island reflections

Some places simply serve as backdrops. Others are dynamic characters in the story of our lives, shaping us with their presence, holding up a mirror so we can better see ourselves.

©Millie Holloman Photography

On Bald Head Island, time and place assume a different meaning. A lighthouse stands tall for 200 years. The tide rises and the tide falls, while the summer days stretch endlessly. Travel slows to that of a cart, bike or your own two feet, and you take note of the surroundings. There’s no need to hurry... you’re already where you’re supposed to be.

©Patrick McGowan

As the years pass, we assign more meaning to the comings and goings here. The anticipated ferry to the island and the bittersweet ferry off. The long-awaited reunion with family and friends, gathering in this place once again. The sparking of new connections and the rekindling of old bonds made on the trips before.

©Jack Upton

As any islander will tell you, Bald Head grows ever more lovely when you notice her rhythms... in due course, every creek bend, forest path and crashing wave revealing something more of ourselves. This island reflecting, always, what has changed in each of us and what remains immutable.

Rapture, ©Marjorie Pierson, from her Bald Head Island series