When I parked at beach access ramp #4 along Cape Hatteras National Seashore on January 10, 2024 I had no ideas about what I might photograph, only that sunset might provide opportunity.  What I needed was a walk.  Walking clears my head and is often associated, for me, with bringing forth creativity.  I slung my pack over my shoulders, grabbed my junked up coastal tripod, and started putting one foot in front of the other.

A couple miles south I rounded the beach where the Atlantic Ocean meets Oregon Inlet; where tidal waters from the Atlantic are exchanged with those from the Pamlico Sound to the west.  This inlet, formed by hurricane in 1846, is one of the few access points to the ocean and the Gulf Stream from the protected waters of the sound.  The economic and social pressures that have attached itself to this dynamic environmental feature are immense.  This inlet, generally speaking, was my subject for the evening.

It was a stroke of good fortune to find beautiful tidal mudflats formed along the edge of Oregon Inlet near the Marc Basnight Bridge.  This wasn’t my first time photographing tidal mudflats:  I chased them tirelessly along Folly Beach for years!  This was my first time photographing tidal mudflats in the Outer Banks, however.  Mudflats require a relatively sheltered, low-energy environment to form.  Mud from the tidal rivers and the estuary/lagoon that is Pamlico Sound must’ve been deposited into this area, forming the makeshift coastal wetland before me.

To wonder up to this neat landscape feature without planning and at a beneficial tide, as well as during a developing sunset sky was a major windfall of good luck.  I chucked my shoes and socks and went straight to work behind the camera!  Nothing is more exciting than finding myself inside of a moment, beautiful subject and light, alone and fully engaged with the environment.  This was one of the best moments I had during my winter stay in the Outer Banks during 2024.

Camera:  Nikon D850
Lens:  Nikkor 17-35mm f2.8 @22mm
Tripod:  Really Right Stuff TVC-33

Date taken:  Janaury 10, 2024
Settings:  f14, 0.4 seconds, iso 250