Sturgeon Bay Lighthouse
Jan, 2015Views
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jodimair
August 17, 2015
Well hello, friend! I'm glad to see you here! This image is just absolutely stunning. The composition, the colors, everything. Incredibly beautiful. Your photos always impress me... I can't wait to see more!
PRO+
CapeScapesCoastal
January 17, 2016
Magnificent color/exposure/composition! I wish I were there… Congrats!
FocalplaneHawaii
September 06, 2016
Love the color in this image and the effect of the long exposure in the sky and the water. Nicely done!
FocalplaneHawaii
October 11, 2016
Great image! The sharp lines of that lighthouse building standout against the softness of the water and the sky from the long exposure! Nicely done!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I shot this during our family vacation in upper Wisconsin by Sturgeon Bay. Before, any vacation, I look for potential places to photograph preferably sunrise shots as in that way, I can give the rest of my time to the family even though it means less sleep for me especially in summer time.Time
This was shot right around sunrise time. There was a storm that was moving out near sunrise. This lighthouse was about 20 minutes from the hotel we were staying. I checked previous night on weather.com about partial clearing around sunrise. So, I headed towards this place. I lost my way a bit as GPS took me in a different spot than I wanted to go to. I looked at the map and eventually found it. I was way before sunrise, so did not miss anything.Lighting
With the sun rising behind the lighthouse on the left and the clouds moving, I decided to go for a long exposure shot and used my 10-stop B&W ND Filter. I knew, the long exposure would make the water smooth and the streaks in the clouds. This would make the red color of the lighthouse pop more.Equipment
I used, Nikon D7000, Sigma 10-20 lens at focal length of 20 mm and f/11, ISO 100 with a shutter speed of 76 secs. I also used a Vanguard Alta Pro Tripod and wireless remote.Inspiration
I am a great fan of lighthouses. The big red lighthouses against the water and clutter less background always amazes me. When I researched, the Sturgeon bay lighthouse before my trip, the red color and the shape of it pulled me and I knew, with a little luck (clouds in this case) I can get a decent shot. The moving clouds made me decide on the long exposure but I did not plan for that ahead of timeEditing
Just like any any serious photographer, I shoot in RAW. I use Lightroom for basic adjustments, I always choose manual white balance even when I am shooting in RAW. I used, gradient tool and circular gradient, to bring up the mood. I also used Photoshop for some luminosity masks to adjust contrast, color etc. I used some vignetting and also some adjustment brush to make the lighting more complex.In my camera bag
I have one camera body Nikon D7000, Prime lens Nikkor 50 mm f/1.4, Nikkor 18-200 mm f/3.5-5.6, Sigma 10-20 mm f/4-5.6. Neutral density Filters - 6 stop and 10 stop. Circular Polarizer, Remote Shutter Release.Feedback
All, that I can say - "Do your research before any photo adventure" - use weather apps, TPE, Google maps, research for parking spots. Most of the time, I shoot early in the morning, so I do not worry too much about where to park. Most places, you can park close by to where you shooting if you have access. Get up really early and prepare as you do not want to miss some great light. Most of the time, I reach much earlier than sunrise to get a feel for the surrounding. I also need to find suitable foregrounds. For lighthouses, one big advantage in most cases would be man-made leading line. If you do not have one may be use some foreground objects like grass to create leading lines.
