Dizzy at the Top

Marty CohenArchitecture, Big Sur, Point Sur12 Comments

If you saw my previous post of the lighthouse staircase, looking up from the bottom, here’s a view from the top looking down. There’s a bit of artistic license in this image but it was actually accidental and not planned. I was shooting at a shutter speed that was too slow and must have been a bit off balance giving the appearance of my motion at the top.

Oh, looking at this image, I should also mention that there has been talk that the lighthouse is haunted by ghosts. “In October, 2011, the Carmel Pine Cone newspaper reported that ghost hunter Julie Nantes says the Point Sur Lighthouse is haunted – by 18 or more spirits, so many that it’s considered one of the 10 most-haunted lighthouses in the United States.” The Lighthouse even offers Ghost Tours every October.    Who knows…    Maybe I was pushed?  😉

Dizzy at the Top

Descending the stairwell inside the Point Sur Lighthouse

This photo was taken with a Canon EOS 6D, EF24-105mm f/4L IS lens, 0.6 sec at f/11, ISO 400 captured on a Lexar 400x SDXC UHS-1 memory card.

Point Sur Lighthouse – The Light

Marty CohenBeach + Ocean, Big Sur, Point Sur8 Comments

Point Sur Lighthouse - The Light

The light atop the Point Sur Lighthouse

Today and tomorrow, we celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Point Sur Lighthouse. The light on the lighthouse was first lit on August 1, 1889. It sits on top of Moro Rock and the Lightstation includes 11 historic buildings including, in part, the light keeper’s house, a barn, carpentry and blacksmith shops, and a visitor’s center which used to be living quarters and a barracks for a small garrison of troops. The buildings have been restored, mostly funded by contributions and the work of approximately 80 volunteers. The original light and the 9,500 pound Fresnel lens are no longer on site, but are at the Museum of Monterey. The current light is fully automated and is still guiding ships.

On Saturday, August 2, 2014 the public is invited to visit the Point Sur Lightstation from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visitors will be driven to the top of the hill in vans every 15 minutes with the last van leaving at 2:00 p.m. There will be live exhibits, period carpentry and tools, story-telling about the shipwrecks and personal tours of the buildings. The cost is $25 for adults and $15 for children. You can also do tours 4 or 5 days a week. They are on a first come-first serve basis. You can see the specific dates and learn more at their website www.pointsur.org . (On those dates, be prepared to climb the hill leading to the top.)
 

Stairway to the Light

Marty CohenArchitecture, B+W, Big Sur, Point Sur5 Comments

The stairway up the center of the lighthouse

The stairway up the center of the Point Sur lighthouse

After entering the main door to the Point Sur lighthouse, there is a spiral staircase that leads up to the top where the light and lenses are housed. The old brick walls are beautiful. I just love this image in black and white.
 
This photo was taken with a Canon EOS 6D, EF24-105mm f/4L IS lens, 1/30 sec at f/13, ISO 3,200 captured on a Lexar 400x SDXC UHS-1 memory card.

Point Sur Lighthouse

Marty CohenArchitecture, B+W, Big Sur, Point Sur6 Comments

Point Sur Lighthouse

Point Sur Lighthouse at the Point Sur Lightstation in Big Sur

We recently did a walking tour of the Point Sur Lightstation in Big Sur guided by Kathryn, a docent and good friend of Cathleen’s cousin, who explained the history of the Lightsation, which is celebrating 125 years this year. The Point Sur Lighthouse brochure describes it: “Jutting out into the Pacific Ocean from the spectacular Big Sur Coast, the Point Sur Lightstation stands as a silent sentinel to a by-gone era. Point Sur is the only complete turn-of-the-Twentieth Century lightstation open to the public in California, and is on the National Register of Historic Places.”

We climbed to the upper section of the lighthouse and walked around it on the catwalk. The wind up there was dramatically strong. We also walked over to and into several really interesting buildings at the station. I’ll be posting more images from the lighthouse and other structures, as well as of the ocean, over the next few weeks.

This photo was taken with a Canon EOS 6D, EF24-105mm f/4L IS lens, 1/30 sec at f/16, ISO 200 captured on a Lexar 400x SDXC UHS-1 memory card.
 

California Oak and Barn

Marty CohenB+W, Barns, California, Trees10 Comments

I first discovered, and fell in love with this Oak tree and old barn about 20 years ago. I would see it driving from the Monterey, California area back to my Modesto home in the Central Valley. This image was taken in 1999. Over time, I forgot where it was located and, 6 years ago, I decided to search for it. I went to Google Maps and, using satellite view, I “drove” above the roads where I believed it was located. I felt like I was on this funny road trip from the sky and it was really very interesting. And, eventually, I thought I found it on the map. By now we had moved to the Monterey area, but on a drive back to Modesto to celebrate a holiday with our family there, I brought my camera and tripod and drove slowly East along California Highway 152.
 
I spotted it, pulled over and began to take photographs. It was very much as I remembered it from many years before, and the Oak tree was showing more leaves and the small Oak tree in front of the barn had grown. I have always loved this old Oak tree and barn and am fortunate to have some photographs. It’s a great photo subject for me and it allows me to experiment with processing my photographs to make images that present the tree in different ways. That’s what I’ve done here. Also, in case you ever want to search for it yourself, it’s on Highway 152 close to where it merges with Highway 156. Below this image, I’ve included a Google Maps image so you can see what it looks like from above and you can also explore the map beneath that for yourself.
 

California Oak and Barn

California Oak Tree and Barn • Rural North-Central California

 
Google Map View California Oak Tree and Old Barn

Google Map View California Oak Tree and Old Barn