Nubble...lit up

eoren1

Twice a year, the Nubble Lighthouse in York, Maine has its lights turned on - sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas and again in July. I missed the chance to shoot the lights last year so I penciled in the dates for this year's lighting. Drove up after work Monday and had a muted sunset but some nice clouds to play with in HDR :wink

1. Rocky Dusk [HDR] - I think this was 9 shots with 2/3 EV between them


- Deleted #2-4. Seeing them after a break made me realize they all needed a bit more work. Some others below.

I have a few more to go through and will add to this post as I process them.

E

eoren1

Final ones from the night:

5.


6.


7.


8.

hawkeye978

Nice set. I always liked that spot.

I like #1 but I'm wondering if the smooth water in the foreground is a little bright compared to the rest of the picture. My eyes are getting a little stuck.

Really like #8. That to me seems to have the right balance. And #7 is interesting but maybe some foreground darkening there? My first impression is that there are two light sources in the picture. Maybe just a foreground exposure gradient?

eoren1

Great point Tom. I got so excited by the quality of that misty water that I let that 'hot' spot grab the viewer's eye away from the lighthouse.
As for #7, that seems to be one of the traps of HDR - you can 'smooth' the light and end up with competing light sources. Sometimes that works well...other times it ends up detracting/confusing.
Thanks for the comments.
E

You have any plans to shoot the lights up there? Would love to see what you come up with at your old stomping grounds!

eoren1

Reworked that first one to move the focal point back to the lighthouse and mute the mist a bit


Another two reflection attempts
HDR


non-HDR


Also replaced #7 to tone down the foreground rocks a bit.

Thanks for the suggestions
E