Cape Henlopen is truly a unique place!
If you love the beach and the ocean and are looking for a beautiful location, Cape Henlopen is the place for you!
The park features some of the nicest beaches in the Mid-Atlantic area, and it is rich in historical relevance. The fort and its towers were used in WWII to defend the US against German submarines. Today, a climb up the tower allows the visitor to overlook the ocean and the bay side and its unique flora and fauna.
If you don't mind walking for a bit, Gordon Pond, a freshwater pond admits brackish water allows for stunning photographs as well.
Cape Henlopen A Beautiful Pier and Beach
If you travel to Herring Beach, you can stand on top of one of the dunes and enjoy a beautiful vista over the ocean. On a clear day, you will be able to see Cape May on the New Jersey side. I do believe that the dunes at Cape Henlopen are some of the highest in our area. Don't miss out on the opportunity to see far and wide over the ocean.
As a photographer, I love Cape Henlopen, for engagement sessions. I like to be able to get as many photographs within an hour, as I can. In my experience, anything beyond that becomes boring and tiresome for my clients.
We usually start at the pier and then make our way down to the beach. Always looking for structural opportunities as a background, the fencing along the way makes for a quick stop and some great pictures.
Once we are at the beach, the colorful stacked kayaks are also fun for the couple to pose in front of.
Yet, one of my favorite locations is under the pier. The linear graduation and waves make for exciting photos that are different from the usual engagement photos.
Timing Is Everything When Dealing With the Tide
If the timing is good and the tide is out while we are on the beach, little islands are created by the outgoing tide. I love posing my couple on one of those gems. From a low point of view, I can make appear like they are all alone in the middle of the ocean. It doesn't always work because timing is everything.
When I mentioned Cape Henlopen for the engagement session to Kelsey and showed her pictures of the previous session she was all in.
"This is exactly what I was looking for," she told me when we first talked.
"We are getting married at a barn and the contrast between photographs by the ocean and photographs at the barn will be great for my memory book."
We Can't Change the Weather, But we Can Change Our Attitude
When the day of the engagement session at Cape Henlopen arrived, it started not the way I hoped for. The weather report was rather gloomy but called for a break in the middle of the afternoon.
I emailed Kelsey and told her that it was up to them if they wanted to reschedule. I was willing to take the chance and meet them but understood if the rather wait for better weather.
"Let's give it a shot," Kelsey wrote me back, " I arranged a babysitter for our son for today and I want to make the best of it if we can."
While driving to Lewes I kept a close eye on the storm clouds and hoped that we could sneak in an hour of photographing.
The Mood is in the Eyes of the Beholder
We started the session at the pier at Cape Henlopen. Although it rained on and off I was still hopeful that we could get enough time to make it happen.
As we walked onto the pier, I told Kelsey that the pictures would be moodier than my usual engagement photos from the same location. Looking at the sky, I wasn't very confident that we would have any sunshine or very bright skies. "That's ok," Kelsey told me, "I like it moody."
With that kind of attitude, I knew we would have lots of fun together. We were off to a good start!
We started at the pier taking photos while getting to know each other. Kelsey told me that she loved having her photos taken and how excited she was to work with me today.
As I was saying, "we have enough photos from here, let's walk toward the beach," the skies started opening up and it poured down on us.
Luckily, at that point, we were not that far away from the bathhouse and were able to shelter while it rained. All three of us were checking the weather report and after contemplating what to do; we decided to wait it out.
With a break in the weather, we dashed out and took some photos along the fence line and then walked towards the beach.
We Are Getting it Done
We needed 30 minutes of no rain and we would be done!
But, the skies were darkening as we approached the beach and I wasn't that confident we would be able to accomplish what we set out to do.
Since Kelsey loved posing and is so good at it we moved quickly along the beach and under the pier.
It took us no time to get the rest of the photo in the book, and we made it back to the parking lot in time before it poured again.
Cape Henlopen Never Disappoints at Any Time of Year
Cape Henlopen and its surroundings are never disappointing. It doesn't matter what the weather conditions are, what matters most is that we bring the right attitude and have fun.
If you love the beach and the ocean, give Cape Henlopen a try, I promise you won't be disappointed.