Nov 6, 2013

Behind the Image - Gay Head Lighthouse on Martha's Vineyard


Gay Head lighthouse on Martha’s Vineyard is located atop the famous clay cliffs in Aquinnah. It is an incredible scenic setting and on my last photo trip to Cape Cod and the Islands I took my car on a ferry from Wood Wholes and started a photographic journey across Martha’s Vineyard that ended at the lighthouse. Upon arrival at the lighthouse I was confronted with very strong winds that occasionally knocked over my tripod. At times I had to hold and press down the tripod to make it more stable and allow for a bit longer exposure times. Nonetheless it was a beautiful evening that provided ample late afternoon sunlight. At sunset the direct light disappeared behind a giant cloud front and I was hoping that the sun would emerge one last time for a spectacular shot – not this time. Instead twilight painted the sky behind the Gay Head Light in beautiful pink and blue hues. Set up with a Canon 24-70mm lens I composed around the lighthouse and cliff in front of me to capture the entire magnificent seascape in front of me. An attached polarizing filter ensured a longer shutter speed that in return made for nice Silky Water Effects of the incoming waves at the bottom of the clay cliffs. The longer exposure times also ensured that I captured the light of the lighthouse in this photography image. Aperture was set to f/14 providing a 13 second exposure time at ISO100. During post processing I removed minor dust spots, minimally adjusted contrast, lighting and color saturation before sharpening the final image of Gay Head Light


More Photographs and Photo Tips to Read Up on: 







Good light and happy photo making! Happy Day,

Juergen

Buy my Photo Art
Images for Print and Digital Use



2 comments:

  1. Beautiful photos!
    Greetings, RW & SK

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks so very much for your comment on my latest Massachusetts lighthouse photography image Our Photo ~ very much appreciated. It was quite an experience and battle against the weather, high winds and cold but in the end I got pretty much what I envisioned ~ glad you like this pic! Happy Hump Day, Juergen

    ReplyDelete