Posted by Mark
Golden Sunlight Jockey’s Ridge State Park OBX
Dare County, Coastal North Carolina
Accessed via Highway 158 (Croatan Highway)
Date taken: September 4, 2016
I got to thinking about what makes a successful trip while I was visiting the Outer Banks over Labor Day weekend. The business side of me wanted to come up with some kind of cost to benefit ratio: a trip is successful if the shots I produce cover overhead costs plus profit etc. But that really doesn’t get to the heart of it. In fact, that sort of thinking typically grates against my very being. It makes me yawn. Photography, for me at least, is about experiences, specifically outdoor experiences. I spend a lot of time outside getting ready and hoping for some random occurrence of variables to manifest. When they do, I find myself totally in the moment. It’s a feeling of flow; light. The product or final shot in this context is meaningless really. Heck, it’s even counterproductive. The success has already occured. I’ve often joked to those who shoot with me that once the image hits the card I’m already done and ready to move on to the next. I don’t need to see the file on a computer, accumulate a pile of likes on social media, or make a set number of dollars (all of those things would be great but not necessary). For a moment or so I’m truly alive. It’s completely addictive. I’m addicted. It’s magic in a real way. That’s why I do it. A successful trip for me is measured in moments.
Tags:
North Carolina, Carolina, NC, Coast, Coastal, Jockey’s Ridge State Park, State Park, North Carolina State Park, Nags Head, Hermine, Storm, Clouds, Golden, Evening, Sand, Active Sand Dune System, Ripples, Texture, Wind, Grass, Dare County, Outer Banks, OBX, Last Light, Outdoors, Outside, Landscape, Outdoor Photography
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