Barnegat Lighthouse State Park Photography
Photography Hot Spot for Sunrise, Sunset and Milky Way Photography
The Lighthouse
The Lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Barnegat Lighthouse in 1971.
In 1988, the tower was closed to construct the new south jetty, then reopened to visitors in 1991 with a new walkway on top of the jetty. The top of the lighthouse is accessible via its 217 steps and continues to attract in excess of half a million visitors year-round.
In 2008, the Friends of Barnegat Lighthouse State Park, a local non-profit organization, raised funds to reactivate the lighthouse. A sum of $35,000 was raised, with $15,000 contributed by the Barnegat Light Borough Fraternal Order of Police Local Lodge No. 5. This supported the acquisition of a new $15,000 VRB-25 light system and the replacement of aging windows. Funding was raised entirely at the local level.
In October 2008, the VRB-25 system was installed. While physically smaller than the original light, the system has become a standard for US Lighthouses, with over 100 installed.
On January 1, 2009, at 5:00 pm, the 150th anniversary of its opening, Barnegat Lighthouse activated its beacon for the first time since before World War II.
The light now operates daily from dusk until dawn. A foghorn on Barnegat South Breakwater Light 7, at the ocean end of the south breakwater, guards the inlet. The tower is flood-lit at night.
When Photographing Barnegat Lighthouse State Park, Stay at:
Drifting Sands Hotel – Quiet, Immaculate and Affordable
119 E 9th StShip Bottom, New Jersey 08008Phone: 609-494-1123
The perfect location for LBI Beach Weddings. Our Wedding Photographers should have this clean, comfortable, affordable Beach Wedding location on their suggestion list. Drifting Sands offers a beachfront location for a flawless ceremony with breathtaking views.
This is one of our Top Picks when staying in Ship Bottom. It is located right over the bridge off Route 72 when entering Long Beach Island. The bright, open, airy, immaculate rooms made us feel right at home here. After a long drive, the fast check-in and extremely attentive service were a pleasure. The management is obviously top of the line here since it was undeniable how well the establishment is run. We also enjoyed speaking with some of the grounds staff. They were very helpful in pointing out photography locations we were unaware of in the local area. Photography Magazine Extra Loved It Here!
Oceanfront In-Room Amenities:
- Private Balcony
- Flat Screen Television
- Refrigerator
- Wet Bar
- Coffee Maker
- Microwave
- Hair Dryer
- Step Up Jacuzzi (Suite Only)
ENJOY
- Oceanfront views
- Drifting Sands beach access
- Outdoor lounge area
- Free Wi-Fi
- Computer center
- Beach accessible wheelchairs
- Walk to the heart of Long Beach Island
- On-site parking
Photography Information
Barnegat Lighthouse State Park is also a Milky Way Dark Sky location, so be sure to go at the right time. You can get sunset and Milky Way images all in one trip. Be sure to see our Dark Sky Photography Information Page. If you are newer to Milky Way, Photography will also be helpful.
Learn from Award-Winning Photographer Pamela Goodyer
Shutter Priority
When shooting the Barnegat Lighthouse and you want to keep all the moving subjects crystal clear, you will want to shoot in Shutter Priority Mode. Our favorite way to shoot it is in manual mode to get the effect of the milky waters. You will need a neutral density filter to do this during the daytime. This is also one of the few dark sky Milky Way locations in New Jersey. Be sure to plan your trip for when the Milky Way is visible.
This is a great sunset and sunrise location too. You can really create a lot of images at this photography hot spot. It is one of the best locations in New Jersey due to the fact that you can get sunrise, sunset and Milky Way all in one trip.
Milky Way Photography Information
How to Shoot Milky Way and Night Sky Photography
Manual Mode
Set your camera to manual mode to control the Aperture and the shutter speed.
ISO
Start with ISO 3200. This is a common starting point, and you will adjust from here. Remember, the higher the ISO, the more digital noise you will have.
Aperture
The depth of field isn’t critical in these shots, but letting the light in the camera is. Therefore you shoot wide open. (The lowest aperture your camera will allow).
Shutter Speed
Now that you have the ISO and Aperture set in Manual Mode, roll your shutter speed until your meter reads (0) zero. Take a test shot and adjust from there.
Remember, the earth is rotating. If you leave the shutter open for too long, you will see star trails that will not make for a crisp image. You can create star trails specifically, but that’s not what we are going for here since we are starting with Milky Way photography. We want crisp non-star trail images when doing this.
Here is the formula to avoid star trails—the 500 rule – Divide 500 by the focal length of your lens. So, if you have a 24mm lens on a full-frame camera, you will set your shutter speed to 20 sec. (500/24 = 20.83). If you are using a crop sensor camera, first do the math of the crop sensor to find the focal length. Cannon is 1.6, and Nikon is 1.5. Convert to full-frame focal length, then use the formula. Nikon 18mm x 1.5= 27mm – 500/27 = 18.51 seconds.
White Balance
Shoot your night photography raw so you can easily edit your images and have more information to work with than if you shot JPEG. In live view mode, you can change your white balance settings and see which looks best on each shot. You can shoot in the shade or cloud as a standard setting and adjust things later. Add in color in your milky way to match the subject while editing the image later if you would like to also.
Barnegat Lighthouse S.P. Photography Hot Spot
The lighthouse’s beacon remained a first-class navigational light until August 1927, when the Barnegat Lightship was anchored 8 nautical miles (15 km; 9.2 mi) off the coast. This prompted the automation and replacement of the first-order lens with a gas blinker. As a result, the tower’s light was reduced by over 80 percent. The gas blinker was replaced several weeks later with a 250-watt electric bulb, though the gas apparatus can still be seen at the top of the tower.
The light was deactivated as a Coast Guard lookout tower in January 1944 and given to the State of New Jersey. Four years later, the local municipality, Barnegat City, renamed itself Barnegat Light. In 1954, the lens was returned to the borough of Barnegat Light and is now on exhibit in the Barnegat Light Museum. The area around the lighthouse was declared a state park and dedicated in 1957. The lightship was removed in 1969.
The structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Barnegat Lighthouse in 1971.
In 1988, the tower was closed to construct the new south jetty, then reopened to visitors in 1991 with a new walkway on top of the jetty. The top of the lighthouse is accessible via its 217 steps and continues to attract in excess of half a million visitors year-round.
In 2008, the Friends of Barnegat Lighthouse State Park, a local non-profit organization, raised funds to reactivate the lighthouse. A sum of $35,000 was raised, with $15,000 contributed by the Barnegat Light Borough Fraternal Order of Police Local Lodge No. 5. This supported the acquisition of a new $15,000 VRB-25 light system and the replacement of aging windows. Funding was raised entirely at the local level.
In October 2008, the VRB-25 system was installed. While physically smaller than the original light, the system has become a standard for US Lighthouses, with over 100 installed.
On January 1, 2009, at 5:00 pm, the 150th anniversary of its opening, Barnegat Lighthouse activated its beacon for the first time since before World War II.
The light now operates daily from dusk until dawn. A foghorn on Barnegat South Breakwater Light 7, at the ocean end of the south breakwater, guards the inlet. The tower is flood-lit at night.
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AREA
INFORMATION
BARNEGAT LIGHTHOUSE STATE PARK INFORMATION
There are no Fees.
Facilities & Activities:
Entrance Fees: This has no entrance fee.
HOTEL
INFORMATION
Where to stay while visiting Barnegat Lighthouse State Park
Add your hotel here! Do you want us to send our photography and ghost-hunting friends to your hotel for their ghost-hunting trip? Put your hotel information here. We will put a picture of your hotel, the website link, the phone number and your information on your hotel.
Would you like to be a featured hotel like this article or this one? Please send us an email. You will be surprised at how affordable our prices can be.
CAMPING
Where to Camp While Visiting Gold Barnegat Lighthouse State Park
Add your campground here! Do you want us to send our photography and ghost-hunting friends to your campground to stay during their ghost-hunting trip? Put your campground information here. We will put a picture of your establishment, the website link, the phone number and your information on your campground to make it easy for our photographers and ghost hunters to find you. They are really good at getting there in the dark.
Would you like to be featured in an article as a place to stay while doing photography or ghost hunting? If so, please send us an email. You will be surprised at how affordable our prices can be.
FOOD & DINING
Where to eat while visiting Barnegat Lighthouse State Park
Add your Restaurant here! Do you want us to send our photography and ghost-hunting friends to your restaurant after their ghost-hunting trip? Put your restaurant information here. We will put a picture of your establishment, the website link, the phone number and your information on your restaurant to make it easy for our photographers and ghost hunters to find you. They are really good at getting there in the dark.
WEATHER?
Weather Barnegat Light House State Park.
Don’t forget that you can use a rain sleeve on your camera if it is raining. If it is bright and sunny, you want to use a low ISO, such as 100.
If you are doing photography along with your ghost hunting on cloudy days, you can do running water or waterfall photography to avoid the glaring sun. You can also use an ND filter to get a long exposure for dramatic effects, even in the sunshine. If you ghost hunt indoors in abandoned places, be careful!
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