The-Alien-Observer

My favorite of the three Lighthouse pictures.

The combination of warm colors, detail on the lighthouse and the diagonals created by the shadow are what puts this one over the top. I like the other warm version of this photo as well but this one is my favorite.

I think that the nicest touch in this one is the black base of the lighthouse. It is the contrast that the black creates with those warm colors that actually sets the whole scene up. Sometimes it is easy to forget in the quest for detail that black is a very important part of color because it makes other colors stand out.

Nice HDR work here Alf.

Sincere Thanks for your kind words and positive feedback, very much appreciated.

You may be surprised to learn thaat this was a single image, no HDR processsing was involved. I did however, deliberately slightly under expose the image in order to control the bright sunlight, I also waited for an opportune moment when the sun was behind a cloud and used a Grad filter to control the light. And I changed the white balance to a slightly warmer hue when processing in Lightroom This is the same crooked lighthouse, it looks a bit straighter in this version, but if you check the horizon you will see the dip to the left. Yes I agree with you about the contrasting elements of the lighthouse base and the warm colours, it indeed an aesthetically leasing feature.

Cheers Joe.

Alf

The range between the lighthouse and the bright sky is excellent, I would have sworn that it was HDR processed or in the very least masked and layered with photoshop. Just shows what you can do in-camera with the right filters and patience.

I think the other thing is with RAW files and full frame cameras, the level of detail that can be retrieved from under exposed images is amazing. Finding the optimum level is the key. I tend to experiment with each shot, look at the histogram and either add or subtract exposure compensation levels and / or change apertures. Of course it doesn't always work : - )

Cheers Joe.

Alf

Great shot, lovely colour. Really like how the shadow leads you into the scene.

Many thanks for your invaluable feedback. Taking the shot with the sun directly behind the light house achieves three things, it allows a golden glow  and accentuates the focus point, it provides a leading shadow (as you have observed) and of course it serves to diffuse the brightest of the light and avoids blown highlights. I only mention this because the same rules can be applied to numerous situations. 

Best Regards 

Alf 

Hi Alf

Silhouettes are my 'thing' at the moment and this is truly inspirational. It would have been way too easy to have the whole lighthouse blacked out.

This has to go in my favourites.

Best regards

Gareth. 

I think we share the same tastes concerning silhouettes. I find them fascinating, and love the element of mystery that they convey.  Shadows are another thing that I get excited about and I suppose that was the big attraction for me in this photo. The amount of detailed visibility of the lighthouse and foreground sand that is in shadow, is mostly courtesy of lightroom processing. 

Sincere Thanks for your most complimentry words!

Best Regards

Alf