 |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Flash
Back 30 years: This
1973 photo (left) shows the
lighthouse base in obvious
disrepair. The 2003 photo at
right shows there has been
some effort to maintain the
exterior. The park service
does not allow climbing by
the public because they say
it needs renovation to make
it safe. In fact, it has never
been open for the public to
climb. |
 |
| 1973 |
2003 |
 
Entry
to Bodie Island Lighthouse is through
the work building attached to the
base, shown at left. Identical in
design and layout to Currituck Beach
Lighthouse, it too has a dated granite
arch over the outside door. Note
in the photo at right the victorian
style decorations, vertical and horizontal "sticks",
so popular in Outer Banks construction.
The photo below at left shows the
eave support detail of the work room
building.
Sometimes,
when park personnel are available,
visitors are let into the work room
and base of Bodie Island Lighthouse
to take a look. The panoramic photo
at upper right shows the north work
room, left of the center hallway.
The photo at lower right shows the
south work room, currently used for
storage. Note the curved blocks on
the "bench", present at
either end of the room. This is where
drums of oil were stored for use
in the old oil lantern used as the
lighthouse beacon, before the beacon
was electrified. The floor is marble
tiled in black and white, as is the
hallway and the bottom floor at the
base of the stairs around the "well". |
 
At
left is the view from the inside
looking out. You are at the center
of the lighthouse base by the "well", looking
down along the central hallway out
the front door. The work rooms are
on either side of the hall. The hallway
ceiling is high and arched.
Above where
the hallway opens into the lighthouse
base is a granite
plaque. The photo below right
shows the close-up detail
of the plaque, which gives the
location of the lighthouse in latitude
and longitude, and the date. Don't
let the dates throw you. The plaque
inside says 1872, when the construction
was completed. The date on the arch
outside over the front door says
1871, which was when construction
began.
You might note
the spelling on the plaque says "Body's
Island Light House" instead of Bodie
Island Lighthouse. The spelling of
the name varied from one map to another
and one document to another, which
was a very common occurrence in those
days. Many names on the Outer Banks
were spelled different ways until
things became more standardized in
the early to mid 20th century. |
 
The left photo
here shows the base of the lighthouse
stairs, and the "well", fenced in
by the circular railing, and covered
by the round black plate. This is
where the weights used to power the
beacon's geared rotating mechanism
would be lowered for servicing. The
weights hung from the top, down the
center of the circular stairs. It
was wound up by the keeper to keep
the rotating gears working, much
like a grandfather clock runs.
Both the upper
left and upper right photos show
a chain-link fence over the stairs.
As mentioned before, the public is
not allowed to climb this lighthouse.
The fence insures no one goes up
when they are allowed to look inside
the base.
At right are
two views looking up the center of
the stairs. This view is identical
to Currituck Beach Lighthouse. All
the landings are on the same side
of the structure (except the last
one at the very top), so you can
see all the way up in the half-round
opening. Both Bodie Island and Currituck
Beach Lighthouses take a good photo
up the stairs. Cape Hatteras Lighthouse,
on the other hand, is a problem,
since every landing alternates to
the opposite side, leaving only a
narrow slit to photograph beyond
the next flight up. |
Here
are a few additional photos of Bodie
Island Lighthouse taken at various times of the day. With the open
expanse of sky all around, it's a great
place to shoot a sunrise or sunset. Even days with great billowy
clouds provide a wonderful backdrop against which to photograph
this lighthouse.
An early morning photo looking west from the highway (NC 12).
This photo was taken in late afternoon,
looking eastward.
A late afternoon photo as the one above, from a different angle.
 |
 Bodie
Island Lighthouse is
my favorite lighthouse
to photograph.
It apparently is
a favorite of many
other photographers
as well.
No matter when
I go to Bodie Island
Lighthouse, I
usually run into
at least one professional
photographer there
on an assignment
taking photos for
a calendar
or a magazine.
On my April, 2004 trip,
I stopped at Bodie Island after a long day of shipwreck
searching, hoping for
some nice sunset photos of Bodie Island. I was early,
and sunset
was another
hour off yet, so I had
some time to kill. Sure enough, I ran into another
photographer taking calendar photos. We chatted a bit,
and then went our own ways to wait for the sunset.
It turned out that the
sunset was a clear one, with only
an orange ball in the sky, so I focused on using the
light for illumination, instead of using the sunset
as a backdrop. I took a shot here and there, but
not much
interesting was happening with the sky, or the light.
It
was cold and windy, and I had pretty much had enough
for the day, so I walked back and climbed into the
4WD to get warm.
As I put away the camera
and settled down, I looked up and realized the light
had suddenly hit the optimum angle. The grass was now
all dark shadow, but the unpainted gray wood fence
surrounding the lighthouse, only inches above the shadowed
grass,
was lit
with such intensity by the horizontal sunlight that
it created a glowing band
of
golden light across the lighthouse base. "Holy
Moley,
that's the shot. That's the shot," I mumbled to
myself
with excitement.
I grabbed the camera
and ran out to get in position. But as I did, tourists
started driving up, parking right in front of the lighthouse
in my shot, and taking pictures of each other. This went on for at least
ten minutes, car after car, while I frantically waited
for them to show some courtesy before the light changed
again. I knew it would not last long. Finally I was
able to slip in a couple of shots between cars going
by and people being inconsiderate.
The odd thing was
that
the "professional" photographer
sat in his car the whole time, and missed the opportunity
completely. Once the light was gone, there wasn't much
else to do, so I left with him still sitting there,
waiting for who knows what to happen. Maybe he was
waiting for the beacon to come on. I wonder if he would have noticed it. |
|
|
A sunset
masked by dark clouds in the west instead gave light and color
to the eastern sky, providing an interesting backdrop for this
photo.
|
This is one
of the photos taken just before sunset, discussed in the
Travel Journal
entry above. |
The soft orange glow of the western sky after sunset lights this scene facing east. |
The long shadows of a late afternoon are evident in this shot framed by pines. |
The brilliant
red glow of the setting sun lights this scene, and reflects off
the windows of the Keeper's Quarters.
|
 Just
like it's twin, Currituck Beach Lighthouse, the beautiful 1st Order Fresnel
lens
at Bodie Island provides a wonderful warm glow that photographs much better
at night than the narrowly focused
airport beacons used at Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout Lighthouses. This gives
night photos much more character and interest, as seen at right, on an evening with a foggy mist settling in. |
The
beacon illuminates a light foggy mist around the lantern. |
|
 |
With every change in the sunlight and sky, Bodie Island Lighthouse takes on a different mood, making it an endlessly fascinating location for photos. |
 |
|
|
|
Navigate
to individual lighthouse pages with these
buttons.
    
Bodie
Island Lighthouse-
Page
One
Related Links -
National Park Service Inventory of Historic
Light Stations, NC Lighthouses - Bodie
Island Lighthouse
National Park Service - Bodie
Island Lighthouse
Inside
the Fresnel Lens -
National Park Service Photos
Beautiful
Photos
of
Bodie Island Lighthouse in the Lighthouse
Gallery
Beautiful Photos
of
Bodie Island Lighthouse in the Lighthouse
Gallery
|
|
|
|
| Visit
these other web sites by Fred Hurteau |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| |
|
