iPhone 12 4.2mm f /1.6 1/7813
As we walked back from the beach, this gentleman was walking towards it to do just what I had done, take pictures. I’m just about at the road, when I turn back and see this shot. It just looked so…I don’t know. Stark may not be the right word, but a lone figure in that cutaway was irresistible.
iPhone 12 1.55mm f/2.4 1/978
This is the historic footbridge at Whalehead Resort in Corolla, NC. This is on the northern end of the Outer Banks, and it’s as simple as taking a left at the first major light once you cross the bridge. In almost 40 years of going down to OBX, I’d never taken that left.
This is a gem I didn’t expect to find. Amazing.
iPhone 12, 4.2mm f/1.6 1/7299
Bodie Island Light is at the Northern End of Rt 12. While most people think of Hatteras Light when they think of OBX, I find Bodie Island more photogenic. Especially on an overcast day like this. Just beautiful.
Canon T5i, 24mm f/4.5 1/2500
As I passed this guy, he was saying to someone in the phone “A life lived for others is the only life worth living.”
Einstein on the Beach, ladies and gentlemen.
Canon T5i 135mm f/5.6 1/250
“It’s all quite simple,” Scrappy said. “The problem is you haven’t yet identified the obstacle you’re facing.”
Scrappy took a second to preen an errant feather before continuing. “You think that the problem is your situation, but you know the truth. You put yourself in this situation. You believe that your problem is the people who put you here. You put yourself here. So I want you to listen. The only person stopping you from solving your problem is you. I don’t whine when my brothers in the flock won’t let me eat with them. I find food on my own. I don’t complain when my brothers fly so fast that they leave me behind. I get there on my own. I do what I have to do to survive. Sure, they’re not happy about it. They’d like me to go away because I’m tiny and should have been gone a long time ago.
Scrappy shifted his position and looked out over the water. “Now I’m sitting here talking to you when I should be down there looking for breakfast. So I’m going to leave you with this: The only person in your way is you, and deep down, you know what you have to do. You have to fix it. Or you don’t, and that means whatever that means for a human. I couldn’t possibly know. I’m just a rat with wings, right? So you think about it, and if you decide to do something, all you need to do is follow me. Better yet, follow yourself. I’m going to be far away from here this time tomorrow, and it’s time you learned how to survive on your own.
Then, Scrappy flapped his wings a few times and flew away, leaving me to my future.
Canon T5i, 62mm f/5.6 1/80
On the North End, there’s no one to tell you that you can’t surf.
I honestly can’t remember if we were dealing with a Tropical event out at sea on this day, but clearly business had picked up. These were not the only dudes out for a session that day, but the rest of the pack were several streets down from us. I think they were worried of crossing into Fort Story by accident, so they moved on down the beach.
Canon T5i, 50mm, f/4.5 1/400
Something a little different than my usual shots of The Big Guy.
I almost want to photoshop some white earbuds on it, but so far I’ve resisted the urge.
With the exception of my beloved seagulls, Neptune (and his little bro on the Eastern Shore in Cape Charles) is by far the thing I’ve captured the most. I have a feeling I won’t be done with him for a while.
It’s more about the canvas than the painting with him.
Canon T5i, 85mm f/4.5 1/125
Two good doggos with a very talkative owner that wanted me to take a picture of the dogs, while I was setting up a shot of Neptune. I missed the shot of Neptune I wanted, and I probably have to wait a year to get another shot at it.
Good dogs, tho.
iPhone 12 1.5mm f/2.4 1/160
Sometimes you’re at the 7-11, and you see impending doom. Happens all the time, right?
Or is that just my block?
iPhone 12, 4.2 mm, f/5.6 1/150
“There’s a city in my mind
Come along and take that ride
And it’s all right, baby it’s all right
And it’s very far away
But it’s growing day by day
And it’s all right, baby it’s all right
Would you like to come along?
You could help me sing this song
And it’s all right, baby it’s all right
They can tell you what to do
But they’ll make a fool of you
And it’s all right, baby it’s all right
We’re on a road to nowhere”.
—Talking Heads
Canon T5i, 55mm f5.6 1/80
The framing of this photo makes it for me. There’s a beauty in the pattern.
I love finding patterns in nature to shoot. Whether you believe that’s by chance or design, intelligent or not, it’s beautiful.
“Wheels within wheels in a spiral array
A pattern so grand and complex…” —Rush
Canon T5i, 18mm f/4.5 1/400
There’s a sense of adventure here of conquering a pile of rocks (that probably shouldn’t have been conquered, but no harm done)
What you only get a hint of in this photo is the giggles and absolute glee of this kid has he stamped over this pile of rocks to get to where you see him. Absolutely delightful.
Next week is our 27th Anniversary.
I just want to make sure you know who the only person who willingly puts up with my flavor of crazy is.
“Polarize me, sensitize me
Criticize me, civilize me
Compensate me, animate me
Complicate me, elevate me”
— Rush, “Animate”
This was a little bit of a chore trying to get this shot even, the horizon was the only thing level in this shot. The bridge is definitely NOT level. I like these low angle shots that have leading lines, like the rails in this picture. Kim had decided to walk ahead of me to get some shots of the beach (on this day, we went down pre-Elsa to see what the waves looked like—they were not optimal).
Due to the obvious weather concerns, we were the only ones on the beach. I honestly could have stayed all day, even with the rain.
A happy little discovery on the volleyball net pole. It demanded to be shot. I obliged.
I was going to post a very long impression of a guy who takes movies too seriously, but I’m fairly sure I would have had my fanatical love of Pink Floyd served back to me, so touche’.
We took a trip in the opposite direction on this day, because I had wanted to drive the Colonial Parkway, something I’ve never seen. We went in the direction of Jamestown, but as we arrived we realized we didn’t have as much time as we thought we did. There’s a lot more Parkway to see, so you’ll be seeing more in the coming months. However, we noticed a few pull off areas as we traveled, so we investigated a few. There a few nice little beach areas along this route, like this one. Off we went, cameras in hand. The next few posts will be of this trip.
This fisherman, if nothing else, was focused. There were two photographers, a family with a little kid, and a big. honking. dog down there all playing it up and this guy was just on point.
The first thing you need to know about Chase is that he is a very good boy. Chase ran up to me barking as I came down onto the beach, because Chase was protecting his family. I said Hi and made sure Chase knew I wasn’t here to cause trouble, and Chase decided I was ok and went back to the stick he’d been working on.
Chase was not amused when I took this shot, as you can see from the “Why is the paparazzi here?” look on his face.
I thanked Chase and his family, and made my way back up the slope, while Chase’s dad got on him about barking at people. I told Chase’s dad it was all good.
Chase was, in fact, a very good boy.
The car was stopped.
The dark outline of the end of the tunnel caught my eye, and I thought this might be nice. Not much else to this story other than I thought is had a Detective Eddie Valiant driving to ToonTown vibe to it.
Yes, I’m old. Why?
There is an alternate photo of this with the green of the trees left in that makes it even more Toonish, but I prefer posting black and white photos here.
This storm was just offshore, crossing over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel and stayed just north of Shore Drive. I took my iPhone 12 and held it on the deck and slanted the camera lens up towards the sky. There’s so much definition in the clouds that were brought out even further when I made it a black and white photo. I feel like this could be someone’s desktop.
One of my bucket list shots has been to get the skull at the Haunted Mansion on 20th Street and Atlantic in Virginia Beach with a thunderstorm rolling in behind it. The shelf cloud didn’t have as much definition as I would have liked, and I may try this again soon, but I really like the way this came out.
A funny little note about the Mansion: I’ve never been inside. I don’t do scary stuff. However, the little skeleton in the window? That’s French Fry, and as I was wandering around taking shots, he told me I needed to put this on my Instagram. I’m not kidding. There was a recording that went in rotation full of funny scary related jokes, but I think the guy who did the voice actually got on a mic to say that because I never heard it again and I was down there for an hour.
I consider it an honor to get roasted by the little guy.
Clearly, someone melted this mirror into a Yin Yang sign, and it was just irresistible.
More memorable was the fact that this was the first cold day of the Fall. The cold temps come late in the year around here, which is fine with me. As a boy who spent a couple years in San Diego, three years in Hawaii, and two-and-a-half years in Cuba, people wonder how a kid from Maine hates the cold. Because Maine was a stop between Navy transfers for my Dad. Then we ended up in Virginia Beach, and while the winters aren’t usually bad here, I would prefer not to see a day under 70 if I can help it.
As Virginia Beach weather goes, this was a fine, sunny day in the 70s. I came across this person between 1st and 10th streets on the Boardwalk and had to take a picture. This is part of the side of Virginia Beach the tourists don’t often see. In season, by the time the sun is up, the homeless are either shooed away from the beach, or they know the game well enough to know where to go during the day. This person is a seasoned homeless person. Look at all the gear. The umbrella to protect from not only the sun, but protecting their identity, their dignity. They even chose a bench where they wouldn’t have to fight over territory, or they brought that tape themselves to cover the adjacent bench.
I took this picture because I want people to see this. Sometimes I believe we think we’ve solved the homeless problem in this city—and this country—by ignoring it completely. it hasn’t gone away. At the lowest point in my life I slept on one of these benches, and I’m here to tell you that each of us is no more than few bad days away from having Atlantic Avenue as your temporary address.
Think about who this could be. Could this be a vet? Could this be a survivor of abuse? Could this be someone who hit rock bottom? Once you fill in that blank, ask yourself if this person is worth redemption.
Your answer will say more about you than about this homeless person.
I’m amazed this one came out as well as it did. There’s a very narrow dock at Lesner, and with the camera on the deck and almost to the rail, I couldn’t twist the multi-angle display to a position where I could see it. I had to contort myself into a position where I could see the screen. So, I’m doing a handstand against the rail, and completely ignoring the general advice one receives at my age, which is not to put yourself in a position where your backside is higher than your head. I had a few onlookers during this process, so I’m glad I could be the afternoon entertainment for all the boaters down there that day.
I love the texture of the tie-down here. It’s been there a while so you can see the weathering.
Day or night, standing under this bridge and seeing the lights and the symmetry is just amazing. If you look at the pillars at the bottom of the picture, you’ll see the curved lines in the pillars. They light those up at night, and it’s stunning. On this day I was more interested in the symmetry and the almost futuristic look of them. Behind the bridge in the background were some rainclouds, which adds some fantastic texture to the shot.
I fought myself for a long time about whether or not to remove Cape Henry Towers (or whatever they call it now) from the bottom of the picture, but I decided to leave it. If you’re standing here, there’s just no way to not see it, and to remove it would be disingenuous to any other photographers who come down here looking for the same thing.
I was a little worried for this guy when I took the shot, since there were storm clouds coming in front of him. He was going to be rowing into a thunderstorm. I thought there might have been people telling him maybe he shouldn’t be doing this, but here we are. He was ready to go, save for the moments he hung around wondering what this crazy guy was doing contorting himself into weird positions on the dock to take a picture. He stayed long enough to get a laugh, then made his way on into the inlet, presumably to get drenched in the downpour that happened a short time later.
