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Into The Lighthouse | Assateague Island, VA This is the entrance to the Assateague Lighthouse on Assateague Island, VA. It lies on the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, however it does not receive any government funds whatsoever for upkeep. The flaking paint that you see around the door exists all over the 142-foot tall structure. It was last painted in 1995, but as you can see, it didn’t hold up too well. A recent renovation, all funded by donations, refurbished the spiral staircase and observation deck so that the lighthouse can entertain climbers. Current donations and fees charged for climbing it are going toward further rehabbing, including a much needed paint job. I do enjoy it’s grungy look (it’s good for photography), but I hope to see it bright and shiny again someday soon! Join me on my other social networks: Facebook | Twitter | Flickr | 500px | Google+
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Into The Lighthouse | Assateague Island, VA

This is the entrance to the Assateague Lighthouse on Assateague Island, VA. It lies on the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, however it does not receive any government funds whatsoever for upkeep. The flaking paint that you see around the door exists all over the 142-foot tall structure. It was last painted in 1995, but as you can see, it didn’t hold up too well. A recent renovation, all funded by donations, refurbished the spiral staircase and observation deck so that the lighthouse can entertain climbers. Current donations and fees charged for climbing it are going toward further rehabbing, including a much needed paint job. I do enjoy it’s grungy look (it’s good for photography), but I hope to see it bright and shiny again someday soon!

Join me on my other social networks:

Facebook | Twitter | Flickr | 500px | Google+

Blue Hour Sunrise | Assateague Island, Virginia I can’t tell you how many times I tried to time the flash of the lighthouse just right, but I stood there shooting for a solid 15 minutes before I got a flare from the light that I liked. For those of you familiar with Assateague Island, you’ll understand what kind of a feat that is when you’re being mauled by mosquitoes! This is the Assateague Island Lighthouse just before sunrise on the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. The ocean was to my back, and immediately following this shot, I wheeled around and quickly got set back up to shoot the sun rising over the sea, which you can see here. This was part of my much beloved morning shoot with my mom and dad. Fun times! Not much to say, processing wise, on this one. It’s a single, long exposure- tripod mounted and remote triggered. Minimal work in Photoshop to clear up a little color cast in the upper clouds. That’s it. What you see is the same beautiful sight I saw that morning! Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Flickr  |  500px  |  Google+ ©2011 Zach Frailey
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Blue Hour Sunrise | Assateague Island, Virginia

I can’t tell you how many times I tried to time the flash of the lighthouse just right, but I stood there shooting for a solid 15 minutes before I got a flare from the light that I liked. For those of you familiar with Assateague Island, you’ll understand what kind of a feat that is when you’re being mauled by mosquitoes!

This is the Assateague Island Lighthouse just before sunrise on the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. The ocean was to my back, and immediately following this shot, I wheeled around and quickly got set back up to shoot the sun rising over the sea, which you can see here. This was part of my much beloved morning shoot with my mom and dad. Fun times!

Not much to say, processing wise, on this one. It’s a single, long exposure- tripod mounted and remote triggered. Minimal work in Photoshop to clear up a little color cast in the upper clouds. That’s it. What you see is the same beautiful sight I saw that morning!

Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Flickr  |  500px  |  Google+

©2011 Zach Frailey

First Light | Assateague Island, VA After a few days’ hiatus, I’m finally getting back into the swing of things. I spend a long weekend at Chincoteague Island, VA with my family and wife as we celebrated our wedding anniversary. My family has been going on vacation to Chincoteague since I was too little to walk, so I never miss a chance to meet up with them on the island. This visit wasn’t as ‘eventful’ as last year’s (read the blog post here) and that made it just about perfect. Before making the short four hour trip up the coast, I made a shot list of the things I wanted to photograph while on Chincoteague. Right up at the top was a sunrise. So, at 5:00am I set out across the island to the adjacent barrier island, Assateague, to get my shots. Much to my surprise, my mom and dad came along with me. It’s always nice to have company when out shooting photos, especially when it’s my parents who I rarely get to see. We shot the sun cresting up over the ocean and then we headed back down the road to this spot. Those of you familiar with the National Wildlife Refuge on the island will recognize this cluster of trees along the Wildlife Loop trail. I don’t know why, but these trees are synonymous with Assateague Island for me. I guess I’ve just seen them so many times that they have buried themselves in my mind. The Shot: Nikon D90, shot at 18mm. This is a three exposure HDR, shot from a tripod and remote triggered. Merged in Photomatix Pro, finished in Photoshop CS4 with Nik Color efex Pro and Nik Viveza pro plug-ins. In post processing, I added a pretty pronounced blur to the water in the foreground at the very end. The heavy detail in the water seemed to take away from the serenity of the whole scene. Now, it all flows together. Facebook | 500px | Google+ ©2011 Zach Frailey
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First Light | Assateague Island, VA

After a few days’ hiatus, I’m finally getting back into the swing of things. I spend a long weekend at Chincoteague Island, VA with my family and wife as we celebrated our wedding anniversary. My family has been going on vacation to Chincoteague since I was too little to walk, so I never miss a chance to meet up with them on the island. This visit wasn’t as ‘eventful’ as last year’s (read the blog post here) and that made it just about perfect.

Before making the short four hour trip up the coast, I made a shot list of the things I wanted to photograph while on Chincoteague. Right up at the top was a sunrise. So, at 5:00am I set out across the island to the adjacent barrier island, Assateague, to get my shots. Much to my surprise, my mom and dad came along with me. It’s always nice to have company when out shooting photos, especially when it’s my parents who I rarely get to see. We shot the sun cresting up over the ocean and then we headed back down the road to this spot. Those of you familiar with the National Wildlife Refuge on the island will recognize this cluster of trees along the Wildlife Loop trail. I don’t know why, but these trees are synonymous with Assateague Island for me. I guess I’ve just seen them so many times that they have buried themselves in my mind.

The Shot: Nikon D90, shot at 18mm. This is a three exposure HDR, shot from a tripod and remote triggered. Merged in Photomatix Pro, finished in Photoshop CS4 with Nik Color efex Pro and Nik Viveza pro plug-ins. In post processing, I added a pretty pronounced blur to the water in the foreground at the very end. The heavy detail in the water seemed to take away from the serenity of the whole scene. Now, it all flows together.

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©2011 Zach Frailey

Assateague Lighthouse | Assateague Island, VA History: The 142-foot tall Assateague Island lighthouse was built in 1867 to help ships navigate the dangerous shoals of the island on the coast of Virginia. Assateague Lighthouse actually enjoys an opposite conditions that threatens many other great lighthouses. Where most lighthouses today are threatened by erosion, the land mass around Assateague Lighthouse has been filling in. Since being built, the waterline of the inlet has been “pushed back” close to 5 miles away from the light due to the constant, natural deposits of land. Processing: I shot this image in 2009 and just revisited it today. It’s a single exposure, well baked in Photoshop. First, I fixed the color and straightened it out. I shot this on my old D40, and my photography was in it’s early stages. The sky was grey and blown out, so I replaced it. Using Nik Color Efex, I added a Tonal Contrast and a Pro Contrast filter to it. Finally, I added a Gaussian Blur on the entire image followed by a layer mask using the gradient tool to blur the water in the foreground. Facebook | 500px | Google+ ©2011 Zach Frailey, Please do not use without permission.
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Assateague Lighthouse | Assateague Island, VA

History: The 142-foot tall Assateague Island lighthouse was built in 1867 to help ships navigate the dangerous shoals of the island on the coast of Virginia. Assateague Lighthouse actually enjoys an opposite conditions that threatens many other great lighthouses. Where most lighthouses today are threatened by erosion, the land mass around Assateague Lighthouse has been filling in. Since being built, the waterline of the inlet has been “pushed back” close to 5 miles away from the light due to the constant, natural deposits of land.

Processing: I shot this image in 2009 and just revisited it today. It’s a single exposure, well baked in Photoshop. First, I fixed the color and straightened it out. I shot this on my old D40, and my photography was in it’s early stages. The sky was grey and blown out, so I replaced it. Using Nik Color Efex, I added a Tonal Contrast and a Pro Contrast filter to it. Finally, I added a Gaussian Blur on the entire image followed by a layer mask using the gradient tool to blur the water in the foreground.

Facebook | 500px | Google+

©2011 Zach Frailey, Please do not use without permission.

Sunrise on the Bay Chincoteague Island, VA I’m starting to get pretty excited for my annual journey to Chincoteague, so I decided to go back through the archives for this one. I’m not sure if this really is a bay, but it is a continuation if the Assateague Bay near Black Point Landing. Just around the bend, the whole thing empties into Tom’s Cove and the Atlantic Ocean. This was shot from Veteran’s Memorial Park facing the Assateague Lighthouse. Facebook | 500px ©2011 Zach Frailey
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Sunrise on the Bay

Chincoteague Island, VA

I’m starting to get pretty excited for my annual journey to Chincoteague, so I decided to go back through the archives for this one. I’m not sure if this really is a bay, but it is a continuation if the Assateague Bay near Black Point Landing. Just around the bend, the whole thing empties into Tom’s Cove and the Atlantic Ocean. This was shot from Veteran’s Memorial Park facing the Assateague Lighthouse.

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©2011 Zach Frailey