R & C Engagement Shoot | Outer Banks Photographer

Over Thanksgiving, I had the pleasure of doing an engagement shoot for my cousin and her fiance while we were all together at the Outer Banks, NC. We found a wide variety of beautiful settings, including venturing down to the very cold beach for some lovely near-sunset photos. I'm so happy for the two of them, and I can't wait to photograph their wedding later this year!

Ocean City, NJ | Travel Photography

At the end of July I had the chance to meet up with a photographer friend in Ocean City, NJ. She lives near there, and it was convenient for me to get to from my last appointment of the day, plus I had never been to that part of the Jersey shore, so it worked out perfectly! I hadn't actually met her in person before, and she is as lovely as she seemed over Facebook. We went to her favorite place at the beach, near a mostly washed-out pier, and had some fun discussing photography while we snapped away.

July 4: Sunset on the beach

On July 4, my daughter and I headed over to the beach in Kill Devil Hills, NC to wait for the town's fireworks to start. We arrived during sunset so I had some time to practice with my new Canon 60D and 85mm lens...and what better subject to practice on than my beautiful daughter?

Under the pier, before the storm

As Hurricane Arthur approached the Outer Banks on July 3, I really wanted to head over to the ocean and see how it was looking with the storm on the way. We still had clear blue skies overhead, so I didn't feel we were in much danger.

After seeing the news reporting from Avalon Pier (about 1.5 miles north of my parents' house, on the beach road), I wanted to head there and see if the fog coming off the ocean was as beautiful in person as it was on the news. Turns out, yes it was! Not only that, but the pier itself provided some very cool perspective for photographs.

Portraits with my new gear

Last weekend I finally ordered my new camera gear! That's right, it was finally time to upgrade from my "starter" DSLR, the trusty Canon Rebel T2i I've been using since January 2012. I'd saved up for almost a year, and did a lot of research (both on my own, and talking to some of my photographer friends), and ultimately settled on the Canon 60D and 85mm f/1.8 lens . There were many reasons for both, which I'm not really going into here, but let me say that after my first 4 days of working with this combination, I very much feel that I made the right choices! 

Note that these are from the very first time that I used both the camera and lens, so I was getting used to both, particularly the focus on the lens. So the focus is definitely a little off on some of these photos, but I think you can at least see the potential inherent in the gear, and in me as I get better and better!

 

Palm Beach Florida

Just before Memorial Day I had the opportunity to travel to Palm Beach, Florida for work. We were staying about 6 miles from the ocean, so we drove out to Singer Island (still a part of Palm Beach), parked, and walked on the beach for a bit. Despite being on the Atlantic Ocean, and facing away from the sunset, the light was still stunning.

Beach portraits

When we traveled to the Outer Banks for a long weekend back in March, the weather was so lovely that we were able to spend well over an hour on the beach. The best part for me was being able to capture these photos of my beautiful children.

 

Embracing simplicity

There's a big advantage to going to the beach in March: very few people meant I was able to capture photos unsullied by the presence of people. The stark beauty of the beach is enough in and of itself.

Outer Banks beach photos II

Last month we returned once again to the Outer Banks. Just before our trip I received my present to myself for having a good year at work - this lens, recommended by a friend. I hadn't really had a chance to play with it before the trip, so of course a couple of hours on the beach was a perfect opportunity to take some photos.

Family portraits at the beach

On our very last night in the Outer Banks last month, I wanted to head down to the beach after dinner and take some photos at sunset. However, upon our arrival at the beach access we were told by people leaving the beach that the flies were really bad, so we chose not to venture all the way down. Instead, we stopped at the gazebo at the top of the dune and took some photos from there.

Outer Banks beach photos

While the vast majority of photos that I took while on vacation at the Outer Banks last month were of our children, I did manage to get a few nice ones of the scenery around us. Here are my favorites.

Telephoto lens + condensation = art!

I encountered a "problem" while we were at the Outer Banks at the beginning of July that I had not yet experienced: because my telephoto lens was primarily kept inside of my camera bag, in the air conditioning, when I went to pull it out on the beach the lenses (internal and external) were covered with condensation! When I took the first few pics I saw that they were a little faded, but didn't realize the condensation was to blame; it was only on the second day I did this that I really noticed it. So, while the photos are faded/slightly blurry, I actually like how they came out - I like the slightly old fashioned feel!

Beach Sky

We spent the week of July 4th at the Outer Banks, NC. I've got well over 600 photos from our 10 day vacation, so I'm trying to organize them as best as I can. One of the things I photographed during the week (when not taking photos of the kids!) was the sky.