Some Lighthouse shot for C&C

[jeffmoll]

Hey all, here are some shots from a trip a buddy and I took down to Maryland last Friday. I though they turned out well, but I'd like to know how they strike other people as well. So let me know what you think whether good or bad, criticism or compliment.


Canon EOS 1Ds mkIII ef 100mm f/2.8L IS macro f/16 1/125 ISO 50



Canon EOS 1Ds mkIII ef 100mm f/2.8L IS macro f/8 1/1000 ISO 100


Canon EOS 1Ds mkIII, ef 16-35mm f/2.8L IS macro @ 35mm, f/10, 1/40, ISO 50


Canon EOS 1Ds mkIII, ef 16-35mm f/2.8L IS macro @ 29mm, f/8, 1/80, ISO 50

[Donald]

Jeff

A beautiful richness of tone across the series.

One thing really struck me as I looked at them, which has never occurred to me before - Lighthouses don't look right when you look at them from 'the other side' and the background consists of land, including a tree.

It's an excellently produced and presented image. It's just one of those quirky things. My first reaction was - 'There's not meant to be a lighthouse there'. I think #1 & #2 are composed do that we imagine the seas is just the other side of the horizon.

I particularly like the composition of the first one. I think it's because we're seeing more of the setting and the (is it a flagpole or a small antenna?) provides an excellent counterpoint to the lighthouse.

[Wirefox]

Lighthouses don't look right when you look at them from 'the other side' and the background consists of land, including a tree.

Donald, now you are messing with my head This philosophical statement will surely depend on whether you wear bell bottoms or jodhpurs

Jeff, very accomplished black and white conversions. No 4 is my pick but it would have been No3 if the flag staff and bench were absent. You have demonstrated very well how a plain blue sky need not be to the photographs detriment

[jeffmoll]

Donald, in #'s 1 and 2 you are right in that the sea (or the Chesapeake Bay rather) is just beyond the horizon but in #'s 3 and 4 that is in fact the bay behind the lone tree. I wanted to get the bay in too but the problem was that the lighthouse sits on a plateau with vertical sides about a hundred feet above the bay. So the thin line of bay water behind the tree isn't very discernible. I'll put some colour versions up and you can give me your thoughts on those too.

Steve, the flag pole was driving me crazy in the wide angle shots too! Mostly because it is actually leaning over and so it made doing any kind of perspective correction a royal nightmare . I thought I had it straight and the flag pole would throw me all off and I'd totally rework the distortion and perspective correction.
Yes, the sky was absolutely beautiful that day and being broad daylight it seemed black and white was the only way to redeem the harsh lighting on such an enchanting scene. I love the way the gradients in the sky turned out too.

Thanks for the input! Here are a couple colour versions.







I definitely prefer the B/W's myself but wasn't too displeased with how these came out although the light is very harsh.