I had an especially good time these past few days at North Carolina's Outer Banks. As per usual at the coast, the weather was iffy with wind, rain, and cold temps over much of the trip... just the kind of reality to make landscape photography always interesting. I was excited to meet one of my contacts, Gregg Southard, at Bodie Island Lighthouse for some night photography last Thursday evening. Gregg's an easy fella to like from the get-go... I spent some time over the next couple of days with him, shooting in some of his favorite haunts, as well as shooting the breeze. He invited me along with his camera club to the Elizabethan Gardens at Manteo on Saturday morning, where I met (in order of appearance) Deborah, Sharon, Joyce, Elaine, Jay, and Dan... an amiable and creative bunch! Oh, and I almost forgot Bob and Glenn (inside joke!). Tell them I said hello, Gregg.

Bodie Island Lighthouse is always a favorite subject for the camera when I'm at the Outer Banks. It's not positioned well for an easy shot of either sunrise or sunset. For this image, I parked along NC Highway 12 and bushwhacked through marsh, high grass, and briars... fortunately, due to the cold, snakes weren't on that list. There are a number of dangerous snakes here, including cottonmouth and canebrake rattlesnakes, both of which I've seen in these marshes. What you may think of as geese here are actually cormorants. Their diet consists entirely of fish, which explains why I've never seen them anywhere but at the coast. My last stop today was at the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island, so my return trip took me across the Croatan Sound Bridge... I noticed a cormorant off to my left, also crossing the sound in frantic flight, perhaps just a foot above the water. I dropped my speed to match that of the cormorant... 52 mph! Not bad for so big a bird, but it may have had a tailwind. My hair definitely did at the beach!