A different look: I've shot the Barnegat Lighthouse dozens of times. So has everyone else who owns a camera in this part of New Jersey. So now, when I'm at the lighthouse, I try to...

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

I've shot the Barnegat Lighthouse dozens of times. So has everyone else who owns a camera in this part of New Jersey. So now, when I'm at the lighthouse, I try to shoot it in ways that I have not done before. Here I opted for a long exposure. There was very little wind today which meant that the clouds were not moving very quickly. In this case the long exposure was six minutes. Gotta love those ND filters.

Once the sun came up over the horizon I moved to the walkway beyond the lighthouse and shot the lighthouse while looking west. I used a fisheye lens. Again, most people have taken this shot; but most do not take it while sitting on the walkway. Getting up was a pain....literally.
Erich

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Don, the 2nd son Loc: Crowded Florida

I know that pain! But the lower perspective is often worth it especially with kids and dogs and,,,,,,,,,,,well just about everything! SNAKES! Especially snakes!!

R.G. Loc: Scotland

ebrunner wrote:

.....In this case the long exposure was six minutes. Gotta love those ND filters......

It may be a much-photographed scene but your shot is significantly different, so you can justifiably refer to it as your shot. Likewise with the low perspective.

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

Don, the 2nd son wrote:

I know that pain! But the lower perspective is often worth it especially with kids and dogs and,,,,,,,,,,,well just about everything! SNAKES! Especially snakes!!

I try not to mess with snakes; but kids, dogs, and low flying flowers usually get me crawling on my belly like a reptile. LOL Thanks for taking a look.
Erich

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

R.G. wrote:

It may be a much-photographed scene but your shot is significantly different, so you can justifiably refer to it as your shot. Likewise with the low perspective.

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed the photos. Your nice compliment is much appreciated.
Erich

Cwilson341 Loc: Central Florida

In the first, the long exposure adds a sense of leave and tranquility. The perspective of the second give the scene a very different feel. (you need a little 12 inch stool-helps a lot)

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

Cwilson341 wrote:

In the first, the long exposure adds a sense of leave and tranquility. The perspective of the second give the scene a very different feel. (you need a little 12 inch stool-helps a lot)

That sounds like a good idea. Thanks for taking a look. As always, it is great to hear your comments about my photos. Much appreciated.
Erich

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

I really enjoy your shots, Erich, where you go beyond the usual and show us the possibilities. Thanks for sharing.

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

UTMike wrote:

I really enjoy your shots, Erich, where you go beyond the usual and show us the possibilities. Thanks for sharing.

It is a really interesting hobby that we have. I enjoy taking photos of the family and when I travel; but I find that my most interesting shots are when I go out by myself with a certain shot in mind. This is an example of just that. I looked at the weather by the hour last night and noticed that there would be increasing clouds toward morning. That made me think that it might be a good morning to go to the ocean. Then I checked the direction of the sunrise on photographersephemeris.com. The rest was just luck with the clouds and lighting. What also helped was being by myself which gave me time to look for compositions once I was at my chosen location.

So there is a fair amount of planning involved when I go out specifically to shoot. Thanks for taking a look.
Erich

repleo Loc: Boston

ebrunner wrote:

I've shot the Barnegat Lighthouse dozens of times.... (show quote)

Both very nice shots Ed.

My more detailed 'consideration' would be:

Really like the first one. Very well composed and exposed. Print it.

I'm a little more conflicted with the second one. Again, well exposed and the fish eye works well. Good sky and the quality of light is very nice, especially on the railings. I am a little put off by the amount of middle ground to the left of the bench. It distracts from the impact of the leading lines created by the bench and the railings. If it was my shot I would experiment with cropping most of it out or shooting it again from a spot a little to the right or maybe even to the right of the railings.

Just my thoughts.

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

repleo wrote:

Both very nice shots Ed. br br My more detailed '... (show quote)

Wow, that's a lot of information. I did not even notice all that middle ground when working with the shot in post. I think, because, in real life, there is a railing behind the bench. That had to be removed because it was really obtrusive. I can see you point now, that the photo is a bit heavily weighted to the right. A crop or a re-shoot are possibilities; but moving to the right beyond the railing would require a boat. LOL Thank you so much for your detailed critique. That helps a lot.
Erich

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

You have definitely chose angles and techniques that make these yours alone. Nice work.

As for those low angle shots, I have no trouble getting up--so long as there’s something or someone to hold onto. Otherwise I might be the “help, I’ve fallen and can’t get up” person.

I choose my low angle shots carefully.

NJFrank Loc: New Jersey

I particularly like the first one. I am usually not a fan of silky water, but in this case I think it worked out well.
The second shot just a suggestion sit on the end of the bench. The benefit is you can get up a lot easier, and it would not be in the shot. I understand that was a conscious effort to include it in the shot. But I personally find it a distraction. That was the first thing I looked at.

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

jaymatt wrote:

You have definitely chose angles and techniques that make these yours alone. Nice work.

As for those low angle shots, I have no trouble getting up--so long as there’s something or someone to hold onto. Otherwise I might be the “help, I’ve fallen and can’t get up” person.

I choose my low angle shots carefully.

Thank you for taking a look. For the low angle shots, live view can help a lot. You can "take a knee" and still get really low if you have a tilty screen. Of course I forgot totally to do that here. lol

Erich

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

NJFrank wrote:

I particularly like the first one. I am usually not a fan of silky water, but in this case I think it worked out well.
The second shot just a suggestion sit on the end of the bench. The benefit is you can get up a lot easier, and it would not be in the shot. I understand that was a conscious effort to include it in the shot. But I personally find it a distraction. That was the first thing I looked at.

Now that you suggested it, I'm going to sit on that bench the next time I'm down at the lighthouse. I never even thought of that composition. It could work. I think I like the first shot with the clouds streaming past the lighthouse. I was lucky that the wind was going basically in a favorable directions. A horizontal blur would not have worked at all. Mostly, though, at the ocean, the wind is coming from the water or going towards the water. You don't get too many days where the wind is from the north or the south....Except for hurricanes and I don't have the courage yet, to shoot them. lol
Erich