Photo of the Day: Aerial view of White Island Lighthouse, Isles of Shoals, New Hampshire

White Island Lighthouse, Isles of Shoals, New Hampshire, originally uploaded by nelights.

This photo, taken in September 2007, shows the damage done by a storm in April 2007; a covered walkway between the tower and house was destroyed, and the large solar panel near the lighthouse was washed away. Since then, a new solar power system has been installed along with an LED light, and some repairs to the structures have been completed. The walkway has not been rebuilt.

Click here for more on this lighthouse.

"The Lightkeepers"

A movie called "The Lightkeepers," starring Richard Dreyfuss, Blythe Danner, Bruce Dern, and Julie Harris, was recently shot on Cape Cod in locations including Race Point Lighthouse and the Atwood House in Chatham. The film will open nationally on March 12, 2010. If you live on or near Cape Cod, you can catch a special advance showing of the film at the Cape Cinema in Dennis. Click here for the schedule.

Should admission be charged at Portland Head Light?

Photo of the Day: Whaleback Light (Kittery, Maine) in a storm in January 2006

Earlier, I posted a photo of a wave clearing the top of Whaleback Lighthouse (about 70 feet) in an April 2006 storm. The waves weren't as high in this January 2006 storm, but the visibility was a bit better.

I'm still waiting for the ideal conditions for a great Whaleback wave shot -- high seas and clear, sunny weather.

For more on Whaleback, click here.

Photo of the Day: Fort Pickering Lighthouse, Massachusetts

This little cast-iron lighthouse on Winter Island in Salem can't be called impressive or spectacular, but it's a beautiful scene here at sunset. Just down the street from Winter Island is the old Salem Willows amusement park, where I spent many summer evenings as a kid.

For more on this lighthouse, click here.

Photo of the Day: Herrick Cove Lighthouse, NH

This is one of three wooden lighthouses built on New Hampshire's Lake Sunapee in the 1890s in an effort to improve the safety of steamboat travel. The builders were the Woodsum Brothers, who ran the steamships that traversed the lake in its heyday as a resort.

This photo was taken a few years before a 2003 restoration, when the lighthouse was lifted by helicopter off its base. When the tower was lifted it was dunked briefly in the lake, as it turned out it weighed more than had been expected. It was was quickly lifted to safety in the yard of Court Cross, chair of the Lake Sunapee Protection Association's lighthouse committee. The crib base was overhauled and the outer wooden panels of the lighthouse were replaced by maintenance-free panels.

Click here for a 2003 article.

Photo of the Day: Great Duck Island Lighthouse, Maine

I took this photo a few years ago when I visited Great Duck Island with some faculty and students from the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor. They own the light station and use it as a research station in the summer. Students monitor the bird population on the island, including the rare Leach's storm petrel.

Great Duck Island is about 9 miles offshore from Bar Harbor. We visited Mount Desert Rock Lighthouse, well over 20 miles offshore, on the same day. It was one of my most memorable lighthousing days ever.

Click here for more info on Great Duck Island.