Standing Guard - Share The Experience

Several weeks ago I was notified that my image of the Bodie Island Lighthouse titled "Standing Guard" was 3rd Place in the Share The Experience Photography Competition sponsored by the National Parks Foundation. Images were from National Parks, National Seashores, National Monuments and Public Lands all across the county.

Standing Guard - Bodie Island Lighthouse, Outer Banks, NC

The Story

In September of last year I decided that is was time to finally cross a spot off my bucket list and take a trip to the Outer Banks. I have been out there over the past few years to fish but I hadn't yet photographed the Milky Way from those dark sandy shores. On Saturday of Labor Day Weekend my youngest son and I jumped in the truck and made the 5 hour drive out to Bodie Island.

This was his first trip with me to shoot nightscapes and to be honest with a 10 hour round trip I was glad to have the company. Staying away in the wee hours gets tough sometimes and just knowing he was back there helped. We shot at Oregon Inlet Lifesaving Station and Bodies Island Lighthouse and I was glad to be able to finally share some of what I do with one of my sons. I've only shot a few other lighthouses at night and I've never really been able to get the results I wanted. At Bodies, it was different. With a 22.5 off cycle it's possible to capture the lighthouse without the light on. I did capture some with the light on but those shots of the dark lighthouse and the night sky really seems to be the best.

Honored

I was truly honored to have my image chosen as one of the top 3 out of thousands of other submissions. Especially since 2022 is the 150th anniversary of the lighting of the Bodies Island Lighthouse. I plan to be out there on Oct. 1st to celebrate and if the skies are clear enough I may be about to capture another image of the Milky Way behind it before it sets for the season.

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