I am a little behind posting this so I do apologize for not staying as up-to-date as I used to be.
I am sure that by the end of this journey I won’t get so excited about seeing a lighthouse….well probably not! I have a little story to share about my last night in Georgia.
So my last night in Georgia I left on my own little side adventure…as I often do. This time it took me to Saint Simon Lighthouse. I knew that with the weather acting the way it was my lighthouse photos wouldn’t turn out nearly as good as they did at Bodie Island, NC but I have a love of lighthouses, so I had to see it anyways. When I got there the tide was coming in and as you can see the water was to alarming levels. If I can’t see the bottom of the steps that is supposed to lead down to the beach then there is a problem.
I got to St. Simon’s just as the sun was setting but since there was a storm rolling in the sun’s colorful rays were not strong enough to break through the dark impending clouds of the storm front. 
As I was waiting for the sun to set I had to find the best angle to capture the lighthouse from, and I have to say that I think that I found it. I found a pier with a covered “bridge” portion of it and I have to say that I have a slight romantic image in my mind of an empty pier. Something about how the lights enhance the details of the wood as the sun sets and the pier lights turn out and all you can see is the area where the light has illuminated and the open water. As I sat on the pier waiting for the sun to finish setting and the night to come across the horizon I couldn’t help but feel my heart aching for the sea again. 
One of the best decisions that I made for myself was joining the Navy. Now that I have become more land locked by getting out of the Navy I find my heart missing the sea more and more. There is a song that I love by Josh Turner “Longer the Waiting” and there is a line in there that feels like a sucker punch to the gut to me every time I hear this song…”I will give up the ocean forever I know…”. I say that because I knew when I “turned in” my uniform that there is a chance I would never be on the ocean again. 
I hoped that one day my sail would see the sea again but when you are on your way out you never know what life can bring your way…and now life has brought me here. Make no mistake this opportunity has also been one of the best decisions I have made for myself, but I have never lost my love for the sea and my desire to once again be out on the open ocean.
Okay back to the story at hand, so once it had gotten dark all I had to do was wait. The lighthouse is retired so it isn’t on a continual rotation like most lighthouses are, this lighthouse rotates once around every minute other than most rotations which are about 30 seconds. Once I was able to figure out my timing next was the exposure to best capture the light. Once I was able to capture the brilliance of the guiding light from the water perspective began to walk back to my car. Before I finally called it quits for the night I wanted to check out one last angle and I think that it is always the shot before I call it quits that always turn out the best…
I thought that this turned out so well! No Bodie Island in comparison but still a beautiful image that shows the light. What I love about this image is that you can see the beam of light going out to all four corners to ensure that every corner has light to be guided safely back into the safe harbor. I would say that there is a hidden message in there…wouldn’t you?
It was interesting time in Georgia and I must say that I am really thankful I was able to take time to explore the way that I like to explore. Now on to bigger things…aka Florida which will be my 5th state on this journey.
Traveling Photographer Out!
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