In Part Three of this series, we end up on two separate beaches on the Outer Banks.

We always get to our locations really early. Arnie hates early mornings, yet he is the one who sets the meeting times. Our first-time participants invariably wonder why … until they see what happens and how quickly it happens with the light.

With the moon in its new phase, we did some pre-dawn photography, using the stars as a background. It’s fun to do, and people love the results.

This particular morning, it was quite windy, and the clouds came racing toward us, forming wonderful patterns with our long exposures.

And yes, we opted to do a little light painting.

As the sun rose, it cast long shadows on the patterns in the sand, whether ridges or, as in this case, bits and pieces of who-knows-what that the sand had sculptured into interesting shapes.

The challenge was to find a pleasing pattern and avoid all the other little triangles that tried to intrude. It took a bit of twisting and turning to get what I wanted while not losing the shapes of the shadows that had attracted me in the first place.

Too often on the coast, we are drawn to the dramatic sunrises and sunsets. In reality, they can too often become hackneyed.

Sure, they are gorgeous to observe, and we get snowed by the brilliant and dramatic display of color, but really, do they necessarily make a good photograph?

Yeah, yeah, Great Aunt Minnie will love them, but we’re not Great Aunt Minnie.

For our last morning, we headed off to one of our favorite piers. The ocean is always changing, the tides at a different level, and the shape of the beach ever new to us.

Sometimes, there is a shallow approach to the water; at other times, one walks down a steep embankment.

This time, there had been raging storms that had whipped the sea up into a frenzy, at least for awhile. People set up their tripods only to flee from the next wave crashing in.

As the sun was nearing the horizon, the sky took on a gentle hue and contrasted wonderfully with the strange lighting on the water, courtesy of the putrid lights on the pier. For me it worked, and since I am always barefoot at the beach, I didn’t have to worry about getting my shoes wet.

Pretty soon, others either removed their shoes or just gave in and let their shoes and pant legs get wet. After all, they wanted their own shots!

Finally, the sun rose, and yes, it was a pretty sunrise. What interested me, however — and what I was showing our participants — was the patterns of the receding waves on the sand.

Streaks were created that ran across the camera’s frame. The way the low light caught and accented those patterns was beautiful and ever changing. The violets and oranges and yellows captivated me.

That’s one of the things to remember when photographing. There are always patterns.

They may be patterns of shape, color, light, motion, whatever, and they usually repeat themselves.

The challenge, of course, is to put oneself in the right position to capture the next time a certain pattern repeats itself.

Few of us can pass up an interesting piece of driftwood, especially as it is unlikely to be there the next time we visit.

This particularly holds true when the driftwood is at the water’s edge. This one, for example, was gone the next morning when we returned for breakfast with friends.

Again, ignoring the sunrise. I used its light to give an ethereal effect to the waves and make the skim of receding water on the sand glow. The fact that the driftwood had an arty shape didn’t hurt.

With each successive wave, the bubbles and subtle cross-hatching in the water changed, but the ones in this first shot gave me the image that pleased me the most.

Sometimes — often with me — that is the case. My first shot is the one I prefer. Perhaps it is instinct or a gut feeling, but I see something, then quickly compose my photograph. That first look may be the strongest.

That is not to say that one should not work a scene. Often, one finds other things in studying a scene. And often, the working of the scene produces a far stronger image that the initial one.

So, the next time you go out photographing, look for patterns, don’t be afraid to kick off your shoes, and don’t settle for the obvious.

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