Square Lighthouse...

[ST1]

Yet another image from my archive, this one is from September 2016. Square Lighthouse, square crop, with the lighthouse squarely in the middle. All deliberate but may not be to everyone's taste.

Islay's Port Ellen Lighthouse, "Carraig Fhada" in Scottish Gaelic.

As always your thoughts and comments are welcome.

[lunarbo]

Hi Peter,

Hard to fault this in terms of colours, lead in, detail and interest.

But...........................I'm left with the feeling that it's just a wee bit..erm... boring

Maybe that's why we have these composition "rules" (Yes I know they can be broken )

Great as that documentary shot " do you remember when we went to.....?"

But...........wearing my Tog Hat I want to get down, get different, move sky or rocks up or down, move that lighthouse across, anything really. And I'm not sure about a 1:1 crop

But an interesting exercise inasmuch as it made me think why or why not?

Bo

[Urbanflyer]

Yet another image from my archive, this one is from September 2016. Square Lighthouse, square crop, with the lighthouse squarely in the middle. All deliberate but may not be to everyone's taste.

Islay's Port Ellen Lighthouse, "Carraig Fhada" in Scottish Gaelic.

As always your thoughts and comments are welcome.

Interesting area. What would happen if the lighthouse were not smack in the center. I am intrigued by the path/footprints leading out to the lighthouse. What would happen if there was a crop left and bottom that helped that element be a wee bit more prominent. You have a lot to work with here. What would happen if the lighthouse were "lighter"?

Thanks for sharing your part of the world!

[Manfred M]

I'm in agreement with Barbara and Judith here. I'd do a significant crop on the foreground, sky and left hand side and go to a 4x5 crop. Those parts of the image aren't adding anything to the composition. This is a shot that suggests B&W to me as well.

[Geoff F]

An alternative, Peter, would be to keep the foreground and lose a bit from the sky. There are several options with this scene depending on which elements are the most important to you.

My first thoughts were also about trying a B & W version.

[pendennis]

You've done a great job with a difficult composition. I prefer the color version. I also like the way my eyes are directed seaward. I'm with Manfred on the foreground crop.

PS - I have a similar image from a few years back that was taken on film. I took several shots, but ended up with a slightly different view. I'm going to post it separately.

[JBW]

I'm going against the grain here. I like how the sand leads me to the boardwalk which leads me to the bridge which leads me to the boardwalk and finally to the lighthouse.

Also, as an ex lighthouse keeper the long view and the high sky are just perfect.
B.

[Shadowman]

I think the blue sky is a bit too dark considering the rich colors in the foreground, it may help pull the eyes upward but it distracts too much from the subject which should be the lighthouse. Just my personal thoughts on the composition, nicely exposed.

[tbob]

To throw another iron in the fire, I halfway between Manfred and Brian on this one. Maybe a bit off the sand (just at the level of the upper right rocks. However the beautiful water and rock to the left needs to stay as does the sky.

The central location of the lighthouse bothers me not a bit

[Geoff F]

I think it comes to a choice between either the sky or the foreground being dominant over the other. At the moment, particularly with the halfway horizon, they are both competing for my attention which is being distracted.

[ST1]

I'm going against the grain here. I like how the sand leads me to the boardwalk which leads me to the bridge which leads me to the boardwalk and finally to the lighthouse.

Also, as an ex lighthouse keeper the long view and the high sky are just perfect.
B.

Thanks for taking time to look and comment Brian. BTW if you are interested I have a number of lighthouse images on my website LINK

[ST1]

Sorry for my rather late response to all of your comments and suggestions to improve the image. I shall look back at the original and check out all of your suggestions.
Thanks to everyone who took time to look and comment I really appreciate the feedback.

[Wavelength]

Very nice image

[JBW]

South Gare #2 is perfect. But great shots all. Thanks.

[Cantab]

Thanks for taking time to look and comment Brian. BTW if you are interested I have a number of lighthouse images on my website LINK

Peter, you certainly do have a good collection of lighthouse photos. Have you done a lot of travelling specifically to visit lighthouses or is it more a case of stumbling across them?

I think the only lighthouse photo I have was taken on my film camera of the lighthouse on Race Rocks. The rocks are separated from the southern tip of Vancouver Island by a narrow strait where the tides can move at up to around 7 knots. Brian will likely know where it is from his days in BC.

[ST1]

Peter, you certainly do have a good collection of lighthouse photos. Have you done a lot of travelling specifically to visit lighthouses or is it more a case of stumbling across them?
.

Bruce thanks for taking time to look and comment.
I don’t specifically plan holidays to visit lighthouses. However I do find that when there’s lighthouse in the area we’re visiting, they tend nowadays to have become tourist attractions, some with guided tours. The tours do give you the background and history of the buildings. I’m usually in awe of the people who built these structures and more so the people who manned them.



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