I took a single-day trip up Cape Cod during the darkest days of winter, the weeks before the holidays. I figured I'd had plenty of time to explore Provincetown, but as I drove back, it became a race to reach the lighthouses in the national seashore before sunset.

Highland Lighthouse was the first one I visited on the Cape. I had a bit of leeway and explored past the lighthouse to the coastal cliffs. It's truly something to see the original locations of lighthouses and where they've been moved to in the present. It clearly shows how powerful the forces of the sea are.

While technologies have changed and different navigation methods have been put in place, the preservation of the lighthouses results in keeping these beautiful, magnificent landmarks with so much history that goes along with them and can give a peek into life on the rugged coast. It always makes me think about The Last Observers, a short film I was fortunate to be able to watch at the Banff Film Festival, that really makes us reflect on these tended landmarks and what they meant when in use.

It's crazy to think how the little blink of light coming from a lighthouse could be so instrumental in keeping the ships and the sailors safe at sea. Wandering back toward the lighthouse, the sun hit that perfect level, where it lights everything up with a beautiful golden glow. That golden light stopped me in my tracks - just as the light of a lighthouse would a ship lost in a stormy sea. I feel that this photo showcases light, the whole founding idea of the lighthouse.