Heceta Head Lighthouse

Heceta Head Lighthouse has an incredibly lengthy and intriguing history. The name Heceta hails from Don Bruno de Heceta, who was sent by the Queen of Spain in ...
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Heceta Head Lighthouse has an incredibly lengthy and intriguing history. The name Heceta hails from Don Bruno de Heceta, who was sent by the Queen of Spain in 1775 to explore the West Coast of North America. The grew developed scurvy and retreated home, coming just short of the Columbia River. Despite not finishing their voyage, Don Bruno was able to document this treacherous location full of rocky terrain and shallow waters. It wouldn't be until a century later that the lighthouse cast its first beam to the ocean March 30th, 1894. Now a forgotten occupation of the past, lightkeepers who resided here faced a vast amount of isolation and endured rough coastal winds and conditions. In the 1930's Highway 101 and electricity connected the lighthouse to civilization and allowed for a partially automated lighthouse. By 1963 the lighthouse became fully automatic and made the occupation of a lightkeeper obsolete. The amazing beams originate from a modern 1,000-
watt quartz bulb that produces 2.5 million candlepower! The only thing that prevents the beam from shining its light across the Pacific is the curvature of the earth.

I blended several exposures for the final image; for the interior of the glass enclosure, the light beams, and the shadow of my light painting in the bottom of the frame that I created with a headlamp.

Exposure(s): Glass interior: F 3.5, 1/13s, ISO 1000, Light beam and light house: F 3.5, 30s, ISO 2500, Light painting: F 3.5, 13s, ISO 200
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