of Carova further north. 

Sunset in OBX

Our biggest challenge was cloudy weather and also the timing of the Moon as it approached a New Moon after our workshop ended (but I'd still be in the area). 

My first morning I rose before sunrise and shot the beach at the KOA which turned out to be fairly nice. I was able to rise early most other mornings and shoot the sunrise which was a lot of fun! I discovered that the colors and hues along the beach and in the water reveal amazing pastels and colors. Using my 6-stop ND filter brought out all manor of light.

The night before the workshop I met another attendee (Bahman aka Batman) as we joined Craig to preview a beach location with a life saving station house as FG subject. While the Moon was still present we were able to shoot the location, it's just that the Moon washed out everything; at least the sky was non-cloudy. Bahman who lives in No. California and I got along really well - I consider him a few friend.

Once the workshop started we encountered clouds most evenings. We had one really good night while we shot the Bodie Lighthouse until the Moon began to rise. At this early time of year the Galactic Core rises late in the am hours so being out that late can be hard to do. A prior night the fog hung around the lighthouse which made for interesting beams of light from the lighthouse which was cool.

The days we headed out for the refuge yielded mixed results. The first evening we saw only 1 bear too distant to get a decent shot of although my Sigma 60-600 did get a good shot of him. These bears are really big and fat. We came across a young Bard Owl that I was able to shoot, then alerted the group to it and we moved on, but the owl left before anyone else saw it. The next morning we saw several bears - some of which were VERY close.

Black Bear

MW: Back to the matter at hand - shooting the MW for me was not as great as I had hoped. I had some fog issues and also was unhappy with shots I made for SLS. Not sure where to go with MW with all the other challenges here in the OBX - mosquitos, clouds, fog, rain, wind and Moon phases.

My camera the SONY A73 worked well, but I am now seeing some of the limitations of my gear which I'll list here:

  • camera: smallish monitor that doesn't pop out very easily makes shooting hard without looking through the viewfinder which is hard on my neck and body. Am I ready for a different body? Maybe I can rent a few different ones and see how it works out before buying anything!
  • filters: I like my filters, but maybe would like to play around with a graduated ND filter and try some other effects. Putting on a filter and quickly getting it off for a different shot (like a kayaker coming past) takes too much time.
  • tripod: the ball head is wonky and doesn't allow a completely free range of motion. I can't pan left and right in a locked vertical position. Yes it is lightweight, but I can do better work with a different tripod or possibly mount a different head on it?

What worked well: 

  • bag: my Peak Design bag holds everything and is comfortable to wear all day if necessary. It sheds sand well too. 
  • My Sigma kicks ass at 600mm! Nothing comes close to it from what I've seen from other 500mm lenses.
  • My lens filter bag - wearing it on my belt makes it handy. Having a cloth to wipe down lenses and such is useful too.
  • iPhone - it takes really nice sunset and sunrise photos! It cannot be denied.
  • Battery life on the SONY is amazing!
  • filters - 6-stop ND filter is awesome. So it the polarizing filter.

Things I learned:

  • Missed opportunities - try doing star trails if you have enough photos in a spot but the group wants to stay there awhile.
  • Need to learn how to do panoramas.
  • Bring everything - don't be wishing you had that one filter or lens you left in the car.
  • Sunrise is an amazing time and it's quiet and peaceful. People are nice in the morning!
  • Had some fun opportunities to tweak photos in PS with layered effects.
Lens flare at sunrise






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