Tree, Field, Passing Clouds in Eastern NC

On my way back from a short trip to the coast late last autumn, a storm blew in on the drive back. The clouds were really moving, so I pulled over on the side of a state highway to make a photograph of the sky over a blank field in front of a tree.

I unfortunately didn’t take the extra 5-10 minutes to walk around and shoot a few angles- I wish I’d moved closer and lower to the ground so the tree was bigger and extended more into the sky. Also, I mis-judged where the clouds were moving, so they lead the eye to the background on the left side of the photo- I think the center would have been better. Even after doing this photography thing for over two decades now, I still don’t get it ‘right’ or exactly the way I want most of the time, but the process is rewarding in itself.

Field, Tree, and Passing Cloud, eastern NC (14″x14″)

ND Awards 2021 Entries

Spent a bit of time thinking this weekend about my ND Awards entries for 2021- decided on the below images:

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Trees in Shallows at Hatteras Inlet, NC

Shot from a stretch of quiet coastline west of the US Coast Guard station on Hatteras: long-exposure photograph of small islands and trees on the Sound side of the Outer Banks. 25-second exposure.

Trees in Shallows (Color), Hatteras Inlet, Outer Banks, NC (12″x22″)

Dune Light and Shadow- Hatteras Series, Part II

Debris and structures cast shadows across the dunes on Hatteras Island. Second half 6-part photo series:

Dune and Shadows (B&W, #4), Hatteras, North Carolina (15″x22″)

Dune and Shadows (B&W, #5), Hatteras, North Carolina (15″x22″)

Dune and Shadows (B&W, #6), Hatteras, North Carolina (15″x22″)

Dune Light and Shadow- Hatteras Series, Part I

Debris and structures cast shadows across the dunes on Hatteras Island. 6-part photo series, first 3 posted here:

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Dune and Shadows (B&W, #1-3), Hatteras, North Carolina (15″x22″)

Hatteras Island Sunset at Kite Point, Part II

Lens of light between darkening clouds – ~300 second exposure time to make this image of the moving clouds and water as the light faded.

Lens of Light over Sound between Dark Clouds (B&W), Hatteras Island near Avon, North Carolina (12″x22″)

Hatteras Island Sunset, Kite Point

I stopped near Kite Point between Avon and Buxton on Hatteras Island to make a few images of some pretty fantastic light reflecting off the Sound north/west of the barrier islands – I particularly liked the small structure out on the Sound in the center of the photograph along the horizon line. I shot this at ~1 second exposure time- wish I’d gone for ~30 seconds to really flatten out the water, but the light was changing so quickly that I didn’t have a change to get my filters out and set up properly in time.

Sunset over Sound near Kite Point (#1, Color), Hatteras Island, North Carolina (14″x22″)

Hatteras Island at Sunset

121-second exposure of passing clouds at sunset at a set of stairs over the dunes on Hatteras Island. I included one version in black and white, another in color, to emphasize different elements in the scene.

Stairs on Hatteras Island at Sunset (B&W), Hatteras Island, NC (12″x21″)

Stairs on Hatteras Island at Sunset (Color), Hatteras Island, NC (12″x21″)

Lucky Strike Tower, Durham at Sunset Part II

Another angle on the Lucky Strike Tower at sunset- image made back in December, 2020. I wanted to include more of the industrial building tops in the foreground on this one. 132s exposure time.

Lucky Strike Tower at Sunset (#2), Durham, NC (13″x21″)

Parking Deck and Passing Clouds over Downtown Durham

Another long-exposure photograph of passing clouds over the buildings around downtown Durham – I decided to go for the partially desaturated look instead of the color emphasis (previous sunset photograph) or the all black and white from a few weeks ago. 136s exposure time with an ND filter.

Parking Deck, Passing Clouds, and Lucky Strike Tower, Durham, NC (16″x16″)