Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge is my comfort blanket.  It’s where I go when I want solitude.  Above all, it is a place to be creative without purpose or plan.  A thirteen mile stretch of barrier island absent development,  Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge was established in April of 1938 with the purpose of providing habitat for nesting, resting, and overwintering migratory birds.  Wildlife Refuges are one of the rare places in this country that are managed not for people, but expressly for the wildlife.

Of course, anyone who’s travelled down NC-12 through Pea Island might chuckle at a “manage for wildlife” mandate when it’s clearly the roadway itself that demands management.  NC-12, also known as the Outer Banks Scenic Byway, is frequently overwashed or overblown with water and sand.  The presence of excavators and other construction equipment has become a fixture of Pea Island.

Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge sets the tone for Hatteras Island.  Driving south across Oregon Inlet, I am elevated artificially above the flat coastal landscape.  Snaking off into the perceptible distance I get a true feeling for the mass of water that surrounds and hugs the isolated barrier island.  Hatteras is not a place dominated by ambitious development.  Instead, Hatteras is a place dominated by the natural forces.  Everything and everyone is subordinate to the whims of Mother Nature.  

I cannot explain what an incredible feeling this nature-dominance is for me as an outdoor photographer.  If it’s true that we all vibrate to different frequencies, I seem largely in tune with Hatteras Island.  And the isolation of Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge sets the stage for this uncrowded, undeveloped, nature-dominated landscape that I’ve come to love so much since childhood.

Camera:  Nikon D810
Lens:  Nikkor 17-35mm f2.8 @ 22mm
Tripod:  Really Right Stuff TVC-33

Date taken:  January 25, 2020
Settings:  f14, 1/10 second, iso-250