Night at Point Reyes Lighthouse, photo by Harold Davis. View this image larger.

This is an image captured at the Point Reyes lighthouse well into night, although the sunset appears to linger in the Western sky. Park Ranger Craig Morgan leads night tours down to the lighthouse the first and third Saturday of each month (provided the wind speed is less than 40mph). If you get the chance it’s really worth signing up for this unique experience.

Craig was kind enough to leave the light on, facing the land side of the lighthouse for me to photograph. This is the old, mechanical lighthouse (here’s a peek at the inside from an earlier visit of mine), not the automated light that is used for real.

I exposed the photo for five minutes. You can see the trail this time exposure made with the stars in the sky. You can also see Craig’s flashlight,motion of light captures as though it were solid, along the railing as he came up the stairs to stand by me as I took the photo.

Related stories: Point Reyes Lighthouse at Sunset; Distant Shore; Mountains on the Beach.