If you have been to the Outer Banks and never been to Coquina Beach in South Nags Head you don’t know what you are missing.  It is one of the most beautiful beaches here and some of the best things about it is there is plenty of parking, they have great bath house facilities and the beach is flat and wide and the sand is like baby powder.  I started going there years ago when I first moved here because I wanted to see what Coquina Shells looked like…they are everywhere all over the beach, but the best place to see them is at the waters edge during low tide.  They are tiny little clam like shells and the shore birds just love to eat them…well they break them open and eat what’s inside, so that is a show all by itself.

Today I was here for a wedding and it was a hot, humid, REALLY WINDY day…you would never be able to tell from the pictures though, the Bride and Groom looked cool, calm and collected.  They had bottled water for all their guests in big coolers right before they stepped on the beach and it was appreciated by all.

The other neat thing they did was release doves at the end of their ceremony…I had never seen that done before in person and it was really beautiful.

Wedding Tip:  When the wind is really blowing here on the beach, even though it is typical for the bride to be on the left…this day the wind was blowing from the South so it was ok…but, if the wind is blowing from the North, the Bride should definitely stand on the right so the wind is blowing her hair and veil off of her face.

Another wedding today with Preacher Pat…this time in Kill Devil Hills, and yes, it was a Monday afternoon.  So many folks get married here on the Outer Banks every year and they have their weddings seven days a week…not just on Saturdays.  This couple was from New Jersey and they were so much fun, the Groom had quite a sense of humor and after they got married and walked back down the isle he had a big surprise waiting for her!!  He actually hired a policeman to fake arrest him, handcuffs and all.  No one really knew about it except for a handful of friends…the Bride, needless to say, was shocked!!  Good thing she has a great sense of humor too.

Wedding today in Corolla, NC with Pat Walden (Simply Weddings), she will be performing the ceremony and asked me to come along and take some pictures for her to use on her web site (www.simplyweddingsobx.com), so much fun and a beautiful day!  Hot, but what else can you expect on the Outer Banks in July!  The Bride was just beautiful…one of my favorite dresses so far this year.  Here is a picture, Bride, Groom & Pat….

Just as I knew it would be, my family portrait shoot went great!!  So nice to see everyone and especially to see how big the kids have gotten since last year.  They choose a theme each year and this year it was red, white & blue…they looked fabulous!!  The rain held off but the sand and wind were just as I expected…we managed to get through it with smiles.  Some of the family will not be here until later in the week so they asked me to come back on Friday so I can do pictures with the new arrivals…I am really looking forward to it…times like these are what  makes me love my job!

Today is an exciting day for me…family portrait time with my favorite family!!  I have been doing their family portrait now for four years and have gotten to know them all so well that they make me feel a part of their family.  I have had the pleasure of watching the little ones grow up, of meeting additional family members and just sharing this whole experience with them has been wonderful year after year.

The weather is not the greatest today, but we have been through worse…its humid but there is alot of wind and there is a storm brewing!!  I just hope the rain holds off until we are done with pictures…it will be challenging with the wind, everyone’s hair will be blowing and the sand blowing is never pleasant.  It will still be fun because they are all so positive and really make the  most of any situation…I am off to meet them at their rental cottage.

I apologize for the lack of new pictures and blogs….I had a major virus in my computer (something I am sure alot of you can identify with) and had to go through this whole process of saving documents, pictures, etc…to my book drive and CD’s to make sure in the transition to my new computer I didn’t lose anything.  So, now I am up and running again in the middle of the busiest time of year for me…life just gets crazy sometimes.

It’s that time of year again…lots of weddings on the Outer Banks, from now until the end of November couples and their families come from all over the world for their destination wedding.  Weddings on the Outer Banks come in all shapes and sizes, by that I mean the variety of couples, the day of week they get married, the size of their weddings and the location they choose for their ceremonies and receptions are usually not your typical wedding.

I’m sure many of you, just like me, got married in churches and had your receptions in a hall or restaurant.  Here on the Outer Banks couples get married all over the place, on the beach, in parks, in their rental homes, gazebos, bridges, historic locations, aquariums, etc…and the reception locations are just as unique.

I have photographed weddings large and small but the small ones are always my favorite.  The couples sometimes come alone or with a few friends and family and are always very intimate and special and lots of fun.

I have lots of weddings booked and I am looking forward to each and everyone of them.  This photo is from a wedding I did last year and these two children were so adorable, you would have thought that they were the Bride and Groom rushing to the alter!

I am doing something new this year with a friend who is a Wedding Officiant, Pat Walden, from Simply Weddings…we are joining together and offering an elopement package designed especially for these smaller weddings.  You will get your photographer, wedding officiant and a wedding cake (that serves up to 20) for one very reasonable price.  Please check my web site for the “Services” page for more details.

What’s not to love about new babies, especially the furry kind…

This little guy was probably about 2 weeks old…he was still very wobbly and unsure while walking around, he was adorable though and I could have stayed and watched him all day…but I never hang around long when there is a little one because the Mama and Dad always are very protective (of course they are) and they get nervous so I took a few shots and moved along hoping to see more horses.

Here is one last shot of him with his Mama and another Mare from the harem.

Drove back down onto the beach and saw this guy all by himself laying down right near the dune line…and he was sound asleep!!  I guess there is a lot to be said for laying on the beach on a sunny day…makes you relaxed and sleepy right?  I guess the same thing happens to the horses!!

He slept the whole time I was taking his picture and then woke up and did this…

Made me laugh so hard…he kept yawning and yawning…then he got up and walked away!  I felt bad, I knew I ruined his afternoon snooze…sorry buddy!

This morning I woke up, got my coffee and went and sat out on my deck and this guy was just sitting in my backyard, a Great Blue Heron!!

I have seen him before many times but he is usually in the canal looking for a fish meal…for some reason though this morning he was just walking around the yard…lucky me.  He was interesting to watch, his slow methodical steps, looking around at all the other birds that were flying…then he flew away!  It was a nice start to my day.

I decided to visit one of my favorite spots, a little park in Kitty Hawk, NC where I am always guaranteed to see some wildlife.  One of the big attractions for me is a huge osprey nest that unfortunately last year was vacant, but a friend told me that he had seen two Osprey there so I went to check it out.  Sure enough there was one on the nest, not sure where the other one was but I got this shot before she flew off.

My friend Dan has named this pair Fred & Ethel so look for future posts featuring them…I will be going back to check out when their babies are born and will post more photos then.  I am so happy that a pair has now claimed this nest, it is one of the biggest ones I have ever seen, high up in a pine tree overlooking a little lake, very nice real estate!!

As I walked further down the path I came across another Great Blue Heron sunning himself on the bank of a stream and not too far away from him were four turtles that had come out of the mud to soak up some sun on a log.  It looked like the Heron was watching over the turtles…being their protector.  Can you spot the turtles on the log?

On my way to work this morning and the sunrise was so beautiful that I had to stop and take this photo…I love the moodiness of this picture, the potential of a beautiful day ahead, the weather had been horrible for a few days and this was the first day of nice weather.  I’m so glad that I stopped and took the time to take this picture…so often I am in a rush, don’t have time to stop, like so many of us.  This sunrise was a good reminder to me that even if I didn’t have my camera with me, I need to make the time to stop and just appreciate the beauty.  I hope you like it…I call this one “Avalon Sunrise”…enjoy!