Creative Photography

It is hard to believe that our month on Ocracoke is almost over and we will be heading north.  We have had a great time with friends, however the weather has been a bit cooler and windier than we were hoping.  It is the spring and you have to take what you get.  Keith is hoping to go out fishing with someone before we leave.

I have been playing around with my camera and decided some of the pictures I have taken for creative purposes might be cool to post.

This picture of the harbor in Ocracoke's Silver Lake reminds me of a New England postcard

This was a shot of a mariner's compass I quilted with a sail boat from the harbor in a double exposure

Here is Southern Style at night with the Ocracoke Light in a double exposure shot

Sunset over the Pamlico Sound with the HDR mode set for vivid color

The sunset with this setting almost looks like night time

I also went over to the light house and took some pictures

Looking up at the light house

Double exposure light house

And finally I walked into the maritime forest at Springer's Point (this is where Blackbeard and his crew liked to come ashore and party).

Another double exposure shot

So I hope you all like the artistic shots I played around with for this post.  Maybe I can continue to experiment this summer as we continue our adventures.

Beach Treasures

The weather this past week finally cooperated for Keith and I to make a trip with our dinghy to Portsmouth Island.  This is our favorite place to search for shells, particularly the elusive Scotch Bonnet (North Carolina's state sea shell).  We had a great day and found over 65 Scotch bonnets.

Scotch bonnets on the beach on Portsmouth Island

Here are the ones we found laid out on our table in the cockpit of Southern Style

We found other cool shells as well and I tried to take some creative shots

More pretty shells

Along with our beach combing, Keith also had some luck last week with his fishing.  He got two speckled trout that we ate for lunch one day.

Keith's speckled trout

Pretty sunset with the ferries in the shot

Although we had some very nice weather, it is the spring and sudden weather changes and high winds are common.  We had a storm front come across the sound one day and it was something to see.

The front rolling in with a vengeance

The wall of the front moved in and winds immediately became sustained at 35-40 mph and some gusts of up to 54 mph were recorded by our anenometer.

Ocracoke Lighthouse with storm approaching

We survived the storm just fine on Southern Style and are hoping for nice weather to return in the upcoming days.

Even More Visitors

For the last several days, we have had Brad and Lara Hanks on board Southern Style.  We have been friends with Brad and Lara since 1993.  They came to Ocracoke from their home in Wilmington, NC to visit for a few days.

Brad and Lara at Ocracoke Lighthouse

We had the very rare treat of being able to get inside the lighthouse.  It is usually not open to the public.  A National Park Ranger was working at the light house the day we went over.  He had opened for a few hours while he was going to be there for people to be able to look at the inside.  The original light was built in 1795 than moved and the lighthouse at the current location was built in 1823.  It is the second oldest operating lighthouse in North Carolina.

Looking up into the tower at Ocracoke Lighthouse

This tree was in the yard of the light keeper's house and shows how its trunk has grows in a spiral shape because of the winds here on the island.

The strong winds that often blow here particularly in the spring cause sand to cover the only road along the island.  Snow plows and front-end loaders are used to keep the road clear to traffic.

We stopped for a quick visit to the pony pen.  For those unfamiliar with the Ocracoke ponies you can see the fall post from this blog in 2017.  Ocracoke had one of only a very few mounted boy scout troops in the history of the Boy Scouts of America.  It began in 1954 and was active for about 10 years.  The Banker Ponies are believed to be descendents from either shipwrecks or early explorations between the 1500s-1700s.

We have also been taking care of Russ and Michelle's dog, Whiff, for a few days while they are in Raleigh.  Whiff got to ride with the 4 of us to the nature trail near the pony pens.

Whiff riding to the nature trail with us.

She had the head bobs in the sunshine.

Once we got back to the boat, Lara played mixologist/bar tender for the afternoon.

Surprisingly, no one woke up with a hang-over the next day.  Go figure???

We were so glad to have Brad and Lara visit and can't wait to see them again soon.

Planes and Boats Come to Ocracoke

Over the last several days we had friends cruise over from New Bern to spend a few days with us.  Dave and Janet on the boat "Sequel" and Dr. Mike and Debbie on the boat "Paradise" visited us on Ocracoke.

Sequel coming into Silver Lake on a cloudy day.

One night Russ and Michelle, friends that live on the island, had all of us over to their house for a cook out.  It was a great time with oysters as starters and then chicken, steak, and pork on the grill with sides as well for dinner.

Russ and Dave tending the grill

The remains of oyster appetizers

Remy, Dr. Mike and Debbie's new puppy partied so hard he fell asleep right on the kitchen floor.  He is just 11 weeks old and too cute.

Sunset from the roof deck at Russ and Michelle's

We also met up for wood fired pizza one night at Dajio's

And we had "happy hour" together one evening at the microbrewery "1718"

Pengi sampling some of our drinks.  This appears to be causing a little list in his stance

The wind has been pretty steady much of the time so far, but we did have a day that the breeze was mild and another good friend, Ron Terry, flew out to the island from Smithfield, NC with friend Randy in Randy's Cessna 182.

Welcome to the airport, such as it is.

Security is tight

The waiting area is quite comfy.

Here comes Captain Ron and Randy

Randy was kind enough to allow Capt. Ron take Keith and me for a ride around Ocracoke in his airplane.

Capt. Ron taking us for a fly

  Looking north along Ocracoke toward Hatteras Inlet

Hatteras Ferry parked at the north terminal on Ocracoke

Looking south along Ocracoke.  Atlantic Ocean to the left and Pamlico Sound to the right.

The village of Ocracoke on the south end of the island

Southern Style and Sequel at the docks

Here we are with landing strip in sight

What a great experience, even for a tentative flier like me.  The weather was wonderful and the visibility couldn't be beat.  This was a really awesome treat for Keith and I.  Thanks so much to Capt. Ron and Randy for another one of the top lifetime experiences.

It has been a wonderful couple of days being able to see friends from New Bern that we do not get to see very often.  Wish they did not have to leave so soon.

Dave and Janet on Sequel

Sequel heading out and back to New Bern

Paradise (Dr. Mike and Debbie) leaving also to return to New Bern

You will all be missed.  Until next time....