How to Photograph the Avon Fishing Pier: Sunrise, Storms, and the Milky Way

Sunrise Sky at the Avon Fishing Pier

Most photographers have favorite locations. Somewhere that they fall in love with and return to again and again, practicing new techniques, following the weather, changing the time of day. For me, one of those locations is the Avon Fishing Pier on Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

Over the 15+ years that I have been photographing the pier, I have seen it under every type of weather imaginable- from crystal clear skies to battered by hurricane waves. No two visits to the pier are the same and every photograph is different. Last fall, the pier was again damaged by a hurricane and rebuilt over the winter. For me, the pier is a symbol of strength, a force fighting against the changes of time and tide.

Hazy Morning at the Avon Fishing Pier

The Best Time of Day to Photograph the Avon Pier

Like most east-facing Atlantic beaches, sunrise is the obvious choice. The sky lights up behind the pier, casting long, dramatic shadows across the wet sand. But don’t pack up your camera just because the sun is high or the weather turns gray.

Clearing Storms at the Avon Fishing Pier

Walking the Planks

While shooting from the sand gives you that classic coastal perspective, paying the small walk-on fee to actually go out onto the pier is worth every penny.

Walking out over the Atlantic changes everything. The ocean swells move right beneath your feet, and you get a completely different look at the shoreline. Looking back toward the island from the very end of the deck gives you a beautiful, elevated view of the dunes and the beach stretching out into the distance. It’s the perfect spot to capture the sheer scale of the Cape Hatteras coastline, or to just lean against the wooden railing and watch the pelicans glide by at eye level.

Drum Fishing Only, Avon Fishing Pier

Capturing the Movement: Long Exposure at the Pier

The Avon Pier is the ultimate playground for long exposure photography. Because the Atlantic surf can be incredibly chaotic and the coastal skies change by the minute, slowing down your shutter speed allows you to simplify the scene and emphasize the timeless, grounding presence of the pier.

Smooth Water and Streaking Clouds

Slipping a strong Neutral Density (ND) filter—like a 6-stop or 10-stop—onto your lens completely transforms the landscape. By stretching your exposure out for several seconds, the churning ocean waves blend into a smooth, ethereal mist that wraps softly around the wooden pilings. If there are clouds moving across the sky, a long exposure pulls them into beautiful, blurred streaks that create a sense of motion and drama, making the historic pier stand out as a sharp symbol of strength against the fluid elements.

Chasing the Motion from Every Angle

Don't limit your long exposures to just standing on the beach looking out.

• From Underneath: Try a long exposure from the sand beneath the decking. As the tide washes in and out around your tripod feet, the slow shutter will turn the rushing water into a glassy, mirror-like reflection of the overhead beams.

• From the Deck: If you walk out onto the pier, secure your tripod tightly against the wind and shoot back toward the island. Slowing down the exposure from an elevated perspective turns the crashing shoreline breakers into a satin texture, creating a gorgeous contrast against the solid lines of the distant dunes.
  
  Gear Note: Coastal winds on Hatteras Island are no joke, and even the minor vibrations of waves hitting the pier can cause camera shake. Use a sturdy tripod, hang your camera bag from the center column for extra weight if needed, and use a remote shutter release or a two-second timer to keep everything tack-sharp.

Fishing Season

Finding New Perspectives by Going Underneath

When the midday sun gets a little too harsh, or if you want to play with geometry, walk down beneath the decking. The massive wooden pilings create incredible leading lines that draw the eye straight out toward the ocean.

• Creative Tip: Pay attention to the wet sand between the pilings. As the tide recedes, it creates a mirror-like reflection of the structure above.

• Gear Note: Keep a lens cloth handy in your pocket. The salt spray hangs heavy under the pier, especially on windy days, and you'll want to wipe down your front element between shots.

Under the Avon Fishing Pier

Golden and Blue Sunrise at the Avon Fishing Pier

Embracing the Mist and Storms

Some of my absolute favorite frames of the Avon Pier happen when the weather gets moody. When a heavy sea fog rolls in, the horizon completely disappears, and the pier becomes a striking, minimalist line cutting into the white void.

If a storm is clearing, head out to the beach. The dramatic, heavy clouds stacked above the ocean offer incredible texture that you just can't get on a blue-sky day. The pier acts as a perfect anchor for the composition, giving scale to the massive coastal sky.

Stormy Sunrise at the Avon Fishing Pier

Chasing the Night Sky

Because Hatteras Island is tucked so far away from major city light pollution, it is a haven for astrophotography. The Avon Pier is one of the best structures on the coast for anchoring a night sky image, but it does come with a unique challenge: the pier lights.

To capture the Milky Way over the pier without the deck lights completely blowing out your exposure, timing is everything. Look for nights with a new moon or early season dates (like spring and early summer) when the galactic center rises at an angle that allows you to position the brightest parts of the sky away from the harshest ambient glare. A sturdy tripod is a non-negotiable here, as the coastal winds can cause camera shake during a long exposure.

The Milky Way over the Avon Fishing Pier

Quick Tips for Your Visit

• Parking: There is a large gravel lot right at the pier head. It's incredibly accessible, making it easy to run out for a quick burst of light at dawn or checking conditions at midnight.

• Fees: Walking on the beach around and under the pier is completely free. If you want to walk out onto the wooden deck itself to shoot back toward the island, there is a very small walk-on fee payable at the pier shop.

• Seasonality: The beach around the pier is constantly shifting. Winter storms and hurricanes reshape the dunes and the shoreline every year, so the way the water wraps around the pilings in the spring might look completely different by autumn. Embrace whatever version of the beach you find when you arrive.

I have spent over a decade and a half watching the light change across these pylons. If you want to experience the magic of an OBX sunrise and learn how to capture coastal light like this with your own camera, come spend a week creating with me.

The Saltwater Retreat is a women’s photography retreat and creativity workshop designed to help you immerse yourself in the craft, step away from the distractions of home, and become the photographer you long to be. I invite you to join me at the next Saltwater Retreat.