Point Arena Lighthouse
Northern California Coast
Northern California Coast
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Jan, 2021Views
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Awards
Contest Finalist in Cliffside Photo Contest
People's Choice in Cliffside Photo Contest
Top Shot Award 21
People's Choice in Lighthouse Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Genius
Emotions
Impressed
Happy
Top Ranks
Top 30 rankTop 20 rank week 1
Top 30 rankTop 30 rank week 1
Top 20 rank
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at the famous Point Arena lighthouse just north of Point Arena, California on the wild Mendocino coast line.Time
It's always my goal when I'm on road trips to be somewhere beautiful for the golden hour and I was lucky to make it here in time. It took a while to convince my co-pilot to take the windy back road through the mountains - he wanted to take the highway down south. Lucky for me he relented and we reached the coast (and the lighthouse) just as the sun was high enough that I could compose a few choice shots as the sun set.Lighting
Well, the golden hour sort of speaks for itself. I would have like a bit more color in the clouds looking north and east, but hey, I'm still happy with what I got.Equipment
I used my beloved Sony a7 III coupled with a Sony FE 16-35mm lens. Tripod was a Zomei 7699c.Inspiration
Most years I hitch from Oregon to the border of Mexico and then back up. The year this was taken - the winter of 2020 - COVID was raging, so a friend and I chose to drive together instead. And as mentioned above, I always try to end the day in a beautiful place for golden hour photography. Got lucky here with the timing! (Of course, it's easier to arrange being somewhere for the golden hour when one's driving...hitching it really is luck/fate/chance etc.)Editing
This was taken a couple of years ago, but in general I don't tend to do much post processing. I correct levels/curves, take off any lens dust, make small changes to exposure/contrast etc. The usual stuff. Sometimes I'll apply a dab or the Orton Effect from Luminar 4 on my landscapes and maybe change the color a bit. (The Sony a7 III tends to shoot towards the green side of things.) My editing software is Lightroom Classic + Luminar 4 plugin. (I'm not fond of the later versions of Luminar...too much AI)In my camera bag
On these trips I would generally take a complete kit (which is a bit much for hitchhiking, but there ya go...) My Sony a7 III Sony FE 16-35mm Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 Sony FE 70-300 Sigma 70mm Macro lens Polar Pro Peter McKinnon Variable ND filter Ulanzi & Coman travel tripod (this is new for me and I LOVE it) Remote Shutter And the various misc ya need on a trip: lens dust blower, extra battery, etc....Feedback
Timing, timing, timing. Getting there with enough time to scout for the best place to set up. (It's nice to not have to scramble to get a good shot...) Even better, do your research ahead of time (something I can't do when I'm relying on chance/fate/luck of the draw/ but hey, it's what works best if you like to have everything planned.) In general, it also helps to have a creative counterpart who has ideas different than your own. My co-pilot had a great aesthetic sense that was nothing like mine. It helped me see more than I would on my own. (Though this shot wouldn't have been to his taste.)
