Tag: North Carolina

B&B Trip Report: Hatteras Light

On August 21, 2017

In National Parks & Places, Road Trip, Travel

We woke up early our first day at Frisco and headed to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse to get there before the crowds and the heat. We arrived and got our ticket to climb the 256 steps to the top. My view fromthe top is pictured below.

Later that evening, we came back for a night sky ranger talk on the beach. We used our experience shooting the night sky the night before and put it to use with the famous lighthouse as the foreground.

The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse has an interesting history. The original Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was built in 1803 but was too short to warn passing ships of the nearby Diamond Shoals. In the 1850s, the lighthouse was added onto, making it 150 feet tall. But, by the 1860s, the lighthouse was in dire need of repairs so the current lighthouse was constructed and was finally lit in 1870. In 1935, the lighthouse was decommissioned due to beach erosion and replaced with a skeletal steel tower. The lighthouse was then transferred to the National Park Service and in 1999 the lighthouse was moved inland to its current location to protect it from ongoing beach erosion (NPS).

Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. For information about our new Guided Photography Tours, visit GuidedPhoto.com.

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Wordless Wednesday: View from the Top

By Ashleigh

On August 16, 2017

In Travel, Wordless Wednesday

B&B Trip Report: Frisco Campground

By Ashleigh

On August 14, 2017

In Camping, National Parks & Places, Road Trip, Travel

After visiting the Wright Brothers Memorial, we made our way to Frisco Campground, our home for the next two nights. This was our favorite campground of the trip, full of dunes and secluded spots. Since it was the middle of the week, there weren’t a lot of other campers, so we chose a spot at the top of a dune with a view.

Deer in the dunes at Frisco Campground

The Cape Hatteras National Seashore has applied to be a international dark sky park which means that it has a lack of ambient light nearby and is great for stargazing, and in our case, astro-photography. With our D3100s, we’ve never attempted astro photography, but we rented a D7200 for this trip and we had to take advantage of this combination! It was a fun learning experience! The above Milky Way shot was taken at our campsite at Frisco.

To learn more about Cape Hatteras National Seashore, visit the National Park Service. Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. For information about our new Guided Photography Tours, visit GuidedPhoto.com.

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B&B Trip Report: Wright Brothers Monument

By Ashleigh

On August 7, 2017

In National Parks & Places, Road Trip, Travel

After exploring the Norfolk Botanical Gardens, we got back in the car and continued South to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Our first stop in the islands was the Wright Brother’s National Memorial. The monument is in Kill Devil Hills at the site of the first powered flight. The brothers chose this location because of the area’s steady winds as well as the isolation. Shockingly, in the early 1900s,
this area was not the tourist hub it is today. The granite monument was built at the top of Kill Devil Hill, where the brothers spent three years performing gliding experiments before moving on to powered tests at the base of the hill.

To learn more about the Wright Brothers and to plan a trip to the monument, visit the National Park Service. Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. For information about our new Guided Photography Tours, visit GuidedPhoto.com.

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Beaches and Battlefields Trip Report

By Ashleigh

On July 6, 2017

In Camping, Road Trip, Travel

We are back from our Outer Banks road trip and I am excited to begin recapping my trip with you! This was another camping road trip visiting 6 different campgrounds in 4 states in 10 days.

Night 1: Laurel Hill State Park in Somerset, Pennsylvania
- Explored Fredricksburg Battlefield
Night 2 & 3: Chickahominy Riverfront Park near Williamsburg, Virginia
- Visited Yorktown and Jamestowne
Night 4 & 5: Frisco Campground in Buxton, North Carolina
- Explored Hatteras Lighthouse and Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge
Night 6 & 7: Ocracoke Campground in Ocracoke, North Carolina
- Explored Ocracoke beach and the Village of Ocracoke
Night 8: Oregon Inlet in Nags Head, North Carolina
- Visited Bodie Island Lighthouse, Wright Brothers National Memorial, and Roanoke Island
Night 9: Owen Creek Campground in Thurmont, Maryland
- Explored Harpers Ferry National Historic Park, Anteitam National Battlefield, and Cuyahoga Valley National Park

In some ways, this trip was the exact opposite of our trip last year. Where last year we headed north, this year we went south. Where it was cold last year, this year I felt like I was on the surface of the sun. Tent camping on the beach is rough because there is no shade and no escape from the relentless southern heat. I love the Outer Banks but next time, I’m staying in the air conditioning.

This photo was taken at the beach at Frisco Campground at sunset. Sunsets on the beach can be tricky because they are often lacking a foreground subject. Being that this is an ORV beach, I found my foreground subject by looking down.

Thanks for stopping by! Come back next Monday to read more about our trip. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page.

Vacation Planning

By Ashleigh

On June 12, 2017

In Travel, Travel Tips

I’ve probably mentioned this before, but I LOVE planning trips. Its possible that I enjoy the planning as much as I enjoy the trip itself. As we are getting closer to our summer road trip, I am really buckling down on the planning. Furkot has been very helpful in planning this trip and where to stop along the way.

Here’s our plan: 2 nights in Williamburg, Virginia; 2 nights in Frisco, North Carolina; 2 Night in Ocracoke, North Carolina; 1 night in Nags Head North Carolina; and 1 night in Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia.

One thing that is tough about planning this kind of trip is that there are not a lot of resources out there for camping road trips. A lot of the recipes I’ve found online are campfire recipes, which are fun, but when you’re not camping to relax around the campsite all day, you don’t have time for that kind of cooking. I’m having a hard time finding quick and simple recipes that we won’t get sick of on a 10 day trip.

The photo is from my last visit to the Outer Banks, back in 2009. That was before my DSRL days. This photo was taken with my old Samsung point and shoot. I did pull it into Lightroom to do some basic edits. I think it turned out OK for a mid-day shot with a low level camera.

Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page.

Long Walks on the Beach

By Ashleigh

On March 28, 2016

In Hiking, Travel

Recently in my Instagram Travel Challenge, I was given the prompt “Your first…”. Yes, it was a very vague prompt and I wracked my brain to think of a first ever travel memory that I have documented in pictures. I am very blessed in that I got started traveling before I was the one taking pictures so I don’t have a lot of pretty pictures of my firsts.

One of my first photo adventures was also my first backpacking trip, hiking North Carolina’s Mountains to Sea Trail. We hiked the Sea part of the trail, walking from Nags Head to Ocracoke, over 60 miles in 6 days. It was a lot of work, but a good part of the trail is undeveloped seashore with absolutely breathtaking views. I want to go back some day, but this time, bring a car.

About the Photo:
This trip was before I had my DSLR, so all of the photos were taken with a compact Samsung point & shoot. To be honest, that is kind of a blessing, because now I would want to add 20 lbs of camera gear to all the other stuff you have to carry when you go backpacking and my bag was heavy enough as it was! So, this isn’t the highest quality photo, but I love the trail of boot prints in the sand! I did basic edits to this shot using Google’s free editing software, Picassa.

Date Taken:
May 2009

Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! To plan your trip to the Outer Banks, visit OuterBanks.org. For more information about the Mountains to Sea Trail, check out ncmst.org.

Duke Chapel

By Ashleigh

On January 25, 2016

In Travel

Durham, North Carolina is home to Duke University. The one thing that sticks in my mind about Duke is how stunningly beautiful the campus is. From the gorgeous architecture in Duke Chapel to the natural beauty of the Sara P. Duke Gardens, Duke’s campus stands out in its beauty. When I visited the chapel, the choir was practicing which really adds a haunting element to the architectural beauty.

About the Photo:
This photo has been one of my favorites for a while. I love how the light comes down by the steeple; it adds an angelic nature to the shot. This photo was taken with my first digital point & shoot camera and edited with Google’s free photo editing software, Picassa. I’m not saying that my photography hasn’t improved with a DSLR, the ability to shoot in RAW, and Adobe editing software, but I strongly believe you can take a quality image without all of those things, especially when you have a beautiful subject.

Camera Gear:
Kodak EasyShare CX7300 point & shoot

Date Taken:
March 2008

Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! Check out my new Gear page to see inside my camera bag!