Greg Molyneux Photography

Tag: barnegat lighthouse

  • Symbol of Strength

    Heavy mesoband snow and wind batter Barnegat Lighthouse as winter storm Juno skirts the New Jersey coast in this low key black and white photograph of a resolute and unmoving Old Barney at night.
    Symbol of Strength — 14mm | f/2.8 | ISO 5000 | EXP 1/30

    To better set the stage take a watch—and listen—to the snow bands and high winds that slammed into Barnegat Lighthouse Monday night. Please excuse my shaky hands.

    Taken a the top of the 10 o’clock hour, I tucked in low and close along the concrete seawall that runs all the way out into the inlet. With the wind at my back and cover to my right flank, I was able to affix camera to tripod and rifle off a few shots before the combination of intense snowfall and wind compromised the clarity of my lens. Wanting to capture snow flakes and the lighthouse beams in the shot I had to dial my aperture wide open and crank the ISO to 5000. This afforded me a 1⁄30 exposure—fast enough to freeze the scene.

    Distracted by storm and snowfall I arrived home and ignored the contents of my memory card. It’s only today, Wednesday, that I’ve gotten to really see this shot for all its worth. Black and white processing was the obvious choice from the get go, with the white of the lighthouse lending strong contrast against the backdrop of a roaring night sky. The Lighthouse itself bears the brunt, revealing an icy spine running vertically down the whole of the structure just to the right of center—its unwavering position a testament to the steady, yet unrelenting direction of the fierce wind howling out of the north-northeast.

    When you’re out there exposed to the elements as nothing more than a vulnerable sack of human, you really appreciate both the intensity of weather and the fortitude of man. Here stands a singular column, standing sentry, strong as ever.

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  • Safe harbor

    An HDR photograph of Barnegat Lighthouse taken from the jetty rock at blue hour overlooking majestic pastel clouds over Barnegat Bay.
    Safe harbor — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    As I was taking the seven bracketed exposures for last night’s shot, I was looking back northeast over my right shoulder at the incredible scene happening to my rear. Old Barney awash in blue hour pastels, cast in a soft pink glow. There was too much great light and not enough cameras (in the interest of full disclosure I was firing off panoramas with my iPhone throughout the shoot). We’re talking first world problems of the highest order. In the span of a second my mind racked over the pros and cons of moving my tripod and repositioning my camera in the midst of the phenomenal sunset that was unfolding in real time. Normally I like to find my spot and stay there.

    After a brief pause of hesitation I decided to make the move. I did go to the lighthouse to shoot the lighthouse, after all. Knowing I had to move quickly, I dialed in with speed and took one set of seven brackets before hurrying back to my first location, facing sunset. That one set produced one hell of a final result. I haven’t taken many photographs of Long Beach Island’s most famous landmark but this one is surely best.

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  • A new place to play

    An afternoon long exposure photograph taken from High Bar Harbor in Barnegat Light overlooking east toward the Barnegat Lighthouse. In this empty bay beach scene, the low level clouds streak across this black and white photograph from left to right.
    A new place to play — 14mm | f/22 | ISO 50 | EXP 41 sec

    My buddy Jon and I had some time to kill and set out for some photo-exploring. Initially targeting the Barnegat Lighthouse, we made way to Long Beach Island and turned north. Approaching our final destination we made a quick pit stop at an area Barnegat Light bay beach. Unremarkable on its own, that beach told us one thing: the wind was going to spoil any shooting out on the long jetty of the lighthouse inlet. Any exposed area would render shooting difficult at best.

    Having never been before we turned our attention toward High Bar Harbor. A unique piece of land on the west end of Barnegat Light where we made for a cove that would shelter us from the whipping west wind.

    Where we wound up was pay dirt. An area of protected beach that has an eastern face—featured here looking out to the lighthouse—that will be most excellent at sunrise; and a path leading to a western exposure looking out to the Barnegat Bay to the rear. Morning, noon, and night, this spot has loads of potential.

    It was a bit earlier than I normally shoot, and as such the light was rather intense. I went with my ND filter and stopped all the way down to f/22. I seldom stop down this far unless it’s for a very specific purpose—in this case it was to maximize my exposure time—slowing things down all the way to 40 seconds. Enough time to render sufficient cloud movement left to right.

  • Who watches The Watcher?

    A portrait orientation HDR photograph of the Barnegat Lighthouse at sunset in snow.
    Who watches the watcher? — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/13

    We had a brief outbreak of light snow today and I wanted to get out to photograph it. With my friends up and their truck accessible, we took a cruise down to Barnegat Light figuring the snow pack and potential salt water ice flows would have something to offer as far as interesting pictures go.

    It worked out just so that as the snow was pulling off over the ocean to the east, the sky cast a solemn beige-purple hue to the south west. It was this sky that I wanted to feature with my shot of the lighthouse.

    Of note, this is one of my first times photographing Old Barney. I’ve got to get back soon and add this to my list of regular locations.