Ila Lighthouse
Aug, 2014Views
2416
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Awards
Featured
Contest Finalist in Photography 101 Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Cloud Painting Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Lighthouses Photo Contest
Cool Capture
Superb Composition
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Superior Skill
All Star
Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
Exceptional Contrast
Great Find
One Of A Kind
Genius
Virtuoso
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p_eileenbaltz
May 07, 2015
I want to be here! Outstanding capture!!! Congratulations on your awards, and good luck.:) Eileen
KnutAageDahl
May 08, 2015
Thank you very much Eileen! It was a beautiful moment created by mother nature. I'm glad I was there to share it with others =)
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Behind The Lens
Location
This picture was taken at the pier in Trondheim, Norway. At that time there was a struggle to get out to the lighthouse, so I had to park at a buildingsite, and walk a long way to get there. Now they have rebuilt the area, and everyone can walk straight up to it. So everytime I walk by this place I remember the history and "drama" behind the picture.Time
This was taken late, just as the sun set behind the mountains that surrounds the fjord. I tried different exposures and played around with the shutterspeed up to 30 sec, but I was not entirely happy with the result. Because I had parked my car in a place that had a maximum of 3 hours, my time was running out. In a last attempt I opened up the aperture a bit, put on a LEE BigStopper filter and cranked up the shutter speed. While the camera was doing its magic, I packed my gear and ran to the car as soon as the mirror slapped back into place. The result popped up as I came back to my car. Pleased with the result and no ticked.Lighting
I love to play with contrast, colors and dof. Light yellow to a dark blue color brings out a depth in the photo. The light hitting the metal rail that leads up to the lighthouse was the tiny wow factor I was hoping for. I had to wait until the sun was low enough to colour the blue sky a tiny bit, and light up the rails. I upened up the shadows on the lighthouse and added a slight and soft vignette. Also I love the texture in the rocks and how sharp the foreground is compared to the soft sky and sea.Equipment
This picture was taken with a Canon 1Ds mark III, Canon 17-40mm f/4, LEE BigStopper, of camera trigger, bulb mode, on an Induro tripod. But I could have used any camera to get similar result, as long as you know your gear, you'll get great result. The reson I traded in my 550D was to get fullframe and less noise during long exposures, and to have durability and weather sealing.Inspiration
As I'm physicaly reduced, I'm mainly taking landscapes in my own town. I have seen great pictures of tall lighthouses from the seashore of Great Britain and other great places. So I tried to find something close to that and work with the light, composition and gear to bring forth something beautiful in something many take for granted when they walk by every day. This way I challenge myself to become better by trying to make this small lighthouse feel like a tall and great one. And due to my restriction I did just that with this litle but charming lighthouse thanks knowledge and to mother nature.Editing
Yes there was some post prosess done. I always shoot in RAW unless I shoot with my fuji camera. So I had tuned the colors and whitebalance using x-rite colorchecker card. I raised the shadows enough to bring fort some lost teksture, and darkened the shadows back with burn tool on places like on the left tree side and cracks between the rocks in the foregruond. This was to make sure the trees did not steal the attention that the Lighthouse deserved and to create strong lines towards the Lighthouse. Then I lowered the highlights in the sky and painted back highlights where I wanted contrast and some drama, using the dodge tool. All burning and dodging was done on seperate layers with 50% grey fill. I then added a vignette, some sharpening to the foreground and lighthouse and upped the saturation of orange in lightroom. I darkened the blue a little bit and straightened up the lighthouse with lense correction.In my camera bag
When I pack my bag I pack it for what I'm shooting. Since I shoot so many different things its not always the same. But if I just decided to take a walk and wing it, I'll bring my light 200mm 2.8 L II, 17-40mm, 85mm 1,8 , kenko extensiontubes, a tiny yongnuo 500 ex flash, Lee filters, x-rite color checker and a external shutter releaser. And ofcourse my 1Ds3. If I could afford a 5d mark III, I'd change due to the weight, but I can't. So I went out and bought the best buy ever. The Holdfast Moneymaker. It is a beautiful dual/tripple camerastrap that evens out the weight and the 1Ds3 feels like a 550D.Feedback
Use the gear youhave, learn what aperture your lense shines in, expose for the highlights. If your camera can't handle the noise in the shadows, bracket by 2 stops either way or shoot one exposure for the sky/light and one for the land/shades. Then layer it in photoshop later on. Set up your tripod and camera where you think its beautiful. Correct the composition, use the histogram to decide on exposure. Use manual mode. Then decide what needs to be sharp and what don't. Then decide on shuttertime and focuspoint/aperture. Leave your tripod and take of your camera. Then walk around with your camera and try many different compositions before returning to the tripod and locking it back into the original composition. Take a look at all the different compositions and find the most pleasing one. Don't forget to get there in time, bring food and water and enjoy the moment when you have chosen your composition. Because everytime you look at the picture it will bring you back and make you feel what you felt when you took it!
