Lighthouse

Attempted 20 minute exposure with a 16Stop ND

C&C Welcome

Pull it a bit by ~0.5-1 stop?

Without stars in the sky, it's looking a about an f-stop dark to me.

The horizon right in the middle of the frame is not ideal

There are exceptions to that guideline, this image being one of them with the horizon evenly dividing the frame itnto two contrasting tonal bands.

Alveric wrote in post #17984635
There are exceptions to that guideline, this image being one of them with the horizon evenly dividing the frame itnto two contrasting tonal bands.

Just my opinion, but if the horizon was just below the wall, you would have more emphasis on the wall and then the horizon line would have been shown on the right side. Plus, with the horizon line lower, the photo would have really been divided in half.

mikeinctown wrote in post #17987202
Just my opinion, but if the horizon was just below the wall, you would have more emphasis on the wall and then the horizon line would have been shown on the right side. Plus, with the horizon line lower, the photo would have really been divided in half.

I don't think at that location it would be possible to change the relationship between the top of the wall and the horizon line. I certainly don't think there is significant options for getting the camera lower to achieve the perspective effect you are suggesting.

Alan

Not to be argumentative just curious: How do you know there wasn't an option to get lower? There may well have not been that option its just weird that you assumed that. Is there a setup shot floating around Im not seeing? With the horizon actually hitting the lighthouse itself it seems to me that the photo was taken from a fairly high vantage point. I really think the lighthouse would look much better from a lower view.

Ps some tripods allow you to shoot with the camera mounted on the underside upside down to get super low.

DThriller wrote in post #17993699
Not to be argumentative just curious: How do you know there wasn't an option to get lower? There may well have not been that option its just weird that you assumed that. Is there a setup shot floating around Im not seeing? With the horizon actually hitting the lighthouse itself it seems to me that the photo was taken from a fairly high vantage point. I really think the lighthouse would look much better from a lower view.

Ps some tripods allow you to shoot with the camera mounted on the underside upside down to get super low.

You are spot on, I could of taken the picture lower and I agree having the water level above the lighthouse wall was a mistake on my part, now reading your comments I think the shot would of been better that way if I lowered the camera

Thanks to all that posted it's been very informative

No prob

I bet that lighthouse isnt going anywhere. Take another crack at it

I think this is a great image as is. I'd be proud to have it on my wall.

With that said, there are always things that you coulda/woulda/shoulda done. I personally like the horizon at the center, but choosing an angle that aligned the wall with the horizon may have been a better option. Below is an example that, I must admit, was completely accidental. I was walking down the beach, stopped for less than 3seconds and snapped the pic. It's quite remarkable that I unintentionally managed to do this, even more so because I would have never thought to intentionally do it in the first place.

Photo from MMp's gallery.

I found your first version much too dark gray on gray. The second version is much better.
From a technique point of view, I understand what you are doing. With the long exposure, you are flattening out the sea and not have waves. And kudos for you for doing this. However, this is "not my cup of tea". I actually like seeing waves and an impression of some motion. However, this is my opinion, and you should continue doing what pleases you the most.

ok, i'm being a pain in the arse, and agree with the positioning of the horizon in the first shot - get lower or higher... but neither photo has the horizon level (a real no-no in my book - simple to fix in post

Do you recall the actual exposure time?

I think it looks good, could have probably gone a little longer as it seems slightly underexposed.