I don’t know when I first became enamored with lighthouses, but as my devotion to landscape and nature photography continues to grow, so does my fascination with visiting lighthouses and photographing them.
Perhaps lighthouses intrigue me because they are such a study in contrasts. Lonely and morose, yet hopeful and bright, these enigmatic beacons seem unavoidably intertwined with tales of tragedy as well as triumph. Pummeled by the wickedest waves through the wildest storms, they stand as steadfast sentries signaling to ships and boats in distress, often saving lives in the process. But when one starts delving their colorful histories, one encounters just as many dark and mysterious tales involving lives lost during stormy peril. Just as common are the melancholy and ghostly tales of lonely keepers and their wives who have succumbed to madness due to hours of isolation and boredom. Since I am always one to devour a dramatic story, and since I love being near the water, how could I not gravitate toward the spellbinding stories lighthouses have to tell?
Recently I shared a photo of a lighthouse on my Facebook business page https://www.facebook.com/StorytellerPhotographyImagesbyRebecca/ and the image garnered almost 600 likes (and counting). Six hundred likes is a record-breaker for me for one single image, so I suppose there are plenty of people who feel just as attracted to lighthouses as I do.
The photo (shown below) featured Presque Isle North Pierhead Lighthouse in Erie, PA.
I captured the image the evening of July 4th as a fat, yellow-orange moon ascended from the skyline and numerous Independence Day fireworks erupted in the distance. I titled the photo “Trifecta!” because the odds of seeing all three of those things at one time really did feel like hitting a photographer’s lottery.
Being in the right place at the right time wasn’t totally luck, though. Behind the scenes my boyfriend and I had carefully calculated the time and location of the moonrise. We had also hurried through underbrush and marshes along the shores of Lake Erie to be at the perfect angle so when the moon was directly over the lighthouse I could click the camera’s shutter button. Despite wet feet and mosquito bites it was definitely worth it. Just look at how that full moon shimmers on the water. It is a moment I will never forget!
Of course, when one thinks of Western Pennsylvania or Northeastern Ohio, one is more inclined to visualize woods, farms and cornfields than lighthouses. Yet lighthouses are a unique part of the landscape due to our proximity to Lake Erie. I lave lived in Northeastern Ohio my entire life, and not long ago it became my mission to visit and photograph all of the lighthouses along the American side of Lake Erie. So far I have pointed my camera at the following lighthouses in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York states: Conneaut West Breakwater, Ashtabula, Fairport Harbor West Breakwater, Fairport Harbor, Lorain, Vermillion, Huron Harbor, Marblehead, Presque Isle, Presque Isle North Pierhead, Barcelona, and Dunkirk.
Below are a few photo highlights from my trips.
Huron Harbor Lighthouse, built in 1936. More info. here: https://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=279
Port Clinton Lighthouse, built in 1896. More info. here: https://www.shoresandislands.com/things-to-do/port-clinton-lighthouse?id=512690
Marblehead Lighthouse at dawn, built in 1822, more info. here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marblehead_Light_(Ohio)
The photo of Marblehead (above) was taken at sunrise in early January a couple of days before my birthday. My boyfriend and I woke up at 3 a.m. and traveled three hours to be there as the sun crested the horizon. What a gorgeous and unforgettable moment is was! I plan to go to Marblehead again soon, as well as the other Lake Erie lighthouses I have not yet visited (there are at least a dozen still on the list). Before the summer ends I am also planning a trip to the shores of Lake Ontario in New York where I will not only photograph lighthouses but spend the night at a luxurious lighthouse bed and breakfast called Braddock Point https://braddockpointlighthouse.com/. As you can probably imagine, I am pretty darn excited about this! Oh, and I am also hoping to venture to Maine soon as well as Prince Edward Island in Canada. It seems there are lighthouses all over the place up that way.
Until then, though, I will keep exploring the Great Lakes. If you are a fan of my images then you probably already know how I love to photograph lighthouses during stormy weather. There are a handful of Lake Erie lighthouses within about an hour’s drive of my home–Fairport Harbor, Conneaut Westbreaker and Ashtabula–that I frequent when forecasters predict gale force winds. Below are some of my favorite storm images:
It’s not that I don’t enjoy capturing images of lighthouses during fair-weather. There is so much optimism and tranquility in seeing a freshly-painted lighthouse surrounded by sparkling blue water, or in witnessing the first flashes of a lighthouse’s beacon as the rosy hues of a summer sunset fade into dusk.
In 2018 I visited two of my favorite summertime vacation spots–beautiful, bustling Mackinac Island in Michigan and the remote windswept beaches of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. I was delighted to encounter a handful of lighthouses during my travels. The sunny weather made for some cheerful lighthouse photos to contrast the mood of the stormy collection of images pictured above.
Round Island Lighthouse, circa 1895, Straits of Mackinac. More info. here: http://www.mightymac.org/roundislandlighthouse/
Grand Island East Channel Lighthouse, circa 1868, Grand Island, Mich. More info. here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Island_East_Channel_Light
Round Island Passage Light, Straits of Mackinac, Mich. More info. here: http://www.mightymac.org/lights.htm
It may surprise you, but Michigan wins the title of having the most lighthouses in the United States (more than 130 guard its 3,000 miles of coastline). I don’t know about you, but I initially assumed that title would belong to a state bordering the ocean. Maine ranks number two, by the way, with more than 60 lighthouses.
So how about you? Are you also enamored with lighthouses? Are you fortunate enough to live near a location where there are lighthouses, or are you as far from a lighthouse as the cornfields of Kansas? Do you prefer carefree, sun-kissed photos of lighthouses, or are you more drawn to the brooding yet spectacular images taken during storms? When you see a lighthouse do you first imagine a symbol of hope and reassurance, or do you see a lonely, foreboding structure against an unforgiving horizon? For me it will probably always be a mixture of both, and thus the intrigue continues. Life itself is a mixture of sunshine and tempests, after all. May we strive to do our best as we navigate the ever-changing waters, and may we stand as solid and unwavering as a lighthouse in every unexpected gale.
