Ed O’Rourke
May 2023 - Heceta Head
About the Image(s)
This is the Heceta Head lighthouse on the Oregon coast (about 10 miles from my house). It's considered the most photographed lighthouse on the west coast, but that's probably because it's the only lighthouse with a viewpoint right on highway 101, which is where I took this shot from. Most of the photos you see of the lighthouse seem to be further back because there is about 3/4 mile of Pacific between me and the lighthouse. I wanted to experiment with how close of a view I could get so I was playing with my telephoto lens a bit. It was a nice clear day and the sun was to my back. For post processing I did increase the contrast a bit and reduced the exposure slightly. I also had to do a bit of haze reduction.
I used my Canon R; RF100-500 lens with a 2x extender on it giving me an focal distance of 856mm; aperture f/18; shutter speed 1/250: ISO 400. The camera was on a tripod however it was very windy which kept the camera shaking a bit so I used a higher shutter speed and adjusted to a corresponding ISO.
5 comments posted
I understand the interest in making something other than the customary side-of-the-road shot, but I'm not convinced you benefitted from eliminating the drama that the head, proper, can provide. Still, it is well composed (or so say I).
You definitely did benefit from the Sun being slightly offset.
Post-processing seems effective and unobtrusive. It's not surprising that you needed a bit of dehaze. So often, it seems makers are tempted to overdo it; no evidence of that here. Posted: 05/07/2023 13:18:42
Did you get any shots with a larger aperture? It would be interesting the see how they compare. Also does anyone know if there is a tripod not affected by wind? It is a real problem. Posted: 05/17/2023 18:58:59
I like the composition and wherever your eyes go they are drawn back to the lighthouse. It also breaks up the picture. Posted: 05/24/2023 17:00:28