POINT PINOS LIGHTHOUSE
Pacific Grove, California
I had no idea there was a lighthouse out at the end of Pacific Grove. All the times I used to go there for scuba diving. It is tucked back in a golf course. It is a pretty little house, in the Cap Cod integral style, whitewashed brick with the light tower rising from the center of the roof, and surrounded by a neatly trimmed lawn and shaded by a small grove of cypress trees. Funny though, it seems right away that the lighthouse is far away from the beach for one so short, the tower is only 43 feet high and the focal plane from sea level, is a mere 89 feet. So what gives with that. Well, now that you ask, it seems that there were three sites suggested and the contractor had picked the current site so that he wouldn't have to haul the stone so far. The lighthouse still occupies that location today.
Point Pinos first lit the night sky on February 1, 1855 from a third order Fresnel lens that came from Fort Point up in San Francisco. That lens still shines today, giving it the distinction of being the oldest, continuously active lighthouse on the West Coast. I'd tell you what its light pattern is, but I can't find that information anywhere. It is a museum now and it is open to the public on Saturday and Sunday only from 1-4 PM. It sits on a point that looks north to Santa Cruz. The south side is the shaded part so you have to wait till the afternoon to get any sunlight on it for picture taking. The first time I went, I arrived in the early morning and so the light was very low. I was still able to shoot without a tripod using 400 ISO film and had the benefit of grazing deer on the golf course. There are several places to pull off along Ocean View Drive as it goes around the point, to see the lighthouse from a distance and get photos. Use a telephoto lens from these locations. When you go to the lighthouse (there is parking), it is enclosed by a fence which doesn't let you stand very far away from the house, so use a wide angle there. Nice perspectives from all around the house.
Here's how I saw it:
OF THE MOUNTAINS
John B Caddell
Copyright 2001