The Story Behind The Image; Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse before its 1999 move.  This image was made in the late 1980s using
a Pentax 6X7 medium format camera and Kodak Vericolor II color negative film, which
was the usual color film I was using at the time.  (click to enlarge)

The Outer Banks region of North Carolina is about an hour and a half drive south of where I live. If you haven't visited, it is a very interesting place, except for when a hurricane is plowing through the area. Then, unless you are a reporter or weather person, it isn't such a good time to visit!  Otherwise, a very interesting place to explore photographically.

One of the hallmarks of the Outer Banks is the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, located in Buxton on Hatteras Island.  The current lighthouse was first erected in 1870 (there was an earlier lighthouse that was built in 1803 but replaced by this one) and stands 210 ft. tall, the tallest brick lighthouse in the United States.  The offshore area is sometimes called the Graveyard of the Atlantic as hundreds of ships have been lost in the area.  The shoals are some of the most treacherous in the western hemisphere.  The light emanating from the lighthouse, according to the National Park Service, can be seen 28 miles (44km) off shore.  

I know at one time the lighthouse was situated about 1000 ft. from the Atlantic Ocean but by the 1970s, storms had eroded the shoreline and shifted the entire island westward to the point where the lighthouse was approximately 120 ft. from the water.  Something had to be done.

In the late 1980s, a decision was finally made to move the lighthouse 2900 ft. inland to avoid the encroaching ocean.  It was at that time, I decided I needed to photograph the lighthouse before preparations and the move commenced.  The lighthouse was finally moved in 1999.

I drove down to the Outer Banks with my trusty Pentax 6X7 gear.  I wanted to photograph the lighthouse very early in the morning to capture good light as well as before the masses of visitors and others invaded the area.  It is quite a tourist attraction.

In the days of color film, there were no opportunities to adjust contrast, saturation or other parameters when shooting film and making prints.  One had to choose a film that best matched what the subject matter and final output would demand.  When making color prints, unlike black and white printing, there were no differing contrast papers.  You had only one paper from which to choose.  Toward the end of the film days, I believe a higher contrast color print paper was finally developed.  But I had already switched to digital and never used it.

For most of my color print work, I used Kodak Vericolor II (and later Vericolor III) negative film.  The film was designed for weddings, portraits and studio work, but I used it for landscape, nature and outdoor work because it had lower contrast than other color negative films and would better hold shadow and highlight detail in outdoor landscape scenes.  Additionally, the colors were natural and not overly saturated as was some consumer films of the day.

The top photograph was the first one I made.  I thought the angle was the best to show off the lighthouse as well as the surrounding vegetation and sea oats.  I was pleased with the image, but it didn't really show how close the water was to the lighthouse.

This view of the lighthouse better shows its precarious relationship to the Atlantic Ocean.  I waded out into
the surf to make this image.  Earlier in the 20th century, the lighthouse was more
than 1000 ft. from the water. (click to enlarge)

This second image is a result of me wading out into the surf and making an image showing the proximity of the ocean to the lighthouse.  I thought this image, although not as visually pleasing to me, better showed the reason the lighthouse had to be moved. Neither of these images are possible today as the lighthouse is far back from the ocean.

For a complete story on the lighthouse and its move, go to the National Park Service site, which can be found here, as you may find it interesting from not only an historical perspective, but from and engineering and technical point of view.

If you discover subjects of historic value, neighborhoods, old buildings and such, that will be razed, moved or redeveloped, take the time to photograph them for historic and aesthetic purposes. Don't put it off as you may miss an opportunity.

Thanks for looking.  Enjoy!

Dennis Mook

Many of my images can be found at www.dennismook.com.  Please pay it a visit.  I add new images regularly.  Thank you.

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