OBX, North Carolina. At last, I arrived at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Not as an outsider, but as a NC native.

The Outer Banks unfold like a living canvas, where shifting dunes and windswept beaches create a minimalist yet deeply textured landscape. For this photographer, the interplay of light and sand is mesmerizing—especially at the Oregon Inlet, where the contours of the tallest dunes on the East Coast catch the sun's angles like a sculpture in constant motion. The muted tones lend a haunting, almost cinematic quality to the landscape. The sun casts rich shadows on the backsides of the dunes that stretch across the rippling sand, emphasizing the transient beauty of this stunning coastal wilderness. Every frame captured here feels like a study in solitude and scale, with the vast sky arching above and the Atlantic murmuring just over the dune peaks.

I have been wanting to photograph the Oregon Inlet Station since moving to North Carolina. Its weather-worn exterior is a rugged focal point against the shifting seascape. From a photographic perspective, it is the perfect contrast of man-made resilience framed by nature’s unpredictability. To the south, the Bodie Island Lighthouse rises from the marshlands like a sentinel, its black-and-white bands echoing in the reflections of still waters. Together, the dunes, the inlet station, and the lighthouse offer a narrative of endurance and elegance.

Below are a some of my images using my faithful Nikon Z6ii with both 26mm and 40mm lenses and my latest favorite letterbox crop ratio of 65:24. Life is so good, especially with sand in your boots.