Connecticut Lighthouses with NELL (New England Lighthouse Lovers)
I took a long weekend trip to Rhode Island and Connecticut from June 1-5, 2006. On Saturday, June 3, the New England Lighthouse Lovers (NELL) sponsored a cruise to view 10 Connecticut lighthouses in Western Long Island Sound, including the difficult to access Stratford Shoal Lighthouse.
Well, as the weather clearly shows, it wasn't the best visibility the entire 7 hours we were on the water. I actually thought it added to the ambience, searching for lighthouses in fog! It was no more than 1/2 mile visibility most of the day, with rain and drizzle on and off, with temps in the low 60s. Waves weren't too bad, around three foot if I remember. Needless to say, it was one of my more challenging shoots I've been in, not only because of the moving boat, but because even with a 6 inch lens hood on my lens, we all were constantly battling sea spray and drizzle, and also because I had a 1.4x teleconverter on my lens, it made it a slow 5.6 aperture and I needed to keep my shutter speed at a minimum of 1/400 in order to avoid blur. Most of the images I maintained ISO 200 for, but some of the darker fog shots I had to bump to ISO 400.
Our cruise started at 9:00 a.m. from Stamford. We cruised out to the Stamford Harbor Ledge Light, which is now in private hands. It is in bad need of a restoration, as the photo will reflect.
From there, we cruised west down to Great Captain Island. It is my understanding that this is a private island, only open by ferry ride to the residents and guests of Greenwich. This light is also in need of restoration, and I think Jeremy mentioned that one was underway. I love this style lighthouse!
Next on the list was Green's Ledge. It was tough to see in the fog, but once I opened up my images and played with the levels and contrast, it was very obvious how this lighthouse got it's name! We were fortunate to get a passing sailboat for a fleeting 15 seconds in front of this very cool lighthouse that made for a wonderful photo op.
Right after Green's Ledge came Sheffield Island. Boat tours are offered out here on a regular basis. It's the same style lighthouse as Great Captain Island. However, when we visited, due to the fog, the shallow water, and I think the tide being out, the closest we were able to get was between 1/2 and 1 mile. The boat got as close as it dared and then very carefully had to maneuver out of the rocks surfacing about 50 foot from the stern. This image is a cropped vertical shot with some dodging and burning in Photoshop to try and bring out some more detail, but it was so hard to see, I'm lucky my images came out at all.
After Sheffield Island came Peck Ledge. We were able to get right up next to this lighthouse. This was shot with my 17-40 wide angle lens with a polarizer to help with some of the haze and also to add some color to the water.
After Sheffield Island, we had about an hour to reach Penfield Reef, so it was lunchtime. The first thing I did was get the images I'd taken backed up (some of you remember from the WILD cruise the portable CD burner I had? I broke the card slot, so it was toast - thanks to Fran for saving the day by bringing hers!). By the time I was done burning CD's, I got about 1/2 of my sandwich down and the boat was arriving at Penfield Reef. This light is very similar to Rose Island and Pomham Rocks in Rhode Island.
As we cruised into Bridgeport/Stratford area to see the three lighthouses there, we passed by a tugboat pulling a large flat-bottomed cargo ship (sorry, not sure what the proper term for those are!).
Next on the list was Fayerweather Island lighthouse, also known as the Black Harbor Lighthouse. This charmer sits on the end of a tiny strip of land that is now connected by a large boulder breakwater.
The next lighthouse, Tongue Point, sits on the end of a breakwater that I believe is now on private property - a power plant I think, and it's not accessible by land. The better views are from the water. As these two shots convey, you can get a totally different perspective based on what direction you are viewing the light from.
After we departed Tongue Point, the boat coasted up the shoreline towards Stratford Point. We got into the general area, and I overheard someone say that the GPS quit working on the bridge. We coasted up and down the shoreline for several minutes, searching for the lighthouse, which was really difficult to spot in 1/2 mile visibility with the thick fog!! Finally, we spotted this lovely beacon, all lit up, guiding the way.
I understand this is a private USCG residence, and pretty much off limits to the general public. A couple years or so ago, there was a nice family living there that did allow people to enter the grounds and take photos and even climb the tower (Fran, we would love to see some images!). I had intended on hitting this light Sunday morning before embarking on the ferry to Long Island, but I was very short on time, having to be at the dock at 7:30am (I did get some nice land based shots of Black Harbor, which I will post in another thread).
The last light of the day was Stratford Shoal. Located over 8 miles offshore from Bridgeport, it is a difficult lighthouse to access, due to the frequent waves and potential storms that occur. It's extremely isolated location makes it even more mysterious and awe-inspiring at what some of the lightkeepers must have endured for their times alone in places like this.
That concludes the 7.5 hour, foggy, drizzle, and rainy NELL cruise. I still had a fabulous time and thoroughly enjoyed the people and the new faces I got to meet! I have a full day of Rhode Island lighthouse, as well as several on Long Island and the remaining Connecticut lights to post as soon as I get the edited.
Well, as the weather clearly shows, it wasn't the best visibility the entire 7 hours we were on the water. I actually thought it added to the ambience, searching for lighthouses in fog! It was no more than 1/2 mile visibility most of the day, with rain and drizzle on and off, with temps in the low 60s. Waves weren't too bad, around three foot if I remember. Needless to say, it was one of my more challenging shoots I've been in, not only because of the moving boat, but because even with a 6 inch lens hood on my lens, we all were constantly battling sea spray and drizzle, and also because I had a 1.4x teleconverter on my lens, it made it a slow 5.6 aperture and I needed to keep my shutter speed at a minimum of 1/400 in order to avoid blur. Most of the images I maintained ISO 200 for, but some of the darker fog shots I had to bump to ISO 400.
Our cruise started at 9:00 a.m. from Stamford. We cruised out to the Stamford Harbor Ledge Light, which is now in private hands. It is in bad need of a restoration, as the photo will reflect.
From there, we cruised west down to Great Captain Island. It is my understanding that this is a private island, only open by ferry ride to the residents and guests of Greenwich. This light is also in need of restoration, and I think Jeremy mentioned that one was underway. I love this style lighthouse!
Next on the list was Green's Ledge. It was tough to see in the fog, but once I opened up my images and played with the levels and contrast, it was very obvious how this lighthouse got it's name! We were fortunate to get a passing sailboat for a fleeting 15 seconds in front of this very cool lighthouse that made for a wonderful photo op. Right after Green's Ledge came Sheffield Island. Boat tours are offered out here on a regular basis. It's the same style lighthouse as Great Captain Island. However, when we visited, due to the fog, the shallow water, and I think the tide being out, the closest we were able to get was between 1/2 and 1 mile. The boat got as close as it dared and then very carefully had to maneuver out of the rocks surfacing about 50 foot from the stern. This image is a cropped vertical shot with some dodging and burning in Photoshop to try and bring out some more detail, but it was so hard to see, I'm lucky my images came out at all.After Sheffield Island came Peck Ledge. We were able to get right up next to this lighthouse. This was shot with my 17-40 wide angle lens with a polarizer to help with some of the haze and also to add some color to the water. After Sheffield Island, we had about an hour to reach Penfield Reef, so it was lunchtime. The first thing I did was get the images I'd taken backed up (some of you remember from the WILD cruise the portable CD burner I had? I broke the card slot, so it was toast - thanks to Fran for saving the day by bringing hers!). By the time I was done burning CD's, I got about 1/2 of my sandwich down and the boat was arriving at Penfield Reef. This light is very similar to Rose Island and Pomham Rocks in Rhode Island. As we cruised into Bridgeport/Stratford area to see the three lighthouses there, we passed by a tugboat pulling a large flat-bottomed cargo ship (sorry, not sure what the proper term for those are!).
Next on the list was Fayerweather Island lighthouse, also known as the Black Harbor Lighthouse. This charmer sits on the end of a tiny strip of land that is now connected by a large boulder breakwater. The next lighthouse, Tongue Point, sits on the end of a breakwater that I believe is now on private property - a power plant I think, and it's not accessible by land. The better views are from the water. As these two shots convey, you can get a totally different perspective based on what direction you are viewing the light from.
After we departed Tongue Point, the boat coasted up the shoreline towards Stratford Point. We got into the general area, and I overheard someone say that the GPS quit working on the bridge. We coasted up and down the shoreline for several minutes, searching for the lighthouse, which was really difficult to spot in 1/2 mile visibility with the thick fog!! Finally, we spotted this lovely beacon, all lit up, guiding the way. I understand this is a private USCG residence, and pretty much off limits to the general public. A couple years or so ago, there was a nice family living there that did allow people to enter the grounds and take photos and even climb the tower (Fran, we would love to see some images!). I had intended on hitting this light Sunday morning before embarking on the ferry to Long Island, but I was very short on time, having to be at the dock at 7:30am (I did get some nice land based shots of Black Harbor, which I will post in another thread). The last light of the day was Stratford Shoal. Located over 8 miles offshore from Bridgeport, it is a difficult lighthouse to access, due to the frequent waves and potential storms that occur. It's extremely isolated location makes it even more mysterious and awe-inspiring at what some of the lightkeepers must have endured for their times alone in places like this. That concludes the 7.5 hour, foggy, drizzle, and rainy NELL cruise. I still had a fabulous time and thoroughly enjoyed the people and the new faces I got to meet! I have a full day of Rhode Island lighthouse, as well as several on Long Island and the remaining Connecticut lights to post as soon as I get the edited.
posted by Jenifer Selwa at 7:09 PM
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