Capturing the Coast: An Inside Look at the Saltwater Retreat on Hatteras Island
The first morning of the Saltwater Retreat on Hatteras Island is always buzzing with energy. For many, it’s the first time the attendees will see the iconic Avon Fishing Pier, which is home to so many of our sunrise photo shoots. We arrive in the dark, bags overflowing with camera gear and mugs filled with steaming coffee. As the morning progresses, nerves turn to excitement and the group noticeably calms.
The sun bursting through the pilings during a spectacular sunrise at the Avon Fishing Pier on Hatteras Island, NC.
We visit the pier many times during the week, allowing for experimentation, practice, and opportunities to just play. When you visit a location once, the pressure is on to nail the shot. When you return time and time again, you have more freedom to find your own creative take on the experience. Whether experimenting with composition, long exposures, or capturing the pier lights as sunstars, the opportunities are endless.
Because Hatteras Island is surrounded by water on all sides, it’s one of the few places in the Outer Banks where you can photograph both sunrise and sunset. Sunsets are savored over the Pamlico Sound, slow burns of color melting into the distant horizon.
After the sun disappears from view, we practice intentional camera movement with slow shutter speeds to capture the incredible color of the afterburn.
Even when there isn’t much color, we find ways to be creative.
All week, we play. We ask ourselves “what if I…..” We practice pairing and storytelling, creative angles and inventive compositions.
Views of a Salvo sunset: framing the grand landscape with dramatic driftwood, and finding a hidden perspective right through a knot in the wood.
Slowing down to notice the textures at the Elizabethan Gardens, from the ivy climbing up the old bark to the soft patterns of shadows hitting the ground.
Finding beauty in the simple details along the dunes, balancing the rugged texture of the fence posts with the soft, bright yellow blooms.
Playing with perspective at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, catching a sunburst against the classic stripes, and finding a unique reflection warped in a nearby window.
Exploring the quiet, colorful details around Manteo, pairing a massive burst of autumn berries with a classic, welcoming pink bench.
The Saltwater Retreat is a week of photography immersion filled with nothing but the promise of time to practice.
The Saltwater Retreat is a women’s photography retreat and creativity workshop designed to educate, inspire, and help you become the photographer you long to be. Held on the shores of the Outer Banks of North Carolina, this is a chance for women photographers to spend a week immersing themselves in the craft of creating photographs without the distractions of home. I invite you to join me at the next Saltwater Retreat.
