I love the beach in the off season.  The weather is cool and clear, there is little traffic, and often you have the beach entirely to yourself.  While most people may be looking for a place to park the beach chair and just relax by the waves, I am usually searching for good shells or sea glass to photograph.  I can also be found on the beach just before sunrise and again on the bayside at sunset.  It makes for long days, but getting outside for those times can be so rewarding.

My friends from Pennsylvania invited me to stay in one of those fabulous ocean side beach homes in North Bethany Beach, just south of the Indian River Inlet.  It is a private, gated community, and I think we are one of only about five occupied homes in a group of 30.  We have access to the beach just steps from our house, and walking on the beach is something we've done twice a day.  

This morning, Kris and I left at 4:30 a.m. to drive to Prime Hook National Wildlife Management Area north of Lewes to catch the sunrise.  On the way, we stopped to photograph the beautiful Indian River bridge, which was lit with blue lights.  This morning was crystal clear, and the best sunrises are when there are clouds in the sky to catch the color, so after checking out the horizon at Broadkill Beach, we drove back to the bays to see if the morning light would reflect off the water, hopefully illuminating some water birds.  We were not disappointed.

Egrets at Play There were about 200 white egrets playing in the shallow water, jumping around and looking almost as if they were at a dance.  The morning light reflected orange off their beautiful white feathers.  We also found a goose family with six goslings, red winged blackbirds, willets, and a great blue heron.

Lensbaby 1 Lensbaby 2 In the afternoon, I set up a seashell still life out on the deck with some of our beach finds, to practice using a special lens called a Lens Baby.  The lens causes soft blur around a "sweet spot" of focus, but I only got a few shots before a rainstorm moved through.  

I don't know if I will ever be able to vacation again without turning it into a photographic adventure, but I've been lucky to find friends who tolerate my obsessive photography habit.  And as long as I am able, I will continue to do what makes me happy, which is to live "life through my lens."

Click on any photo to enlarge.