Wickford Art Association JAM photographer David Zapatka began a personal night lighthouse photography project, “Stars & Lights,” on Jamestown’s Dutch Island in October 2013. It soon morphed into capturing lighthouses throughout New England, and he began displaying the images at the 2015 Wickford Art Festival. David discovered there exists few historical images of lighthouses from night in our national archives. Noting this irony, in 2018 the United States Lighthouse Society adopted the project. Now called “USA Stars & Lights” to reflect its national scope, to date David has visited 27 states and photographed nearly 300 American lighthouses deep into the night. He’s released four books of the work and continues the travels throughout the country, much of it utilizing the Society’s donated 22-foot RV, “Ruthie.” He has also been honored throughout New England with twenty solo shows of the photographs. More than 1200 images can be seen in the “David Zapatka Collection” on the United States Lighthouse Society website at www.uslhs.org
