For six years I lived across the street from the beach, for the last dozen or so I am about a twenty minute drive away. One might think they’d get tired of the beach after so much exposure to it, but no! I always enjoy my visits to that beautiful, sandy wonderland. The other evening I made the trip so I could clear my head and enjoy the sunset.

The Crystal Coast

The region of the North Carolina Coast where I live is known as the “Crystal Coast.” It is also frequently referred to as “the Southern Outer Banks.” Essentially, it is the entirety of Carteret County from the eastern edge at Cedar Island to the western extreme at Emerald Isle and Cape Carteret, then inland to the Craven and Jones county lines. There is something like 100 miles of coastline along the Crystal Coast. It encompasses both ocean and sound side areas. Oceanic beaches can be found along the barrier islands; Bogue Banks, Shackleford Banks and Core Banks. Seaside communities include Atlantic Beach, Pine Knoll Shores, Salter Path, Indian Beach and Emerald Isle. The county is home to one of the NC State Aquariums, the Cape Lookout National Seashore, Fort Macon State Park, Cedar Island National Wildlife Refuge, the North Carolina Maritime Museum, and a significant portion of the Croatan National Forest. The primary industries are commercial fishing and tourism. Simply put, there is a lot of history and nature to be enjoyed here.

The Evening’s Destination

On this particular March evening I decided to visit the area near the Oceanana Fishing Pier and Pierhouse Restaurant. The pier wouldn’t open for fishing for another week or two, so I knew the are wouldn’t be too crowded. As I pulled into the near empty parking lot a few surfers were loading up to head home. A bit earlier and I might have been able to capture a few surfing images. However, my timing was just a bit off. The surf looked extremely rough. I didn’t blame them for calling it a day.

Unquestionably most of these sea-side piers look a lot alike. There are only so many angles and views one can find when photographing them. As such I turned my attention to finding other interesting beach scenes. While I missed the surfers I was lucky enough to find a young man using a skimboard along the edge of the ocean. I also found some interesting scenes that incorporated some sand fencing. Of course I could resist a shot or two of the pier. While such shots may be a bit cliche, the environment around the is constantly changing.

The Photography

All of the following images were captured using my Canon 7D MarkII DSLR camera body and Tokina AT-X Pro 20-25mm wide angle zoom lens. For some shots I used one or two neutral density filters to achieve a longer exposure time. The camera was mounted on an Innorel carbon fiber tripod and I used a two-second delayed release to eliminate camera shake. Post processing included Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop. I also utilized the Nik Collection by DxO and the Pro Panel editing tools.

Thanks for visiting. I hope you enjoyed the article. May I ask you a question? Do you think you’d get tired of the beach if you lived nearby?