Tom McCreary, APSA, MPSA
July 2026 - Wave From 144 Steps Up
About the Image(s)
I was recently on a trip to Eastern Wisconsin, along the West coast of Lake Michigan. Of course I took lots of lighthouse pictures. I have some that I think are good lighthouse images, but this one caught my eye. There was a group while I was at this lighthouse, Wind Point Lighthouse near Racine, Wisconsin. These young women had climbed the 144 steps to get to the top and were waving to the members on the ground. The lighthouse is 108 feet tall. I did not climb any lighthouses, my old knees are not up to that.
It was taken with my Olympus 14-150mm lens at 90mm (180mm 35mm equivalent), 1/500th second, f8, ISO 200. I did not do any editing other than crop some off the bottom.
2 comments posted
Tom- This is a simple, high-impact, and visually engaging image. The lighthouse immediately commands attention, and the cloudless blue sky provides the perfect backdrop, allowing the white structure to stand out dramatically. And the simplicity of the composition is powerful in its own right.
That said, your title, Wave from 144 Steps, suggests that the waving woman is the true subject of the photograph. So, in my VF I added canvas, opened shadows and flipped horizontally - I thought that by positioning the waving woman on the left side of the frame, she becomes immediately noticeable and serves as the visual entry point into the photograph. The image then tells a clearer story of a person acknowledging the viewer from high atop the lighthouse, creating a stronger human connection. While the image as presented is a cleaner architectural study, I felt my edits aligned with your title to emphasize the waving figure.
Posted: 07/01/2026 22:17:10
That said, your title, Wave from 144 Steps, suggests that the waving woman is the true subject of the photograph. So, in my VF I added canvas, opened shadows and flipped horizontally - I thought that by positioning the waving woman on the left side of the frame, she becomes immediately noticeable and serves as the visual entry point into the photograph. The image then tells a clearer story of a person acknowledging the viewer from high atop the lighthouse, creating a stronger human connection. While the image as presented is a cleaner architectural study, I felt my edits aligned with your title to emphasize the waving figure.
Posted: 07/01/2026 22:17:10
Thanks for your kind words about the image. I am not sure about reversing the image. To me the hand is in a better position without reversing it. Lets see what the other members say. Posted: 07/01/2026 23:46:58