It’s general practice for me to be on location forty-five minutes to one-hour before sunrise.  I can’t know what’s going to happen at first light.  There’s no app for that–and I wouldn’t use it anyhow.  Each morning I wake up and show up to read the conditions, adjust to the elements; often shift my shot location altogether based on what I find and feel.  I’m not sure what this dance looks like to those I’m with–if it’s annoying or confusing or entertaining.  But, it’s a ritual of sorts.  My way of engaging with the potential of the new day.

And so, forty-five minutes before first light on January 23, 2024 I drove over the Washington Baum Bridge connecting Roanoke Island to Nags Head and found an amazing–and surprising–amount of color already sitting over the Roanoke Sound.  It didn’t register immediately, my brain still stuck between sleep and my initial plans.  It hit home somewhere along the Nags Head causeway that the event–the moment–was happening right now; it wasn’t going to wait for me to drive down the road or to find a more scenic location.  So, I pulled into the first parking area I could find facing generally south and east and began firing the shutter.

This is a little bay of the Roanoke Sound–the waterway that separates Roanoke Island from Bodie Island.  I’m looking south towards what I think is known as Headquarters Island.  There appears to be small homes/hunting cabins there, accessible only by boat. 

Camera:  Nikon D850
Lens:  Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8 @60mm
Tripod:  Really Right Stuff TVC-33

Date taken:  Janaury 23, 2024
Settings:  f8.0, 4.0 seconds, iso 250