Night Notes from Assateague

Campfire to camera: trying long-exposure photography on the barrier island. We pitched the tent on Assateague, then waited for the sky to go dark. Between the island’s quiet water, a thin cloud deck, and Ocean City’s glow on the horizon, the night turned into soft reflections and slow shutter magic.

Verrazano Bridge, under stars

Red and green beacons paint the water while the Verrazano Bridge stitches the island to the mainland. A long exposure smooths the bay to jade and pulls pinprick stars through the clouds.

Campsite toward Ocean City

From our campsite we could see Ocean City breathing on the horizon—the city glow turning the clouds into a soft lantern above the beach.

Pine Tree Backcountry, looking west

Marsh channels turn to ink. The thin orange band at left is town light; the rest is island quiet.

Railings & reflections

The pier rails throw long shadows, the water goes to glass, and the island trees sit like cut-paper against the sky.

Pinpoint sky

A clean patch of sky—one bright planet and a scatter of stars. Cloud edges pick up a plane flying by.

Bridge to the dark

The footbridge becomes a metronome of posts and shadows. The bay hardly moves; time does.

Field notes

• Where: Back Country Camping – Pine Tree Campground & Assateague Island State Park Boat Ramp; campsite view looking toward Ocean City, Maryland.

• Conditions: Light wind, broken clouds, high humidity; moderate light pollution toward OC—great for rim-lighting the cloud base.

• Approach: Tripod, manual focus on a bright star, long exposures to smooth the water and pull detail from the sky glow.