N 35°15’17.88″ W 75°31’15.13″ Google Earth location
You can go to this precise location, but you’ll never get this photo there, ha ha! That’s because this is the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the one that was moved further inland back in 1999 because the shoreline was encroaching on its location – Wikipedia says that the water was only 15′ (5m) from the base, but I consider that horseshit since I’ve been there before and after the move and the water might have gotten within about 40 meters at the worst of times. That’s still too close, especially given what a storm surge might do, but don’t let Wikipedia overstate the case. When built of course, the lighthouse was much further from the water, but that’s the nature of barrier islands: they reshape over time, sometimes drastically, so building anything near the water is too often a bet against time. Anyway, this was taken at the old location, so if you go where I’ve plotted you’re not going to find the lighthouse, though if you look around you can probably spot it (if you look around anywhere within 8 kilometers of that location you can probably spot it.)
It’s easy enough to find videos regarding the move everywhere on the webbernets, so if you’re thirsting to know a short search will slake that, but basically, they left the lighthouse standing and built a rail system underneath the foundations, then slid it very slowly and carefully about 900 meters to the southwest – the path is easy to spot. Why not further inland? You’ll have to ask them (whoever they are,) but I’m surmising it was a matter both of solid footing and what land was obtainable or already in possession of the Parks Department, plus perhaps a solid footing for the tracks themselves.
Hatteras remains one of the lighthouses (unlike Bodie Island) that you can go to the top of, but best to pick a quieter day because the quarters are a little tight, and the slog to the top is a 60 meter vertical climb. Unfortunately, it is also one that can be difficult to photograph from a distance without getting a plethora of radio towers in the photo, so the historic effect is difficult to produce – I’ve hidden them behind trees with careful positioning. You can see it, day or night, from the road in either direction, many kilometers off, and if you do this at night pay close attention. The rotating light will be alternating brighter and darker, then roughly the same brightness as you get closer, then alternating darker and brighter. This is due to the aiming of the lenses on opposite sides of the light source, and provide a clue as to how close you’re getting – basically, if the lights appear the same brightness (and you’re in a ship at least,) it’s time to turn away. The pattern of the lights, and the paint job itself, also reveal which lighthouse you’re seeing and thus where you are – Bodie Island, the next lighthouse north, has simple bands and a two-flash then 27 seconds of darkness pattern.
But hey – it’s a lighthouse. There’s only so much you can do with it.