Similarly to my first post, the focus of this shot is the distant Point Sur Lighthouse (sitting on the hill). Shot in the evening from the aptly named ‘Valley View Trail’, I was drawn to the overlapping ridge lines and the mist enveloping the scene from the Pacific.
All feedback is welcome
All Feedback is welcome
Sony A6300
FE 85mm
F 8
1/250 sec
iso 100
I’m right with you Joseph, the ridges leading into the distance are a pleasing composition leading to the lighthouse and the clouds beyond. The mist adds a lot, as you note. The slight splashing of light into the hills is nice too.
There’s enough mist there that I think you actually have room to bump the foreground contrast some for more drama, and the distance looks a little green-tinged (at least on my monitor). Here’s a quick and dirty example of what I mean for both points:
Joseph,
A grand and beautiful view. The ridges, accentuated by the light and subtle rays along with the hazy sea mist make for that classic, layered image. For me this is all about those layers and less so about the lighthouse. Even in the large view, if you didn’t mention the lighthouse or location, I think out on the point it just looks like some buildings and not what most visualize a lighthouse on a point would be. That’s not a bad thing, but one of those times where being there, knowing the “lighthouse” is in a sense, the “light at the end of the tunnel” and the focus of the image - But for me as the viewer, it’s really not about the lighthouse, but the light and cascading layers of the ridges. Which btw, I wonder how this might be in b&w?
I really like John’s edits; subtle, but I think spot on.
Lon
John was spot on with the edits I think … I struggled a little finding the right balance between the mist and the -clarity, in the image.
Lon, attached the image in B&W. It was interesting that you mentioned it, I also thought that the image worked well this way.
The lighthouse itself is really not the focus so much as the hill it sits on. It rises where the valley meets the ocean in what is otherwise a relatively flat area. I think this came through more in ‘Point Sur Lighthouse I published earlier’, in this image (Point Sur Lighthouse 2) , as you say, it is the layering which is most interesting feature, but I still think the lighthouse hill is very prominent and a strong focus point for the image… maybe had I cropped in further this would come through more?
Thanks again,
Joseph
Joseph, I agree that the misty ridges fading into the distance are very attractive. Being able to see the details in the trees and the local luminosity variations are fine details. I also agree with John that more contrast in the ridges would let those detail stand out better.
