The relighting of the Historic St. Marks Lighthouse with its newly installed lantern was celebrated on October 31, 2019,coinciding with the 88th anniversary of the creation of the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge.
While volunteers interpreted the Lighthouse Keepers’ Quarters for visitors, the Refuge staff, volunteers, and Friends of St. Marks Wildlife Refuge prepared for the ceremony with an eye on the radar. A narrow squall line approaching from the west delivered a quick drenching rain and then colorful clouds as the sky cleared and the festivities continued on schedule.
As someone who is inclined to take the road not traveled, I decided to record events and views from a vantage point apart from the Lighthouse grounds.
After capturing a few images along the trails I set up to record the lighting of the lantern from the perspective of the boat ramp road.
Many of the images were taken after dark, and I set my two cameras to an aperture of f-5.6 for a greater depth of field.
An unintended consequence of this f-stop is that it recorded the bright lights as a starburst.
I seldom use artificial lights when recording night scenes, but lights on vehicles exiting after the festivities helpfully illuminated vegetation around Lighthouse Pool.
For more information please visit “Friends of the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge” at
https://www.stmarksrefuge.org