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Portland Head Lighthouse - Sunset
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Portland Head Lighthouse - Sunset



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This beautiful lighthouse is one of the most photogenic I've ever had the pleasure to shoot. Very lucky yesterday to get a great sunset that colored up...
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This beautiful lighthouse is one of the most photogenic I've ever had the pleasure to shoot. Very lucky yesterday to get a great sunset that colored up the eastern sky.
Read less
upload_dateNov, 2016

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4295

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Awards

Winner in Stunning Sunsets Photo Challenge
Winner in Maine Landscape Photo Challenge
Contest Finalist in Monthly Pro Vol 27 Photo Contest
Peer Award
Ritahowes1 Ulysees davidjprosser ekieki gman176 Vorster PhotosByJEM +255
Absolute Masterpiece
FRSam annmor ronjudyluv2travel photosue50 shelleytemplelarter stephaniepowell_4058 Paul_Joslin +58
Superb Composition
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Top Choice
v-ball skippy4280 MjBain julianwaugh Tntzerbe RuwanFonseka surendrachaturvedi +34
Magnificent Capture
edandaniphone Hprue Bopi46 RickL akphotographystudio edj41 SeektheShot +11
All Star
JayneBug Miptog Treecy KenyaJaxon noneoftheabove Eddieuuu071 edwardlrose +6
Genius
lizziemellis randalpair daydreamsbymary0710 trainwoman LondonMcCormick
Outstanding Creativity
ChrisHPhotos marcdicino Hood
Superior Skill
CapturedImages candiscamera

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Impressed
ronaldwebb saidulislam chuckmyer Viktor_Odnovyun FergalBrady daniducayag

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16 Comments |
RDVPhotography PRO+
 
RDVPhotography January 07, 2017
Nicely done! Finally made finals in a contest! Surprised it hasn't done so before looking at your posted stays.
JDLifeshots
 
JDLifeshots January 10, 2017
Congrats Deanne!
deannefortnam
deannefortnam January 10, 2017
Thanks so very much. I'm so happy!
BrianaK
 
BrianaK March 01, 2017
Congrats on winning my Maine Landscapes Photo Challenge! I love the subtle movement and lovely color you were able to capture in this shot. Keep up the awesome work!
deannefortnam
deannefortnam March 06, 2017
Thanks so much! appreciated!
eelcovanroden PRO+
 
eelcovanroden March 12, 2017
Congratulations on your wonderful Challenge Win!
deannefortnam
deannefortnam March 12, 2017
Thank you! I'm very pleased!
barbararybolt PRO+
 
barbararybolt March 12, 2017
Wonderful image!
MaryAnne306 PRO+
 
MaryAnne306 March 12, 2017
Everything just comes together perfectly in this photo. Congratulations on your Challenge win!
Bazz PRO+
 
Bazz May 08, 2017
Gorgeous! Love lighthouses!
debilee
 
debilee June 24, 2017
Simply gorgeous!
Eddieuuu071 Platinum
 
Eddieuuu071 August 21, 2017
Love this!
Dalecga PRO+
 
Dalecga October 16, 2017
This is such a beautiful stretch of the world. Great capture.
deannefortnam
deannefortnam October 17, 2017
Thanks very much!
DustinPenman
 
DustinPenman October 18, 2017
Very nice!
RuwanFonseka PRO
 
RuwanFonseka December 27, 2017
Well crafted. Voted.
RickL PRO+
 
RickL June 05, 2019
Exceptional composition
deannefortnam
deannefortnam June 05, 2019
Thanks so much! appreciated!
StolenMomentsCandz
 
StolenMomentsCandz May 16, 2020
Wow! This is stunning
deannefortnam
deannefortnam May 16, 2020
Thanks very much!
adiestiano
 
adiestiano December 29, 2020
Cool
deannefortnam
deannefortnam January 03, 2021
Thank you!
lizziemellis Platinum
 
lizziemellis September 19, 2021
So Beautiful nicely done.

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

#Portland Head Lighthouse #maine #lighthouse #rocks #sunset #deanne fortnam
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Behind The Lens

Location

This beautiful lighthouse is situated on the shore of Cape Elizabeth, Maine in Fort Williams Park at the entrance to Portland Harbor. Portland Head Lighthouse is the oldest and probably the most scenic (and most photographed) lighthouse in Maine. The original whale oil lamps were first lit in January of 1791.

Time

I took this image at 5:30PM after sunset. I'd been waiting and hoping from some color in the eastern sky at sunset and was happy to see a bit of color appear around 5:00. The official sunset that day was around 4:30 and the park officially closes at sunset but there were still a few other people around and it didn't seem to be a problem so I kept shooting.

Lighting

After waiting twenty minutes or so I debated about whether or not I should leave as the sun was down and gone. I didn't know if I'd already gotten the best color I was going to get but then I noticed this gorgeous magenta color starting to build in the northern sky. Over the course of five to ten minutes the color gradually painted the sky from the northern to the eastern sky illuminating the clouds behind the lighthouse. Soooo glad I waited I'd have missed the best light of the day if I hadn't!

Equipment

I'm shooting my landscapes with a full frame Canon 1Ds MK III with a Canon 24/105 f4 L IS lens. This was at 24mm f20 aperture priority and a combination of five shots from 1/6 sec to 2 sec exposures for HDR processing. Also was using a tripod with cable release.

Inspiration

I've seen lovely images of this lighthouse for most of my life, on calendars, prints etc. and wanted to capture it for myself. I really wanted to photograph it in some great evening light that I believe enhances this beautiful historic structure. I'd made the three hour trek up to Portland several times hoping for good light but on the other occasions the light just faded away with no color or any good cloud formations for the background. I was so pleased to see the clouds cooperating for some great leading lines to the lighthouse - then when that color appeared I was doing a happy dance!

Editing

Yes, this was an HDR shot from five exposures combined in Photomatix. Afterward, I import to Lightroom and lightened some of the darkest areas on the rocks, tweaked the contrast and added some vibrance exported then opened in Corel Photopaint, masked the sky then sharpened the rocks and lighthouse a bit. Last I added just a hint of some warm light rays coming from the light.

In my camera bag

I usually travel with my 1Ds MKIII and 7DII camera bodies. My "go to" landscape lens is my Canon 24/105 f/4. I also have a Canon 100/400 f/5.6, Canon 100mm macro lens and a Canon 600 f/4 IS II telephoto for my wildlife photography. Also in my bag are flash, ring flash, extention tubes, filters, cable release. Flashlight, headlamp because you never know if you'll be walking around after dark....

Feedback

If you are looking for a sunset or sunrise shot you need to get there in adequate daylight to scope out how you plan to frame the shot. I did a lot of that on my previous visits to the lighthouse. Get yourself set up with time to spare, shoot with a tripod and bracket your shots so you have plenty to work with when processing. Then wait, wait, wait. I almost left before that magenta showed up in the eastern sky. (So happy I didn't) It only lasted for a few minutes and was about forty-five minutes to an hour after the sun went below the horizon.

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