Barnegat Lighthouse

The Barnegat Lighthouse is 172 feet above sea level and celebrates 185 years of history. It's located in Barnegat Lighthouse State Park on the northern tip of Long Beach Island, New Jersey. The lighthouse is a symbol of human presence, a navigational guide, protection, guidance and illumination. It is an architectural icon.

"Old Barney," as it is affectionately nicknamed, expresses the totality of nature by uniting the water at its edge, the earth at its foundation, the air as it rises and the fire blazing at its highest point. I feel Old Barney connects earth to heaven. Also, I feel that good Old Barney is a connection to my family.

My grandmother, Marie, was born with a veil of skin over her face. My family said she was born with "the gift." The gift of wisdom and vision, more like a deep understanding into other planes in this universe. The crystal ball in this photograph was hers and now it belongs to me. I guess you can say it was gifted to me. I remember as a small child, people would come to our house to have my grandmother read the crystal ball. Some would say she was a medium, a different force of nature. I've never photographed her crystal ball until this year. Since we've had so much unexpected extra time this year, I figured I might as well experiment with the magic of her crystal ball and combine it with photography.

Since I was a child, my family has vacationed at Long Beach Island, New Jersey. Growing up, we would spend summer weeks on the island, in North Beach on Windward Road. My parents, grandmother, aunts and siblings fell in love with the island and we've been enjoying it since the 1970's. Today, we stay in Brant Beach, since my cousin, Alice, and her family live there; my cousin Betsy lives down the road in Ship Bottom, and my Aunt Virginia is just over the bridge in Barnegat.

For our vacation in the summer of 2020, I decided to bring my gram's crystal ball, just like my mother, Diane, brings my father's urn. We lost my father, Jack, to leukemia the summer of 2015. During that family vacation we rushed my father to the hospital on the day of his 71st birthday and two weeks later his spirit crossed to the other plane.

LBI has always been our family's home away from home. If my grandmother didn't meet my grandfather, fall in love and start a family, none of us would be here celebrating nature and each other's company in this beautiful, majestic island. Where you can soak your toes in the sand, swim in the ocean, reconnect yourself with mother nature, surf, skate, bike, eat delectable dishes, drink fantastic beverages, play games, ride boats, jet skis, and visit one of my mom's favorite places, the Barnegat Lighthouse.

My mother made sure that we made the pilgrimage to the lighthouse every season. For me, it was always an opportunity to reconnect with nature; for all of us, it was a chance to reconnect with one another. I remember walking up the 217 grated stairs of the spiral staircase, the spiral embodying a complex symbol of solar and lunar power, the waters, rolling thunder and lighting. The ancients believed energy, both physical and spiritual, flowed in spiral form. At the top of the spiral staircase, clinging to the banister 172 feet above sea level, I'm reminded that the light inside that structure continues to guide sailors and vessels to safety. Every time I travel to Old Barney, I feel the peaceful vibrations of nature, a deeper connection to my family and a light that can always guide me home.

I dedicate this photograph to my grandmother, Marie, my mother, Diane, my father, Jack and my mother's sister, my Aunt Virginia. Without these humans, I wouldn't be here to witness the vibrations of life and the glory of the Barnegat Lighthouse, good "Old Barney." To family, loved ones, celebrating life and reconnecting to nature, LBI style.