Bodie Island Lighthouse Adventure
The story behind a night shoot.
I went on an adventure this week. I spent a few days in the Outer Banks camping with my family. This was probably our last trip with our little camper which we have long ago outgrown. Five people in a teeny tiny camper with three beds gets REALLY crowded! We bought the camper several years ago when we were moving away from Alaska and the kids were all teeny tiny. Now they’re almost all teenagers! So this week we said goodbye to that chapter and will be selling the camper in the near future.
One of the main reasons I chose to go camping at this time was because I wanted to photograph the Milky Way in this position with lighthouses. I needed it to be around a new moon so the light of the moon wouldn’t wash out the stars.
I went to Bodie Island Lighthouse. I was concerned I might miss the stars because there were thunder storms all around off and on that day.
We showed up just before sunset. I missed catching a rainbow with the lighthouse by a mere minute. The skies were gorgeous! It was a beautiful evening with a soft pink cotton candy glow.
From the observation deck we saw otters swimming. They were far off so I didn’t get a good picture of them.
By the boardwalk we got to watch a nutria enjoying dinner! It didn’t seem disturbed by human presence at all. Several families got to enjoy seeing it!
As it got dark, people slowly left and I found myself standing quietly in a corner waiting for the clouds to clear out and stars to appear. Two little critters came running up playing behind me. It was too dark to see well but we believe they were the two otters we had seen swimming earlier.
It was a little breezy and I was just commenting about the lack of mosquitoes when the wind died and the mosquitoes attacked! So much for using some bug spray. I had netting for our heads and even though it was hot and I was sweating terribly, I put on my jacket for some protection. Talk about HOT! The days were in the 90’s and with the high humidity the real feel was over 100 degrees every day. We finally decided to escape and go wait in the van until the skies were ideal. We listened to an audio story for a while.
Finally the Milky Way appeared! I spotted lightning in the distance again so decided I better hurry up and go get my shots! The mosquitoes were relentless! Thankfully my jacket was thick so I only sustained a few bites to my upper body. Unfortunately my denim jeans were like nothing to them. I did my best to ignore the little buggers and slap them away while focusing on my photography.
I started to get excited by what I saw on my camera screen! My husband and middle child graciously walked up and down the boardwalk behind me keeping an eye out for critters and helping me count down to when the lighthouse would light up from our view. Every 30 seconds. The two of them are troopers putting up with me, the heat and all those mosquitoes! It took a while to get my shots as I got interrupted a few times by people driving up and shining their headlights right on the lighthouse. Who knew that many people come by the lighthouse at night? It is gorgeous and you should totally try to see it but the photographers will appreciate if you dim your lights and point them elsewhere.
It is a popular spot for night photography! Another couple showed up as we were leaving to try their hands at it as well.
I’m so very thankful I got this window of opportunity to photograph the lighthouse at night! It was definitely a learning experience!
If you go, be prepared for the mosquitoes! My blue jeans were smeared rather black by the time we were done. I received so many bites I developed Skeeter Syndrome. Five days later I am on the road to recovery but still have swelling! I’ve never had that reaction before but then I’ve never had this many bites before either.
We ended up not going to other lighthouses at night but did visit two others during the day. Hopefully I’ll catch Cape Hatteras Lighthouse at night someday. I’ll be better prepared for the mosquitoes then! If you know of some great clothing that they can’t bite through, leave me a comment below! I’d love to know what you use!
You can find some of these beauties in my shop now! Enjoy!