tylerwind

Trish--Believe it or not, I'm alive! :) Is this Nati's daughter??? She is a very cute little girl and this is a wonderful portrait...great lighting and colors! What have you been up to? What is Nati doing now? Is she in school in the US yet (I remember that was the plan). You had a son up her in school too, didn't you? Be in touch when you have a minute. Great to see you still shooting and doing wonderful work!

Well David, believe it or not I'm still alive (if you even remember me) and I see you are still impressing everyone! This is a great shot...the white balance of the snow, blue of the sky, and exposure balance with the snow and shadows both well exposed are superb. I haven't made it over to photo.net very much recently but when I do I always head straight for your page. Your work is an inspiration and great example of what I'd like mine to be. I haven't posted any work on my page in essentially 2 years but I've been actively shooting...I'm currently editing through 40K shots and have someone to make me a professional website in the next month or two. I'll let you know when I get it up and running. As always, thanks for all your help a while back--you've been a very positive influence on my photography! (PS--I'm still waiting to see what happens when you use the "Tyler Lighthouse exposure" technique!)

Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated!

Here are some comments and conversations from the first time I posted this shot.

 

Skotos Gennari, January 07, 2007; 01:55 P.M.

 

Hi, the tower looks inclined (to the right) to me, try rotating it a little bit, just my two cents.

 

Tyler Wind, January 07, 2007; 02:01 P.M. (edit | delete)

 

Thanks for the comments. I blew this up and checked the horizon and there may be a very, very slight tilt (probably not noticable) but the truth is that the lighthouse IS really crooked! It is slowly falling into the sea because the water has erroded the island. I thought about straightening the lighthouse but I figured it was kind of a neat documentary to show it how it actually looks. Thanks for stopping by and leaving some comments!

 

Landrum Kelly, January 07, 2007; 02:01 P.M.

 

Not bad, Tyler. Now if you can only get out there when a hurricane is a couple of hundred miles offshore and sending some ten-foot rollers in there. Of course, the water stacking up with an onshore wind will make it darned near impossible to get out there, I would imagine.

 

Was this shot from Folly Island?

 

--Lannie

 

Tyler Wind, January 08, 2007; 01:52 A.M. (edit | delete)

 

Hey Lannie! This was a particularly challenging shot that doesn't come about very often. I got this one (and many others) just after sunrise the other day...the sun is off to our right as we view this picture which I thought gave a nice glow and reflection to the rocks. Furthermore, the lighting was decent so the lighthouse turned out decently. These rocks are at the north end of Folly beach, at the very tip of the island. If you go down the road to the old base that was closed off when you lived here you come out right at this line of rocks and the sand dunes (pictured in some of my other shots). All the sunrise pictures are taken by walking to the left after you get to the end of the road. The problem with these rocks and getting good waves is that if the tide is too high, the water just washes over the rocks and there is no dynamic splash. Too low and the waves will not hit the rocks. Furthermore, since it is at the very tip of the island there is usually much in the way of waves. So, it has to be pretty choppy to even produce some waves to hit the rocks. I've tried this shot on several occassions but don't think I've ever gotten results as good as these. The other times allowed me to work on my technique and composition so I was able to capitalize this weekend when I finally had good lighting, the right tide level, and rough enough seas to generate some waves. I have seen bigger waves up there, and you are right, if I could catch one of those days it would be even better. I've actually seen a few days where the waves crashed up as high as the lighthouse in the composition. Maybe one day I'll find even better conditions but these shots will have to do for now. I'll try to get a few more uploaded soon--I did about 7 or 8 different compositions, B&W and color, and lastly had 3 variations on my shutter speed for different effects with the water--I ended up shooting a bunch of shots and will try to get a few more uploaded. Thanks again for the comments!

 

Tyler Wind, January 08, 2007; 01:56 A.M. (edit | delete)

 

PS

Lannie--By the way, you need to get back down here now that you can walk out to the tip of the island so you can revisit the lighthouse you saw growing up! They just got another 1 million dollar grant from the state and last I heard are supposed to start restoration and stabilization this spring. I wonder if they'll leave it looking old, rusty, and weathered, or if they'll repaint it and whip it back into shape. I could see a plus side to both...what I really wish is that after they get it stabilized that they would put the fresnel lens back in and relight it!

 

Landrum Kelly, January 08, 2007; 06:45 A.M.

 

I like it more and more each time I see it, Tyler, all the more because I know those waters. You're right about the naval or coast guard station--it completely blocked land access to this point in the sixties when I last lived in the Charleston area. We were able to get near the Morris Island light by going out into the ocean in small boats and coming back around, but that could be dicey because of currents and shoaling. I frankly don't recommend it, although I have seen people running the waves in treacherous inlets in small boats just for kicks. The one that always scared me the most was Stono Inlet at the south end of Folly. When the tide is going out, you tend to drift down the river toward that big wall of rollers that seem to go on forever in every direction, just beyond the placid waters of the tidal river. (In addition to the hazard of drowning, the sharks just move lazily into the outgoing current to catch anything washing out on an ebb tide. I think that I mentioned this with regard to Tybee Inlet on the south end of Tybee Island near Savannah--but there I was in a kayak, which is even scarier, although I have seen experienced sea kayakers paddle all the way across that inlet on an ebb tide just in front of the breakers. It is either that or go a mile or more out to sea to clear all the hazards of such breaking inlets.)

 

This was probably risky enough for you--maybe more risky than being in some boats. I never liked picking my way across wet rocks that are put up for erosion control. They put up some rocks like that at Cherry Grove, but the last time I was in that area, the ocean was gobbling up rocks and houses pretty well, since it was on the south side (eroding side) of the inlet, just like here.

 

The power of the ocean is what makes me sceptical that they will ever be able to secure this light again. I am surprised that it survived Hugo, but it was on the offshore side of Hugo's winds and thus survived. (The Isle of Palms, on the onshore wind side of Hugo, did not fare nearly so well, even though the light on Sullivan's Island survived, even as the bridge to the mainland was destroyed.)

 

I have always wondered how far down they had to go to anchor this light, but we have been saying that it is a goner for some decades now, and there it is.

 

I hear that the Corps of Engineers is thinking about building a massive seawall off the Mississippi coast where Katrina came ashore. Idiots. . . . Even if it survived the big blows, it would change the dynamics of coastal waters.

 

--Lannie

 

Tyler Wind, January 08, 2007; 10:03 A.M. (edit | delete)

 

Lannie-I'm glad you like this shot because every time I check it my ratings have dropped like a bag of wet cement! It has been weird because normally after about an hour or so I don't get any more anonymous ratings. But, this shot had been up for about 6 hours and had 8 ratings averaging around 5.5 and then I checked another 6 hours later and it had received another 6 anonymous ratings dropping it to almost 4.5! How did people rate it anonymously that long after posting? Did they go through and rate all 700 postings that were put up or is there a way to rate only landscape shots? I'm not angry or even upset...just curious. To be honest, I still look at this picture and feel it is probably one of my top 3 lighthouse shots so the ratings baffle me but don't bother me.

 

Climbing on these rocks wasn't bad...I did shoot some shots from the rocks (ie-tripod set up on rocks) but they on the last few rocks as it reaches the sea wall. Aside from getting my a couple drops of water on me if there was a HUGE wave, there was really no risk. I'm not sure if you have or not, but if you haven't checked it out go to www.savethelight.org and check out the plans for stabilization. I'm not an engineer but they sound like they very well may work. They've raised several million dollars now--I wonder how much more it would cost to separate the lighthouse from it's base, use a crane to lower it onto a barge, and float it over to Folly? I know that would be expensive but I can't imagine it would cost much more than building a base that will withstand the erosion. You are right about the tides and waves in this section though...you look out and there are so many different waterways converging that all you can see if lines of white in every direction. Thanks again for the comments--I really do encourage you to make a trip down here (with camera) at some point--I think you'd really enjoy it and I'd be more than willing to give you a personal tour of all the great photo spots that I've found! Take care, Lannie!

 

J.K. York, January 08, 2007; 10:20 A.M.

 

Tyler, welcome to the unfair world of what Catalin Soare and I call "the Worms": anonymous raters who will certainly sit and click their way through hundreds of posts with 3/3's. some of them are automated "bots" or macros. ignoring them is essential to one's sanity. years ago this lighthouse was up for sale as it was privately owned. I don't know if it still is. your horizon is pretty level which would indicate that the lighthouse is settling to one side just a bit. your tonal range here is phenomenal. your capture of the foamy break water is perfect against the erosion rocks. i don't think you could do anything to make this shot any better than it already is. bravo Dr. Wind! fine work. regards, J.K.

 

Tyler Wind, January 08, 2007; 11:55 A.M. (edit | delete)

 

Thanks for the comments, James! Yes, I know how the ratings go around here sometimes--I was just baffled as to HOW they managed to rate it anonymously 10 hours after posting. But, I guess as you say, they sit and click through hundreds of pictures before the picture even loads onto the screen. I checked and I think there is a very slight lean on the horizon but the lighthouse is definitely leaning a few degrees as well. The lighthouse I believe is still privately owned by the non-profit group Save The Light , a foundation dedicated to preserving this old landmark. However, I think they lease it to the state but that is just a way of jumping through a loop hole so that the Army engineers ca

Wow--what a capture! The exposure and detail is great. Furthermore, although this is not a "rare" event, a capture of it is rather creative. Very well done.

Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated. The horizon is not

tilted--the lighthouse really is LEANING! Please check out the every

expanding portfolio. Thanks for stopping by!

Chris H (SoCalif), February 11, 2008; 11:32 P.M.

 

Tyler-

I like this composition a lot; and it works very well in the square format (or nearly so). Good depth of field too, the focus on the lines is right where you want the viewer, and the neutral BG doesn't get in the way. I think you could push the black point a touch more and coax a bit more contrast out of this. Nice textures and tones you got goin' here. Well seen. Cheers! Chris

 

Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated! Please have a look

at the ever expanding portfolio!

Lannie--I hope you've been doing well...haven't heard from you in a while, although I admit I've been absent from PN for quite some time. I love your tones and textures in this shot--well done! I finally made it down to Hunting Island Lighthouse to get some pictures. It's a tough one to photograph so I don't think I got any photos that are going to become world famous, but I got some decent shots I'll try to get posted sometime soon. Hope things are well...good to see you still out capturing images such as this, which seem to be your trademark in this hobby!

Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated! Please have a look

a the ever expanding portfolio!

Trish vandenBerg, February 23, 2008; 08:51 A.M.

what an amazing creation of our nature !! :)

 

 

 

Antoni Tomadakis, February 25, 2008; 03:33 P.M.

The Oak Tree

This is the perspective that appeals the most to me. Well done.

 

Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated. Please have a look

at the ever expanding portfolio!

Frank--Thanks again! As always, your responses are most helpful! Just so you know, I always shoot in RAW and always bracket my exposures, generally pretty widely. For this shot, I have 4 stops total of bracketing (this is the middle, camera metered exposure). Although I don't know everything about photoshop yet, I'm thinking ahead and bracketing everything so when I do learn more, I have the RAW files to go back to and do my blending. Thanks for all your help--I do appreciate it!

Chris--Thanks for the suggestions and comments. As you know, I value your opinion and appreciate you helping me improve.

 

Frank--I feel very fortunate to have you follow some of my work and offer your suggestions. I admire your work tremendously and your critiques are priceless. You are always hold no punches when evaluating work which some may not like but I love. It's helpful to know when someone admires your work, but even more helpful when someone as respected and expert as yourself tells you how the image could be improved. So, thanks for this and all your many comments. With that said, your edit of this shot is one of the best I've seen. You made tremendous improvements. I shot it with a polarizer and the only thing I did was to add some saturation. What you did made the scene much closer to how it really appeared--it looks like a fall in the middle of winter in your edit. If you don't mind, would you please share a couple details about how you did that? I'm still playing with PS and (very) slowly learning how to improve my work. Once again, thanks for your interest in my work and your dedication to helping me improve--it is much appreciated!

Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated. Please have a look

at the ever expanding portfolio!

Josh--Thanks for you input. I definitely see what you are saying. To be honest, this was a snapshot location when I was traveling so I'm pleased I got anything even this nice. I will definitely be visiting it again in the future. What you can't see right here is that I'm standing on a slippery rock in my suede shoes in the dead of winter when it was so cold I could barely press the shutter release! I plan to head back during the summer when I can get in the water and set up exactly how I want. Getting closer to the falls would be tough--even this far away the spray was so bad that I only got a couple pictures that weren't completely ruined by water spots on my lens. I definitely like the idea of getting lower and focusing on the foreground and will do that. I didn't whip out the telephoto because I was in a hurry but would also love to do that to isolate the bigger falls. Also, the area above the large fall was so bright (probably about 6 or 7 stops) that it was nearly impossible to get a decent exposure with the opening above the falls included. Thanks again for your input and thoughts--thoughtful critiques are always helpful, regardless of whether or not I agree (and I do agree with you for the most part). Take a look at the same folder this image came from, there are several other compositions that may be closer to what you have in mind.

Jane--The location is absolutely top-secret and I refuse to give it away...ok, I'm teasing! :) This is Looking Glass Falls in Asheville, NC, just off of the Blue Ridge Parkway a few miles. If you ever get over to the east coast get one of the many books on waterfalls of the Blue Ridge/Virginia/North Carolina--there are some great photo opportunities. Thanks for stopping by and leaving your thoughts...they are much appreciated!

Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated. Please have a look

at the ever expanding portfolio!

Jennifer and Ken--Thanks for your comments! I appreciate your help and editing expertise! I agree about the contrast--I just know nothing about editing pictures and especially struggle with contrast on B&W. About the viewpoint, the "leading to nothing" was intentionally--I just thought it was kind of neat how your eye starts adn walks down the boardwalk to a sort of vanishing point. You are completely right about the effect with raising the camera....this shot has the camera just a foot or so off the ground. I have several different heights up to 6 feet high. As you go higher you see more of the end of the dock but it gives you less of the "walking down the pier" feel and also includes more of the marshland on the right and left. I'll try to get some more perspectives posted. I'm really glad you said that because that lets me know that to some (and maybe even a majority) it would be nice to see the end of the pier. If you get a chance, please check back in a week or so for more compositions. Thanks again!

Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated. Please have a look

at the ever expanding portfolio!

Any thoughts or comments on this 1,500 year old tree are greatly

appreciated! Please have a look at the ever expanding portfolio!

Any thoughts or comments on this 1,500 year old tree are greatly

appreciated! Please have a look at the ever expanding portfolio!

Thanks for the comments, guys! This is the "Angel Oak" in Charleston, SC, which is perhaps the oldest living tree in the world (estimated at about 1500 years old). It is a "live oak" tree. Thanks for stopping by!

Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated! Please have a look

at the ever expanding portfolio!

Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated! Please have a look

at the ever expanding portfolio!