Stunning Lighthouse Photo

Cabaal

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mumbleyjoe/2043508173/

Once per year at the Pigeon Point Lighthouse they shut down the weak insipid modern (presumably electric) light and switch over the the 5 kerosene lamps and fresnel lens of the original, as it was 135 years ago.

Last night was the night, and it's really quite a sight. When they fire it up there's really a collective sense of "whoa!" from the audience (which was WAY bigger than I expected - I probably had to park a mile away and I was there an hour early).

Capturing a shot like this is tricky because the lens itself actually rotates, which looks great but is tough for long exposures. But for the first 5 minutes they leave it static to indulge all of the photographers who turn out and want this shot (this highly unique and one-of-a-kind shot of course). When they switched to this light my camera still had about a minute of noise reduction to do on my final test shot to get the exposure right, so I missed the first minute. Then I started this shot which was about 2 minutes long, followed by 2 minutes of noise reduction again. So by the time I had my shot it was too late for a do-over. So this is it, I only got to take one photo and this is what I got, so I hope it worked out.

It's also noteworthy that the fog last night was insane, even for a San Francisco local. On the drive home there were times when I couldn't see the road in front of me, only the orange reflectors in the middle of the road (for about 60ft). It worked out beautifully for viewing the lighthouse, though I also found that if I backed away much further than this I'd lose sight of the lighthouse itself. The unfortunately consequence of all the fog was that it was almost impossible to keep the lens and camera dry, so the lesson learned was to always keep towels with you when shooting the California coast.

And in case you're wondering, that is the moon in the upper left.

Nikon D40 | Sigma 10-20@10mm | f/7.1 | 114s | ISO200 | Tripod

helios

Saw that on Digg, it's a brilliant shot!

trooney

There's something very 'Godly' about that image. Why if I believed there was a heaven that's the photo that might re-enforce that belief :cool:

Exar Khun

I remember flying past that lighthouse while biking my way across the States. It has a hostel on its grounds. Those were the days....

Cabaal

trooney wrote: »

There's something very 'Godly' about that image. Why if I believed there was a heaven that's the photo that might re-enforce that belief :cool:

Except its a man made structure?

trooney

Cabaal wrote: »

Except its a man made structure?

Much the same as God

bradnailer

Stunning for sure, very nice shot well captured

Cabaal

trooney wrote: »

Much the same as God

Lets not get into a debate about a non existent deity

shepthedog

Incredible shot.. Love it..

templeathea

Really, really wonderful.

5uspect

That is an amazing shot!

Covey

Fabulous shot, but the lighthouse does need straightning a bit.

T.

Tarakiwa

Love it

Dades

I made a point of reading the descriptive process beforehand so anticipation was heightened... worth waiting for. REALLY cool.

The only thing is I would straighten up the lighthouse too. Congrats!

DadaKopf

I think the way the light beams out of the tower is very interesting, but I don't think it's a good shot.

trooney

DadaKopf wrote: »

I think the way the light beams out of the tower is very interesting, but I don't think it's a good shot.

Pourquoi?

DadaKopf

On the technical side, there's an annoying lens flare (but Photoshop could easily sort that out).

Mainly, I feel the angle of the shot - tilted so the tower is at an angle, and also the aspect of view on the lighthouse obscuring the buildings - takes away from what it otherwise an exquisite moment in San Francisco's yearly calendar, and history. The photo undermines itself.

Borderfox

Superb shot and nice to see with your own eyes..

run_Forrest_run

Covey wrote: »

Fabulous shot, but the lighthouse does need straightning a bit.

T.

my sentiments exactly..and am I just ignorant or does it look like it was photo shopped to the hilt???

trooney

DadaKopf wrote: »

On the technical side, there's an annoying lens flare (but Photoshop could easily sort that out).

Mainly, I feel the angle of the shot - tilted so the tower is at an angle, and also the aspect of view on the lighthouse obscuring the buildings - takes away from what it otherwise an exquisite moment in San Francisco's yearly calendar, and history. The photo undermines itself.

Fair points. He did say that he only had time to fire off the one shot. It would be nice to see a nicely composed shot of it. I still like it though.

Now... where did I put that praying mat...:D

DadaKopf

He mentioned in his comments that the reason for the weirdness is lens distortion, and he hasn't fixed it yet. That'd go some of the way. It's nice'n'all, it just could be so much better. Amazing what gets DIGGed out.

Mellor

Heres the larger image, and the original

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=2043508173&size=l

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=2043508173&size=o


These things look best before the website resizes them