Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
Apr, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
My son plays football in the European League in Berlin. Every year before he heads out he and I take a guy's trip to the beach somewhere. This year we went to Hatteras Island, NC where this was taken.Time
Was a mid morning shot around 10, as storms were starting to roll in.Lighting
I typically prefer the golden and blue hours of the morning and evenings for shooting. This particular morning was beyond those times. The lighting however this morning was partly sunny behind me, and storms were rolling in to the front. Made for good contrast and detail to the shots that morning of the Hatteras lighthouse giving it a nice glow.Equipment
This particular morning I was using my Nikon d750, with Nikkor 24-120 mm 1.4G ED Lens, and was done handheld.Inspiration
When at the beach, I'm always fascinated with piers, lighthouses, and ocean sunrises/sunsets. Piers and lighthouses in particular are stand alone structures that have seen and withstood everything the sea and sealife has thrown their way and continue to stand. With the approaching storm behind the lighthouse, the scene seemed to convey that story.Editing
Post processing with this particular image was minimal. Was a simple black and white conversion, adjusting background contrast and blacks, and adding some lighting to foreground to help lighthouse stand alone.In my camera bag
I tend to pack light with the Nikon d750 24-120mm, and d7100 70-200mm. Also keep a variable neutral density filter and a polarizing filter in the bag, along with a light tripod. When at the beach I always have several lens clothes to keep sand and spray off of the lens.Feedback
For me, when trying to capture stand alone structures I always think about composition. Alone, a structure is just that...a structure. What I consider first is 'what am I trying to convey, what story will the picture tell'. A different mood/story can be conveyed by changing the angle of the shot, going out before dawn or prior to sunset to capture the changing light, going out at night and using a long exposure, etc. The other thing I do is just stand and walk around the structure looking at how different angles and distances look against the background, and how backgrounds change with angles and distance; and consider how this changes the story. As I do this I take a few test shots to see what I like and don't. I think this is especially important when lighting is not optimal or sky is clear. I tend to plan for clouds versus clear skies. To do these shots I stay flexible and adapt to the situation. Know what you have to work with in the surroundings. I prefer to plan ahead and have an idea what the weather is going to do, so I can maximize lighting. Sometimes you'll just have to sit and wait, so adapt, be flexible, and don't compromise the shot.
