The weather is always the driver of my outdoor photography.  My ability (or inability) to adapt to the weather is likely the single greatest barometer regarding success or failure behind my lens.  As the first week of January pushed by without many frames, I was concerned and frustrated with myself.  Time is always the most precious variable, for me.  There’s only so much.  Early in my photography career, I would shrug and blame it on the lack of clouds or an uninspired atmosphere.  As if I could only perform or create as a photographer within the narrowest window of conditions.  It was a wasteful mindset.  It helped justify lots of waiting around.  Not working.  Missing beauty nearly everywhere.

I’d like to think I’ve become a more versatile landscape photographer.  I’ve added macro, spent considerable time at medium telephoto distances.  But, that mid-range abstract–the 50mm type frame–was still rather elusive to my eye and portfolio.  Losing my ultra-wide lens early in the trip to damage helped to force my hand.  My walk about lens for this trip became the 24-70mm.  Then, the weather decided to limit opportunity, which—as it often is–was a blessing in disguise.  Clear, cloudless, and colorless skies kept things contained.  And brutal winds blowing straight up the beach from the north discouraged any long walks by the ocean where I might typically find my macro subjects.  One place, however, seemed to be consistently interesting:  Jockey’s Ridge State Park.

Renting nearby, Jockey’s Ridge State Park was the logical place to go when all other ideas were absent.  I walked, often with no camera, up and over the dunes.  Down to the Roanoke Sound.  Around the maritime forest.  Back over the dunes.  Scouting.  Seeing.  Thinking.  Trying to piece the puzzle together.  And I made a lot of frames.  Drafts.  Ideas. 

The park is technically closed at sunrise, so last light was the best option.  Low and directional light was necessary to add depth through shadow to the wind-blown patterns.  What I didn’t anticipate were the dusky blue colors that would appear in tandem with the warm yellow/orange highlights of sunset.  It was maybe a ten-minute window, depending largely on how clear the western horizon was (clouds dimmed and vanished the light).  I worked that window several nights, trying to find the right patch of pattern and the right wind and the right light.

This isn’t a perfect frame.  A master would’ve composited several focus-stacked exposures to get everything just right.  My single-exposure frame here wouldn’t hold up to the stuffy clothes and critical eyes of fancy gallery goers.  But I would argue, the feeling is all here.  And that’s enough for me.  Because really, why else am I doing this other than to create a frame that moves?

Camera:  Nikon D850
Lens:  Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8 @48mm
Tripod:  Really Right Stuff TVC-33

Date taken:  January 9, 2025
Settings:  f14, 1/3 second, iso 250