Fall 2024
So Close Yet So Far
8 miles off the coast of Mississippi, Horn Island is a quiet and wild haven — if you can get there.
Photographer Rory Doyle does not mince words when describing Horn Island. “In my opinion,” he said, “it’s the most beautiful place in Mississippi.”
Part of Gulf Islands National Seashore, a 160-mile-long string of islands, historic forts and coastal areas stretching from Mississippi to Florida, Horn Island sits around 8 miles off the coast. Because it’s difficult to reach — visitors must be ambitious kayakers or have access to a private boat — the small barrier island is quiet, unhurried, unspoiled. It’s a mesmerizing slurry of turquoise waters and ever-changing light, ospreys and dolphins, marshlands and sand dunes, palmettos and skeleton trees, slash pines and spiny yucca.
“The beauty of Horn Island is that, like, every 200 yards is a totally different ecosystem,” Doyle said.
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See more ›A longtime resident of the Mississippi Delta, Doyle first visited the remote island to shoot a magazine story a couple of years ago. This trip in April was organized by someone he had met on a different assignment, who has been gathering like-minded friends to camp on Horn Island for the better part of a decade. The group this time included two writer-journalists, two photographers and two painters. That is, Doyle said, they all shared an interest in documenting the beauty of their destination. “That was a common thread there — really paying attention to what a special place the island is,” he said.
The journey there didn’t go exactly as planned. Matthew Mayfield, a friend and the co-owner of Eagle Point Oyster Company, had agreed to drop them off, but the ocean swells were too big to battle — even in his 26-foot boat. The party ended up spending the first night on Deer Island. Included in the Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area (and owned almost entirely by the state), Deer Island is also stunning, but it’s so close to Biloxi that campers can see the lights of the casinos that dot the shoreline and hear the hum of traffic. Finally, the next morning, Mayfield took Doyle and his cohort the rest of the way to Horn Island.
ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER
The friends set up camp on the Mississippi Sound side of the island. They swam and fished and hiked. The painters painted; Doyle wandered off with his camera, hiking across sand dunes, through stands of pines and past ghost forests of dead and dying trees. After dinner around a bonfire, Doyle went back out searching for sunset shots, which netted him some quintessential images of melting skies and frothy waters — including the one that graces the cover of this issue.
“You have to pinch yourself. You know, nobody can reach this place. You’re out here, pretty much having the island to yourself,” he said. “It’s just a great way to disconnect from technology and all the distractions of modern life, and then feel a sense of connection with the natural world and Mother Nature.”
—Rona Marech
The group spent the first night on Deer Island after turbulent waters kept them from reaching their destination. Because Deer Island is not part of the park, the rules for aerial photography there are different than on Horn Island, where drones are prohibited.
©RORY DOYLE
Aerial view of Deer Island.
©RORY DOYLE
Beach grasses help stabilize the dune ecosystem.
©RORY DOYLE
A visitor fishing. It’s a rare sight because Horn Island is so hard to reach, Doyle said.
©RORY DOYLE
On a previous assignment on the island, Doyle spotted an alligator, which appeared to be sunbathing or sleeping. “I got pretty close, and by the time it noticed me, it just took off sprinting right into the water,” he said.
©RORY DOYLE
Plein air painting.
©RORY DOYLE
Snakes, such as this black racer, are an important part of the island food chain, serving as both predator and prey.
©RORY DOYLE
The friends were all responsible for their own food, but they feasted together on oysters they found in the Gulf, eating them raw with lemon, hot sauce and some boxed white wine.
©RORY DOYLE
Doyle set out on his own to capture his sunset shots, including this great blue
heron in flight.
A yucca in bloom.
©RORY DOYLE
Exploring the island at dusk.
©RORY DOYLE
The beach at sunset.
©RORY DOYLE
Rabbit tracks.
©RORY DOYLE
The trip was organized to coincide with a full moon. “It was just perfect weather,” Doyle said.
©RORY DOYLE
Campers can build fires on the beach at Horn Island provided they avoid vegetation, set up below the mean high tide line, bring their own firewood and take unused firewood with them.
©RORY DOYLE
The group spent the first night on Deer Island after turbulent waters kept them from reaching their destination. Because Deer Island is not part of the park, the rules for aerial photography there are different than on Horn Island, where drones are prohibited.
©RORY DOYLEAerial view of Deer Island.
©RORY DOYLEBeach grasses help stabilize the dune ecosystem.
©RORY DOYLEA visitor fishing. It’s a rare sight because Horn Island is so hard to reach, Doyle said.
©RORY DOYLEOn a previous assignment on the island, Doyle spotted an alligator, which appeared to be sunbathing or sleeping. “I got pretty close, and by the time it noticed me, it just took off sprinting right into the water,” he said.
©RORY DOYLEPlein air painting.
©RORY DOYLESnakes, such as this black racer, are an important part of the island food chain, serving as both predator and prey.
©RORY DOYLEThe friends were all responsible for their own food, but they feasted together on oysters they found in the Gulf, eating them raw with lemon, hot sauce and some boxed white wine.
©RORY DOYLEDoyle set out on his own to capture his sunset shots, including this great blue
heron in flight.
A yucca in bloom.
©RORY DOYLEExploring the island at dusk.
©RORY DOYLEThe beach at sunset.
©RORY DOYLERabbit tracks.
©RORY DOYLEThe trip was organized to coincide with a full moon. “It was just perfect weather,” Doyle said.
©RORY DOYLECampers can build fires on the beach at Horn Island provided they avoid vegetation, set up below the mean high tide line, bring their own firewood and take unused firewood with them.
©RORY DOYLE
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