Outer Banks Beyond

Outer Banks Beyond We're your guide to a "beyond" look at the Outer Banks of North Carolina with a special focus on Corolla and the 4x4 area.

Wind died down this afternoon and resulted in another evening of captivating sunset reflection shots over the Currituck ...
06/16/2026

Wind died down this afternoon and resulted in another evening of captivating sunset reflection shots over the Currituck Sound. The clouds on the horizon were a little too dark for one of those brilliant color combinations as light seeps through the cloud banks. But, hey, I ain't complainin'

Awwww...so sad to hear. RIP Surfer 😧😪
06/15/2026

Awwww...so sad to hear. RIP Surfer 😧😪

One of the most unusual sunsets I've seen in a long while over the Currituck Sound. Thought that heavy cloud bank was th...
06/14/2026

One of the most unusual sunsets I've seen in a long while over the Currituck Sound. Thought that heavy cloud bank was the end of the sunset for the evening. But luckily, I learned a long time ago never to give up on an Outer Banks sunset.

I'm often asked if I sell any photos I've taken of the Corolla Wild Horses. My stock answer has always been, "In my semi...
06/08/2026

I'm often asked if I sell any photos I've taken of the Corolla Wild Horses. My stock answer has always been, "In my semi-retirement stage of life, I've apparently become allergic to any kind of paper work, so no I haven't."
However two close friends of mine and two of the smartest business persons I know have three stores on the northern Outer Banks that are among my favorite gift shops anywhere.
Two of the stores, Mystic Jewel and Mystic Gifts, are located in the Tim Buck II shopping center in Corolla. They have another store, Mystic Jewel that's located in Duck.
Like me, they are basically what I refer to as veteran "beach hippies" who fully appreciate the salt life style of the Outer Banks. They're real creative in that most of the jewelry they sell are beautiful pieces they design and create themselves.
As for me, I'm not near as business savvy and creative as they are because I'm just an old beach guy with a Jeep and a good camera. I just press a button on a little box and they do all the marketing, selling and paperwork.
I was a Corolla Wild Horse tour guide for over ten years which helped bring me out of my typical beach bum stage of being broke, so I do have an additional inherent love and respect for this part of North Carolina's coastal history.
That's something we share in common and we know how thrilled people are when they take a tour and see these magnificent creatures for the first time. So, we got together and formed a team to spread images of the Corolla Wild Horses as far and wide as we can for fellow horse and Outer Banks lovers.
We recently started selling these photos and in our initial discussion we all simultaneously decided to donate 10% of the proceeds to the all-important Corolla Wild Horse Fund, which oversees the safety and care of these famous wild horses.
So, if you're looking for something that you can appreciate every day and rekindle your memory of seeing the Corolla Wild Horses from your visits to the Outer Banks, visit one of these fine stores. We love helping people enhance their love of the Outer Banks and especially this amazing part of North Carolina history.

It's been awhile since there's been a sunset here over the Currituck Sound without a lot of steady winds. I love an Oute...
06/05/2026

It's been awhile since there's been a sunset here over the Currituck Sound without a lot of steady winds. I love an Outer Banks heavy breeze, but that usually means no suitable sunset reflection shot. This evening's sunset finally bucked that trend.

That week or so of rain and high winds finally calmed down and the Corolla Wild Horses enjoyed the bright sun today just...
05/29/2026

That week or so of rain and high winds finally calmed down and the Corolla Wild Horses enjoyed the bright sun today just as much as all the visitors to the 4x4 area of Corolla.
Great day for horse photography, with many horses on both the beach and on top of the dunes. If you were on the beach today during the outgoing tide, it was an especially fun time for anyone with a camera or phone.
As the thin layer of shoreline water receded, it was easy to capture reflection shots of the horses as they warmed themselves in the bright sunlight. And, of course, dune shots with wild horses peering high over their domain are always impressive.
To augment your enjoyment and appreciation of these famous wild horses, we always suggest you follow the Corolla Wild Horse Fund page and their website. A great non-profit organization of equine professionals and volunteers who work hard to preserve this mesmerizing part of North Carolina's history.

That 10-14 week "fledging" stage is currently in full gear for the famous American Bald Eagle family in Corolla. Some pe...
05/20/2026

That 10-14 week "fledging" stage is currently in full gear for the famous American Bald Eagle family in Corolla. Some people say its three young'uns and others say it's two this year, but either way it's thrilling to literally observe this natural process of growth in motion.
I stopped by there three times today to be able to photograph as much of this process as I could, with the best possible lighting. For those who don't know, the huge nest is 77 feet off the ground in a grove of pine trees just off Austin Street. (Worst kept secret in Corolla)
Reading up on Bald Eagles the past few weeks, it's an interesting process as to how they evolve so quickly from eaglet to flying out on their own.
In fact, so many of their local Corolla fans (me, included) have been amazed at how quickly they have grown just in the past two weeks. Similar to the way foals of the Corolla Wild Horse herd quickly grow.
For the first time today, I got some visible shots of two of the eaglets, instead of only their heads and beaks just barely rising above the top rim of the nest.
Even saw one spread its wings and hop from one side of the nest to the other! Didn't see that one on the last trip I made by there today, so maybe it has already achieved it's first flight.
Special thanks to my bicycling buddy John Roberts and Currituck Beach Lighthouse Site Manager Meghan Agresto for tipping me off to this morning's amazing spectacle.

I've always been one to imagine what animals are thinking. I'm also one to believe that most animals are wayyyy smarter ...
05/18/2026

I've always been one to imagine what animals are thinking. I'm also one to believe that most animals are wayyyy smarter than what most people think.
Every evening when I'm taking sunset shots in Corolla over the Currituck Sound, I see this same bird sitting at the same angle on this same parasailing boat belonging to North Beach Watersports.
I'm starting to wonder if this bird is thinking, "So, this is the magical thing that allows these humans to fly like us birds."
Yes, that same line of sunset reflections goes to those other "birds" in the second photo. Two US Navy MH-60 Seahawk helos heading northwards toward Little Creek probably bringing back elements of a SEAL Team after some training exercises maybe on Portsmouth Island south of Ocracoke.
To be fair, these helos could have been US Army MH-60 Black Hawks carrying Army Special Ops troops from a similar training mission. That far away and with the helos being silhouettes, it would be difficult for me to tell for sure.
Just a guess, but like my opinion of what the bird on the parasail boat was thinking, I'm gonna stick with it.
Ahhh...Outer Banks sunsets. You can't help but get metaphysical and enjoy the amazing beauty of the combined concepts of the Outer Banks, wildlife, and human ingenuity.

This evening's sunset over the Currituck Sound is yet another reason for the local adage of "Never give up on an Outer B...
05/15/2026

This evening's sunset over the Currituck Sound is yet another reason for the local adage of "Never give up on an Outer Banks sunset." Some rain, bright sunshine, overcast and stormy clouds switching around all day but at the last minute, another example of Mother Nature's artistic brilliance.

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