Happy 4th of July everyone!  In addition to the food, fun, festivities & fireworks, we are thankful and celebrating our freedoms which so many have fought & died for and that we are well aware that others less fortunate in this world still do today. 

One of our favorite 4th of July photos at one of our favorite places in the US, Cape May, New Jersey…

And one of our sweetest…

Happy Independence Day!

- Grace

Central PA Portrait & Wedding Photographer |  Cape May Photographer | Grace Lightner Photography

(If you are interested in purchasing any of the prints shown here, please contact us.)

The Preservation Society of Newport County owns and cares for this beautiful mansion named The Breakers for the waves that break into the cliff it is built on.  The Breakers is renown for being the most opulent mansion in Newport’s History.  The public can take tours here and it is so worth touring.  Even if you snub your nose at over-the -top wealth in it’s showiest form, the art, detail and work going into every square inch of this architectural masterpiece is undeniably mind boggling and awe inspiring.  And as impressive as the exterior of this mansion is, it is really quite modest compared to the decadence that lies inside.  Unfortunately no interior photos were allowed which burst my bubble.  However I respected that, they sell books inside that have beautiful photos of the stunning interior and maybe the rule was set in place so that those sales were not harmed.  That and their fear of the millions of fabric fading flashes of light that would over time take it’s toll.  I can only imagine a fortune must be had to keep such a piece of art restored to it’s full glory.

If you look closely you can see the tiny grooves that texture & shape the rock walls.

Front views of the Mansion.  The front entrance is boarded up, unsure if that is temporary or permanent.  It does seem that great effort was taken to reduce the amount of fabric fading sunlight that enters.

Side view of the Mansion which faces a modest garden.

Rear view of the mansion which faces the water.  The rich blue sky was created with a circular polarizing filter on the camera lens.

 And a shot by my Scott of us girls.

And a small history lesson (I really hated History in school but I love it now!  Especially from this era.).

The Breakers as it is now is actually the 2nd mansion built, the 1st which was made of wood burned down due to a fire.  No expense was spared to make sure the new Breakers was fireproof and instead of wood, the building was made of stone.  Cornelius Vanderbilt II (a wealthy industrialist) hired Architect Richard Morris Hunt to create this grand 70 room summer home for his family.  (Imagine this just being your SUMMER home?)  It was designed to resemble an Italian Seaside Palace with Beaux Arts & Victorian elements and decorated in French & Italian styles.  The rooms were actually designed and assembled in Europe then shipped here to be reassembled in the mansion.  High society modular homes right?  =)

If you ever visit with me, I will gladly show you the photo book we picked up that showcases the rooms inside.

For More on The Breakers.

Newport Rhode Island Travel Photographer – Harrisburg Photographer – Grace Lightner Photography

(If you are interested in purchasing any of the prints shown here, please contact us.)

Here is the 2nd installment of our Newport Rhode Island Photo Tour.  I am donning the hat of the unofficial “Visit Rhode Island” Liason.

A classic sailboat docked at Bowen’s Wharf is a common site here.  Sailing is definitely a huge part of Newport’s identity.  You see sailboats and referencing to sailing at every turn.  We even got a chance to watch the local sailing school in action with teeny tiny sailboats (so cute!).

We stayed at the Newport Beach Hotel & Suites which was AWESOME!  (Scott always plans the most awesome trips with stays at really nice hotels & suites).  And one of the best features of this beautiful hotel was their rooftop deck with firepit and hot tub!  We didn’t use the hot tub but we did use the deck and fireplace every night!  Our room had direct access to the rooftop and we were often the only ones there so I would plug the ipod radio up outside and blast our playlist while we hung out.  We made smores, danced, colored, had drinks, got silly, and relaxed while watching the sun sets and loving every minute of our family time together.

Rooftop views of the sunset over Newport Pond…

This is The Marble House.  Arguably Newport’s 2nd most extravagant mansion right behind The Breakers.  Although I imagine both would be strong runners to the title of Amerca’s most extravagant mansions.  This was the 2nd and last mansion we toured.  Both were built in the late 1800′s during the ”Gilded Age”.  Both are now owned by the Preservation Society of Newport County which has done such a spectacular job in preserving and restoring these dazzling and priceless diamonds from ruin and then allowing the public to enjoy them too.  Again no interior photography was allowed (bummer).  But the rooms and furnishings were opulent & breathtaking to say the least, the exterior of the mansion looks very drab and boring in comparison.  Way too rich for my blood but the setting is perfect for a gal to imagine herself as Cinderella.

A little history on The Marble House.  It was a gift from William K Vanderbilt to his wife Alva who was at the time a leader in the Woman’s Suffrage movement.  Alva soon divorced her husband and remarried a Belmont but kept the house even though she did not live in it.  Architect Richard Morris Hunt who also designed The Breakers was commissioned to create The Marble House and although smaller, I think personally the interiors are even more grand.  The mansion back in 1888 cost $11 million to build. 

More on The Marble House.

The Japanese Tea House is also a part of the The Marble House and was built for the original owner Alva Vanderbilt.  During the summer you can apparently have tea here.

A view of Narragansett Bay, off in the distance you can see The Claiborne Pell Bridge aka Newport Bridge.  I was able to cut some of the reflections of the water out with a polarizing filter.

Several of these images were taken with a super wide angle lens which had a lens hood on it.  Adding a vignette post processing I know is a common tactic many photographers use (often times way over used in odd or unflattering ways).  However vignettes do occur naturally when shooting frames usually at the widest zoom and capturing part of the lens hood.

Newport Rhode Island Travel Photographer – Harrisburg Photographer – Grace Lightner Photography

(If you are interested in purchasing any of the prints shown here, please contact us.)

So I am finally getting around to going through our photos from our Newport, RI trip last May.  There were so many beautiful things about this town and although I can offer only a pinch of some of the visual, there was so much more.  The pride this town has in it’s history & it’s art & it’s ties to the ocean is seen everywhere and so inspirational.  As you interact more and more you feel a distinct air of wholesomeness & friendliness that resonates in the delightful personalities of the locals.  And although this town generates quite a large bit of tourism, it feels so far from touristy.  This is a gem that is worth a visit.  Thanks honey for finding it and all your planning you did to take us there. 

Newport, I love you and I cannot wait to come back year after year after year to explore all of your lovely layers…

On the drive up we passed by these unused overpasses that nature reclaimed back into it’s arms, before NYC, maybe in NJ.  Reminds me of the documentary Life After People. 

Leilani letting the breeze into our beautiful room at Newport Beach Hotel & Suites.  We booked in the off season and got an amazing room for a fraction of the cost.  It was AWESOME!

A view of the beginning of Easton Beach.  What the photo does not reveal is that this particular part of the beach is rather stinky due to the decaying organic matter in the seaweed below.

Starting our stroll along the beautiful Cliff Walk which is famous for it’s views of not only the bay, ocean & cliffs but also of some of the famous historial mansions and houses that border the walk.

Tall hedges & fences keep the public from venturing or peeping in on some of the private residences that also are along Cliff Walk.  If you did not know any better you would wrongfully assume all the really magnificent historic looking homes are accessible to the public.  You will find many gated & fenced properties all over Newport which specifies their private status right at the gates.

My sweethearts, Leilani & Scott walking down the famed Forty Steps which “During Newport’s Golden Age, the Forty Steps were a gathering place for the servants and workers from the nearby mansions.”

View at the bottom of The Forty Steps.

View at the bottom of The Forty Steps.

This is one of the first spectactular pieces of historic architecture you can easily see and simply walk right up to from Cliff Walk (no fence!).  I at first assumed it was The Breakers but after walking all around it was suprised to find that this was owned and used by The Salve Regina University.  The impressive structure is called Ochre Court and had we not had our jogging stroller in tow, we could probably have walked right in. 

Giant trees like this oak are very common.  Some showcasing branches that are as thick as large mature trees.  Many had heavy chains installed that were used to hold up some of the larger branches.   There were a lot of “WOW” moments just in tree size appreciation during the trip.

The Breakers by far one of the most opulent creations from the Gilded Age.  We did tour the mansion (which is rather hard to do with a 3 year old) but it was mind blowing!  It is incomprehensible how something like this was created.  Unfortunately no interior photography was allowed but every square inch of the inside of the mansion is lavished with detail and extravagance.  You just cannot help but to awe at the art that surrounds you and imagine in wonder at the amount of time, effort, and money that must have went into creating each spectacular room.

Gates like this is typical for most of the larger properties.

So are Gatehouses which sometimes are impressive all on their own.  This huge gothic light is from the Gatehouse for McAuley Hall.

More to come soon…

Newport, RI Photographer – Grace Lightner Photography

If you are wondering why the sudden drop off in Blog posts and FB chatter, I am still getting caught up from our recent week long family trip out to Newport, RI (which has secured it’s place as my favorite road trip vacation destination!).  We are still in catch up mode but we will be posting more lovely inspiration again very soon!

In the meantime here is a little bit of lovely inspiration.  A lovely sunset panorama of Newport Harbor.  If you have never been, consider it.  It is only about 6-7 hours away (just stay off of 95 through NYC) and there are a ton of things to do for all ages.  It is gorgeous, historical and so friendly!  And the historical houses & mansions are WOW! 

Have a beautiful weekend!

Grace

Central PA’s Refreshingly Modern Portrait & Wedding Photographer – Grace Lightner Photography

(If you are interested in purchasing any of the prints shown here, please contact us.)

Some more photos taken at Cape May on our brief stay in March.

All that was needed was to ask this little girl to give her Dad a raspberry, she most enthusiactically obliged.

Not a whole lot was open in the off season but the ice cream & fudge store was!  Ice cream can be enjoyed on a cold blustery day, but did you know high winds can melt ice cream faster than no wind at all? 

We revisited The Star Inn which was the 1st place we tried out when we first went to Cape May in 2007.  We were drawn to the fresh and modern beachy decor, suite set up and cozy little back yard.  Oh what a few years can do to a place.  The mattress was terribly sunk in the middle and the furniture & carpet had seen much better days but the great memories were still there.  Note to all hoteliers, please use great mattresses, nothing can be worse than a nice room with a terrible mattress…

Love Sunset Beach, known for it’s gorgeous sunsets, concrete ship, Cape May Diamonds & the fun beach stores with curious things to look at.  The beach is made up primarily of small smooth stones or “diamonds” and upon closer inspection there is also a treasure trove of life & death scattered through out the washed up debris.  The most exciting is to find the alien looking spider crabs which at first look dead but are mostly alive, just slow…  Living & skeleton varieties of other crabs and sealife also are everywhere, the waves mixed with rocks I imagine can be quite brutal at times.

This very charming & beachy memorial to American Pride or something unknown was on display at the end of Cape May Beach.  I imagine by the time we revisit it again in the summer the prized shells will have been picked clean by shell collectors.  Scott did run way wayyyy down the beach as Leilani and I shouted that we were freezing out butts off in the wind, when he came back he had 3 giant shells like the ones decorating the fence here.  One of the shells was entirely intact.  A Great find!  That is definitely something we wouldn’t be able to get had we not stopped by in the off season.

Cape May, we will see you again this summer!   

If you ever need to try a new beach destination, we couldn’t recommend Cape May more.  It is gorgeous, clean and delicious!  And for the most part feels like you are stepping back in time when things were more wholesome, classy, respectable, polite and family oriented.  Love this place…

Cape May, NJ Addict & Harrisburg Area & Central PA’s Modern Portrait & Wedding Photographer - Grace Lightner Photography

(If you are interested in purchasing any of the prints shown here, please contact us.)

Cape May, NJ is a place that we have grown very fond of for the past 3 years.  We take our family vacation out there in the summers.  What is there to love?  The beautiful beaches which are kept clean and spacious enough to not ever feel crowded, the charming old Victorian buildings full of history and gorgeous gingerbread work, the newer grand beach houses that make you sigh &  you wish you were making rock star money, the amazing culinary selection and the pleasant people.  We just love it there!

So we decided to head there for a short get away towards the end of March.  It was a risky move as we knew it would be cold but we were getting a few days of nice weather by then so we were hopeful.  It was most certainly the off season, most of our favorite restaurants were closed and despite the great weather we had the week before, our trip coincided with a stretch of cold and blistering winds.  And then when we found it was going to rain we cut our losses and left a day early. 

We spent less than 24 hours in Cape May but it was better than nothing.  We needed a couple of beach days even if they happened to be bittery cold and windy =)  I got a chance to shoot a little and hang out with my babes which made me happy!

This crab was alive but so cold it was just not interested in doing much scurrying.

Seashells, seashells on the seashore.  In the off season there TONS of shells everywhere, and not just shell pieces but big honkin beautifully intact whole pieces.  Leilani could care less about the cold all she wanted to do was collect shells, she preferred the broken variety.

I love the presence and architecture of this church, I always take a photograph of it if I am walking by with my camera, it is just gorgeous.  It is the Our Lady of The Star Sea Catholic Church and is built in a Medieval revival style with Roman & Gothic styles of architecture mixed together beautifully.