After what felt like the summer that would never end, September slowly crept up on us and Hurricane Larry was sitting 800 miles off of our coast, and sending us plenty of swell. A bit too much swell on paper honestly. I kept my hopes low having seen what long period swells usually do for our sandbars. I didn’t think it would ever really come together for us. I was wrong though, and happily so. After a bit of searching the first day, I found a sandbar where the swell was being broken up by the outer shoals. A few friends and I loaded up my truck, drove it out to the peak and spent the afternoon trading off waves with just us out.

On day two of the swell, we surfed a mile or so north. The lineup was pretty crowded, but the playing field was huge and some of the largest, well groomed a-frames I have ever seen were coming in that day. I had to work that afternoon at three O’clock so, sunburnt and surfed out I headed to work. No worries, because the wind was forecasted to turn onshore around mid-day.

The wind never came up so I was trying to get cut as soon as I got to the bar, but my boss made me stay on. The surf ended up pumping till dark and the sky turned pink for the last hour of light. I couldn't help but to think about all the beautiful shots I was missing. To top it off we had the slowest night we had had in months and I ended up getting cut just after sunset. I let my boss know I was pretty unhappy. They must have been too, since I was let go before the next swell. Being let go from my day (I should say night) job as a bartender was pretty scary at first, but I’ve come to see it as a blessing in disguise. Having never been let go from a job before, I took it pretty hard for a few days. Well at least until the next swell showed up. I realized I could now focus 100% on photography and being at the right place at the right time, Which is a full time job in itself on our fickle stretch of ever changing sand.

There were a few more fun days in September but nothing to write home about. October on the other hand, started off with a bang. On October 2nd, local surfer and respected member of the community, Matt Price, put on the second annual Whichcraft Surf Gathering.

A local contest and fundraiser that donates 100% of the earnings to The Outer Banks Relief Foundation. This contest is unlike any other I’ve seen. The main focus is to have fun while celebrating the local alternative surf craft and the shapers that make them here on the Outer Banks. In the contest, each surfer spins a wheel before their heat. Whichever shaper's name the arrow lands on is who’s board you will ride for the heat.

I made my competitive surfing debut that day and had the time of my life. With a bit of dumb luck, I ended up catching one of the longer waves of the day in my first heat and knocking out two surfers who are genuinely better than me. With a little bit more luck, I fought my way through a couple more heats and to the semi-finals. I lost that heat to a good friend Eric, who ended up taking the win that day. It was one of the best days I can remember spending in Kitty Hawk. The kind of day that makes you grateful to call this place home, and to have the amazing surf community that we do. It didn’t hurt that the water was warm and the waves were pretty damn fun too.

Will Holmes and Ryan Jones kept the party going in October with the first annual Down the Road Surfing Festival. A two day event featuring a surf contest, live music and an all day art show that featured heaps of local talent.

From painters to potters, to glass blowers and photographers, there was no shortage of beautiful art filling up the yards of the two beachfront Kitty Hawk homes where the event took place. The surfing was fun, but the “Live Nude Surfers,” (the punk band who played a show for us that night at Swellsa Brewing) really stole the show. Can’t confirm it, but I heard Swellsa had a record setting night. It wouldn't surprise me, the place was packed and filled with smiles. Awards were given out for “Best Tube,” “Best Shared Wave,” and so on. I actually got the chance to donate a prize for, “Best Longboard Turn”. Seeing the kid from California’s face light up when he won my print made my night. I know I can speak for us all when I say we are already looking forward to next year.

There were plenty more fun days in between the Hurricanes and Nor’Easters in October I could mention, even a day of pumping surf that I missed while visiting family in the Smoky Mountains...but I'll skip all that so we can talk more about the three day swell bender that was Halloween Weekend. It started off on Friday afternoon with maxxed out sea’s from a huge cold front that had moved off the coast the day before. By Friday afternoon, the large storm out to sea was pulling off the coast creating strong offshore SW winds. The winds slowly began to tame the wild seas as the sun sank in the sky. I had almost written the day off before getting a call from a friend saying I needed to get to the beach. Flying down the beach road, taking peaks at the ocean whenever I got the chance, I could tell it had cleaned up. When I got to my destination, just a little bit south of town, I was greeted by a beautiful sight. Surfers were in the parking lot frantically throwing on wetsuits. Photographers and videographers from up and down the East Coast were lined up on the beach, tripods set up ready to capture the action. The surf wasn’t perfect, but it was the kind of night that if you got one of the crazy ones you weren't going to forget it. It was too beautiful for me to surf that night, I couldn’t put the camera down and in all honesty, I would have probably been a little out of my league out there.

The next morning I woke up at five and made my way south before the first signs of morning had even come. When it was bright enough to see, I realized that the strong offshores had died overnight and there was absolutely no wind. The ocean still needed a lot of time to work itself out on Hatteras Island so I headed back to town to surf. Town was much cleaner and had been fun since sunrise. It doesn’t happen too often but there are a handful of days a year where the waves are much better in town than on the island for one reason or another. Wind, swell direction, and period of the swell are all key factors to being in the right place at the right time on the Outer Banks. I’ve come a long way since I first started chasing swells up and down Highway 12 but I still feel like I’m in the wrong place more than I would like to admit. For the whole swell I ended up staying close to home and surfing a wave that a few friends and I call Backyards. It was well over head and groomed to perfection. A lineup filled with a handful of friends and a beautiful sunset made it a day that’s hard to forget.

I woke up the next morning, Sunday October 31st and dragged myself out of bed. Barely able to walk from all the hours in the water the day before, I drove a few miles down the road and checked a local sandbar. A set of three beautiful a-frames broke back to back to back in beautiful backlit green water. That was the only set I watched that morning before sprinting back to my car to throw on my suit, which was still wet from the night before. I called a good friend, Josh Peterson, and exclaimed “I’m going to surf this spot, there's only one guy out, come join me!” Josh talked me into waiting for him to paddle out because he had a board for me to try. I'm glad he did because it gave me time to go shoot a few lineup shots that I really cherish now.

We surfed for 3 hours that morning. All of us blown away at how good it was on day three of the swell. A quick lunch at one of my favorite local spots, Ten O'Six, and we went back to backyards to surf till dark. Or, until our girlfriends told us it was time to put on our Halloween costumes for the party. I didn't put up much of a fight when Raven wanted to leave the beach. I was so surfed out I couldn't have if I tried.

On to November. After a few days of resting, which is required after all the Halloween parties thrown by my good friend Johnny. Another cold front had started to form. I looked at the forecast for a few days out and this one got me a bit more excited with the combination of swell that was on the charts. Combine that with some WNW winds and I knew it would be a good time. I woke up an hour before the sun came up, which was much harder than it was the week before due to the recent time change. I started my drive south but was hesitant to go over the bridge, not wanting to make the same mistakes I had made previously this fall. I stopped in South Nags head just as it was becoming light enough to see. The swell seemed to have dropped off a bit more than was predicted, but it was clean as could be. About chest to head high with left reeling tubes and nobody around.

I called a good friend from down south to get the report. He was standing on the beach in Rodanthe and didn't like what he saw, “it has some morning sickness but maybe in a few hours.” This was all I needed to hear to convince myself to follow the old adage and “never leave waves for waves.” I called my buddys, Timmy and Josh, and we were out in the lineup in no time. There were a few folks out by the time we made it to the water but there were plenty of waves to go around.

I got a decent one but I wasn’t satisfied due to my high expectations for the swell. We all agreed it was time to get out and try to find something with a little more juice. When I got back to the truck, I had a missed call from a photographer buddy. He had texted me a picture of the back of his camera. It was a draining left slab and there was only one wave it could have been. I scrambled out of my wetsuit and headed straight towards the Lighthouse. I’ve had a love affair with the wave for years now, but I would say it's more of an obsession than an affair when I think about it. Most of the time I spend there is just getting shut down, thrown over the falls and beaten into the sand, but when the stars align and I can actually place myself in one of these waves, every minute spent paddling the current becomes worth it. You forget about the freezing cold wind that hits you while changing in and out of your wetsuit, all that salt water you drove through to get here doesn’t seem that bad anymore. It's all part of the deal, and it's almost like the worse it treats me the more time I dedicate to learning to dance with this wave.

When I got there it was the normal scene, locals and visitors alike all suiting up and talking surf in the car park. The swell was proper and I could see waves going below sea level from my truck. I ran down the beach to put myself in position to shoot into these freight trains. After watching the usual suspects get a few, and Nathan Lowdermilk get a double, maybe triple barrel, I decided it was time that I got out there. The wind was blowing southwest, which is not ideal for the wave. It was causing a little ripple that was breaking up the lines of swell. The Lighthouse is the kind of wave that doesn't care what the winds are doing though, its lip is so thick, it’s going to barrel anyway. I ran into Josh and Timmy in the parking lot and we all suited up. I surfed for at least 2 hours giving it my all, but there was just too much water moving around out there. The only boys getting the good ones are the guys who grew up within a 5 miles radius. You guys wouldn't believe how well this crew has the wave dailed.

After a water break at the truck, I tried to convince Josh and Timmy to give it another try with me. They both quickly convinced me that I would never catch a wave out there and it was a waste of time. They proposed we go find somewhere else to surf, just the three of us. Timmy proclaimed, “there's got to be another wave somewhere that's working, maybe another jetty or something.” I told them there was and nobody even knows about it! “We should go there now!” He rolled his eyes when he realized I was just being an asshole. While we were contemplating what to do, the wind finally started to lighten up and go northwest. That wind switch opened up a lot more options on where to surf so we began the search. It didn't last long though, the first wave we checked was a sight for sore eyes. The ocean had become almost still between sets, the wind was so light. When the waves did come in, they broke one after another, doubling up on themselves and forming a beautiful peak with hollow waves running off either side.

There were two surfers out and we sat there dumbfounded as to why they weren’t catching these waves coming in. Maybe it was just a mirage and the waves just looked good from the beach, we had to find out for ourselves. We felt pretty bad going to surf their peak, but by the time we were paddling out, one of the surfers had moved to a wave further down the beach. When I made it to the peak, the lone surfer happily welcomed us out and explained to me it was his first day riding a shortboard so he was having a tough time getting the hang of it. He was a really nice guy and we were just happy he was willing to share his wave. The swell still had plenty of power. I actually had a lip land on my head and rip my board from my hands during the paddle out.

The low hanging sun was turning the ocean green and it was such a beautiful sight from the water. After trading off waves and smiles with Josh and Timmy for about 30 minutes, a set doubled up and slipped under the boys. I started paddling south and angled to beach, as I could see this thing was going to peak about 15 yards to the left of me. Josh yelled at me to go and I put my head down and went for it. It ended up being one of the better barrels of my life and I was filled with joy that I had made it. When kicking out the back of the wave my hand immediately flew to my head, mind blown at what had just happened. I stood there on my board, slowly sinking in the water, trying to take the moment all in and remember what had just taken place. I heard Josh scream something out the back along the lines of “sick one” or “f*ck yeah!” I honestly can’t remember, but it brought me back to reality and I suddenly felt embarrassed for grabbing my head (what could be called a “claim” in the surfing world). As I paddled back out, I tried to hide my excitement, but I had to let a few screams out underwater as I paddled back to the line up. I surfed for another thirty minutes but never caught another wave like that. The sun was going to be setting soon and it was time to go shoot again. I gave Josh my leash as he’d been surfing without one, and I proceeded to go over the falls the very next wave, losing my board and forcing me to go in...mission failed successfully.I shot until it was too dark for even speed blurs and went back to my truck, surfed out to the point of exhaustion. I fell asleep as I waited for the boys to get out of the water. I woke up to their laughter and quickly took a few more photos to remember the night.

I had one day to recover after the all day surf bender and then it was off to Ocracoke to see two of our best friends tie the knot! Raven and I left town about 9:30 and headed south for the Ferry. We only made it about thirty miles before my buddy, Billy, was calling me to surf while passing through...so that's exactly what we did. There was a strong south swell in the water. The current was ripping and the surf was challenging. I got my ass kicked for two hours while Billy pulled in and out of the occasional backless sand bottom drainer. We loaded the car back up and started the journey south again, hitting Waves Deli for burritos on the way, of course. We missed the three o’clock by a long shot and missed the four o’clock by one car. We were feeling pretty bummed out till we realized at least eight of our friends were stuck in the ferry line with us.

The five o'clock finally came and we let out a sigh of relief when we pulled on. Our friends who were much further back in the line happend to make it on too. We got to enjoy a breathtaking sunset together and it was a wonderful start to an amazing weekend.

Our good friend Zack had pulled the trigger on a sick house that could sleep us all comfortably and the party started as soon as we walked in the door. The next three days were spent celebrating the love of two of our closest friends who have been together since they were highschool sweethearts. With three days of beautiful weather, it really couldn't have been better. We even snuck in a surf on the wedding day.

The groom got barreled and all. After the last few months, especially this last weekend, my heart is so full. I’ve had the time to slow down after a long stressful summer and take a look at my life to realize I have so much to be grateful for. From supportive friends and family, to my loving partner Raven, I’m grateful to experience the highs and lows of life with you all by my side. Starting a Photography Business these last few months has been a rollercoaster ride of small victories and plenty of self doubt. One day I think I have it all figured out, the next I'm panicking. At the end of the day I just want to work hard, be happy and enjoy the ride.

Fall 2021 Outer Banks Recap