|
 |
I'm not sure what it is that makes lighthouses so fascinating.
Every time I came across a sign for another lighthouse along the Pacific coastal highway, I had to pull over and see it.
|
Lighthouses somehow irresistibly combine history, charming architectural design, physics, solitude, and romance of the sea.
Perched on windswept cliffs, often on remote points of land jutting far into the sea, lighthouses are both isolated and essential.
|
 |
 |
Beautiful by day, practical by night, these beacons have been used continuously since the mid-eighteen hundreds, and were only automated in the 1960's and 70's.
|
Lighthouse keepers, or "wickies" were responsible to trim the lighthouse wick to make sure that the light was burning brightly.
They were also required to polish the lens daily and keep the lighthouse sparkling clean.
A lighthouse uses a huge, Fresnel lens to focus and project over 20 miles the light from a single 1000 watt light bulb. |
 |
 |
Even when oil lamps were used, these huge lenses, often over 6 feet tall, could project the light for miles.
Though fully automated today, lighthouses are still as charming and as valuable as ever.
|
Download 18 new wallpaper photos (a $17.82 value). Available for free until July 7, 2009.
Have a great week,
Todd
I made a few changes to the wall calendar this week. Check out the new version on the blog. |
 |
|
|
