Lighthouse at Mevagissey Photo

Photographer’s Note

The main activity at Mevagissey has been fishing since the 14th century and at one time it was the centre of Cornwall’s pilchard industry. Today over 60 fishing boats are registered with the authorities. The harbour is built on the site of a medieval quay and the still active lighthouse, built in 1896 is situated on the south breakwater of the harbour.

Mevagissey claims to be the first town in the country to have streets lit by electricity powered from pilchard oil. A small power station built in 1895 powered the lighthouse and nearby streets. (I know the dates don’t tie up so one of my sources could be a year out or maybe they built the lighthouse after they had the electricity to power it!)

The south breakwater is also used as a car park so it wasn’t easy to frame the image without a car. There was a car just centimetres out of sight on the right. The lone person is fishing.

Wider view from the harbour looking towards the lighthouse in the WS

Night shot looking back into the harbour here

ISO 160 FL22mm,

axiotea, JanD, snunney, jwmunro, Cricri, cbrman, Sistercosmo, PixelTerror, Wandering_Dan, leonorkuhn, cherryripe, Royaldevon, ktanska, darek1978, gunbud, bakes888, papagolf21, bostankorkulugu, Graal, Didi, skippy007, UlfE, paura, avene, subhendu_bagchi, mikolaj_kawa, Kielia, xuaxo has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

JanD (15053) 2009-07-30 3:29

Howdy Kath!
Amazing lighthouse and wonderful lonely man. Excellent sky. Superb shot.
Regards.

snunney (35522) 2009-07-30 4:32

Hello Kath,
You have framed the image very well, the lighthouse is nicely placed and the the lone fisherman contributes much to the atmosphere. The white painted light stands out beautifully against that clear blue sky. Interesting note as well.

baba_flies (8115) 2009-07-30 7:10

Hello Kath! Such a pretty lighthouse, standing there as ever, after many many storms over all these years. Great to have the lonely fisherman in your photo, he seems so tiny against the lighthouse ... I mean it has to be seen, keeping ships away from the coastline or leading them home into the harbour. What a beautiful spring sky, no single cloud up there which I guess is rather unusual for the area, at least when I was there we had our daily rain shower. Great shot with an elegant frame around it. Have a nice evening, Barbara.

jwmunro (6255) 2009-07-30 7:52

Hello Kath -

All three images are very nice with the evening image being the cream of the crop in my opinion. A cute little lighthouse for sure, I don't ever recall seeing one this petite. Well done.

Thank you for sharing.

John

MarianneS (14436) 2009-07-30 8:00

Hello Kath,
Great blue sky where the lighthouse creates a strong contrast.
The fisher is the cherrish on the cake in your composition.
Have a nice evening,
Marianne

gilou530 (35710) 2009-07-30 8:26

salut kath
quel ciel polarisé a l'extreme qui contraste bien avec le blanc du phare,le cardrage est superbe avec en prime le personnage de dos, beau travail
amitiés
gilbert

Cricri (43790) 2009-07-30 10:43

Hi Kath
Beau contraste des couleurs avec une très belle lumière sur le phare bien mis sur l'avant plan tout en laissant une vue appréçiable sur le paysage et le "petit" monsieur face a la mer, belle et intéressante image complèmentaire
Friendship
cricri

cbrman (19051) 2009-07-30 11:24

Hello Kath,

Ce phare est éblouissant devant ce ciel polarisé. J'aime bien la composition qui place ce phare très grand devant ce pêcheur très petit ! Jolis contrastes.
A+

Dominique

Sistercosmo (2691) 2009-07-30 13:06

Hi Kath,

ah, what a peaceful scene! So much blue to contrast with the white light house and that man fishing, dressed appropriately in blue and white! Wonderful shot!

Have a great evening and take good care my dear!

Hugs,
Linda

PixelTerror (86861) 2009-07-30 13:08

Hi Kath
Very nice little lighthouse, with all its whites and the top notch exposure of your image it makes the photo very luminous, the guy nearby is good to give scale
Have a nice evening JY

Wandering_Dan (3297) 2009-07-30 14:13

Hi, Kath -

Peaceful and yet dramatic, with the guy (I won't call him lonely, just pensive) for balance and scale. It's almost unbalanced, but he rescues it. Nice touches of red here and there for extra interest. The WS is nice enough, but nowhere nearly as powerful as the main image.

Best,
Dan

coco (28146) 2009-07-30 14:19

Hi Kath.

Simple but very elegant and nice work with the composition. The way you managed the light also is a very good one.

Regards.

francis (695) 2009-07-30 17:32

Hi Kath:
I photograph lighthouses all over New England. This is a beautiful lighthouse with a perfact exposure. I usually perfer white puffy clouds in lighthouse photo's, but the dark blue works well in this image. Very well done. Thanks for sharing.
Frank

gneufeld (15235) 2009-07-30 18:23

Hi Kath,
I like both shots but almost lean towards the WS version. I just really like the broader view, especially the excellent foreground rocks. This lighthouse shot is crystal clear and the colors are gorgeous. Very well done and TFS. Gerald

Waylim (11159) 2009-07-30 18:30

I like what the light house stands for. A guiding light to lead the fisherman's boat home. I once took a photo of a light house made a card for a friend for his birthday. To me, he has always been there for friends and family, guiding them in many ways.
Good shot, great light, love the polized sky with smooth gradiation. Rich colors and tone, good contrast and composition. Great clarity and sharpness. Thanks Kath.
Way

leonorkuhn (14071) 2009-07-30 19:33

Hi Kath,

Excellent composition. Glad to know that the lighthouse is still in activity. It has not lost its importance to the boats. Very beautiful colors, great sharpness.

Greetings from Brasília
Leonor

emka (22389) 2009-07-30 23:13

Hi Kath,
simple but very effective composition, just white lighthouse, blue sky and fisherman. And no car!

Regards

Malgorzata

danyy (69499) 2009-07-30 23:58

Bonjour Kath,
des condtions de lumières tellement propices à bien faire ressortir les blancs quand ils sont bien exposés.
Le filtre polarisant s'avère ici bien utile pour contraster le ciel.
Une photo très bien cadrée en décentrement de tout.
My best regards.
Daniel.

josepmarin (34131) 2009-07-31 1:21

Hello Kath,
You have controlled perfectly the circular polarizer to obtain this magnificent chromatic effect in the blue of the sky. With it you have created a strong contrast with the whiteness of the lighthouse.
I like the asymmetry of the framing, and also the presence of the lonely fisherman in the wharf, that adds a nice touch of life and gives us a good reference of the scale of the elements in the composition.
The alternative photo in the WS offers us a broad sight and shows us the place perfectly.
A great work, as usual.
Warmest regards,
Josep

cherryripe (19187) 2009-07-31 1:52

Hi Kath
This is a pretty postcard of this lighthouse. The sky is nicely polarized and I like the inclusion of the person who is discreet enough not to distract but helps show scale.
Regards
Nikki
P.S. The trip went well thanks. Thanks for recommending prebooking hotels as if we'd been in an RV we'd have had big problems. We ended up not going to Canyonlands or Deadhorse Point wanting to spend more time in Arches and not wanting to over do things with the kids. I don't regret it.

ktanska (16695) 2009-07-31 3:00

Hi Kath,
Close and wide angle gives this more massive appearance thatn it actually is. Effect is increased by the person that is further away than the main subject. Good exposure where white tower hangs on the edge of overexposure. Lighthouse is upright but horizon is slightly tilted, so this would have needed some perspective correction.
Kari

Royaldevon (5944) 2009-07-31 3:01

Hello Kath,

This is a stunning shot!
The images are so crisp and clear and how fresh it looks with the predominance of blue and white. (Your filter has made the sky look incredible!)
I like how you have positioned the lighthouse to the right, as the eyes move naturally from it towards the second focal point of the man; he makes a nice comntinuation and gives a sense of perspective.

Who would't want to visit Meverissey after seeing this!

Have a good w/e,
Bev :-)

John_F_Kennedy (32032) 2009-07-31 3:49

Hello Kath,
Very nice composition with the white tower in contrast to the deep blue sky. Well done.
Best wishes,
Achim

chawax (6197) 2009-07-31 12:20

Hi Kath,
What a lovely ligthouse, never saw such one ! I love your composition, how you placed the lightouse within. Nice colours too.
Regards,
Olivier

darek1978 (11509) 2009-07-31 16:04

Hi Kath,
The color contrast is absolutely amazing here! The white lighthouse is an eyecatcher element in this splendid scene. I like also the way you placed the lighthouse. A very interesting picture.
Best regards
Darek

gunbud (28165) 2009-07-31 20:24

Hi Kath,
You did a great job of balancing the white in this strong light.
The old beacon really stands out brilliantly against the vivid polarized sky.
The lone fisherman adds effective scale to this superb coastal shot.
Regards, Tom

bakes888 (18353) 2009-08-01 1:24

Hi Kath. Great photo, wonderful colours and clarity and the fisherman adds a nice focal point. Thanks for sharing.
Have a good weekend, Paul.

Dyerco (9310) 2009-08-01 8:49

Hi Kath
My biggest complaint when I was in England in 2006 was the number of cars and the fact that they always seem to be in the picture. I like the use of the polarizer to bring out the deep blue in the sky. Of course the white lighthouse stands out so well against the blue.
Nicely done.
Phil

papagolf21 (56765) 2009-08-01 13:55

Bonsoir, chère Kath,
Deux photographies, deux réussites. Ce phare est l'ange gardien des pêcheurs et de tous les bateaux en mer !
J'ai apprécié beaucoup la note d'accompagnement. L'architecture du phare est très originale et devrait bénéficier d'un classement au titre des monuments historiques.
Excellentes photos.
Amitiés.
Philippe

bostankorkulugu (33984) 2009-08-01 22:52

the light is the best and the saturated colours, especially the blue of course, is so good... the fishing lady adds life to the whole thing, beautiful one kath...

korkut

Graal (58786) 2009-08-01 23:48

Hi Kath,
well composed image, nice view and presentation. An interesting architecture of lighthouse. Fine contrast of colours. Well photojob and presentation. I like it.
Have a nice sunday.
Aleksander

Didi (36516) 2009-08-02 0:11

Hi Kath
I spent three times in Cornwall and I know well this place.
Nice point of view on the lighthouse with a dark blue and deep sky.
Best regards

hardyuno (2615) 2009-08-02 7:53 [Comment]

Show Comment

skippy007 (7355) 2009-08-02 17:25

Hello Kath, In this lovely well composed scene I found the contrast between the white & black lighthouse & the dark blue sky the most striking feature. I also like the inclusion of the fisherman, for me it adds interest, with the immediate thought "did he catch any?" Nice colour & detail.
Thanks
Take care
Santo
PS from your WS it looks like a lovely quite little spot.

UlfE (9188) 2009-08-03 2:11

Hi Kath,

I could not resist to comment this picture since I have posted a lighthouse picture myself recently. I am really impressed by this picture. The exposure is perfect and you could see every detail of the white lighthouse. I believe it could easily be over-exposed it a situation like this with a clear blue sky and strong sunlight. The picture is really well composed with the lighthouse to the right and the lone person fishing. This picture also made me reflect about the rules of composition and that you commented my centered lighthouse. I believe I would have made the same choice as you did here and included the fisherman and a glimpse of the sea, but I am not sure it is always the best choice in vertical picture of a tall building. In a horisontal picture though I am certain it is always the best choice. TFS and have a nice day!

Cheers,

Ulf

paura (39376) 2009-08-04 4:40

Kath,
Uma beleza de composição aqui, com detalhes vívidos e bem definidos. As cores estão magníficas e o farol é daqueles bem bonitos.

Abraço

Paulo

axiotea (16305) 2009-08-05 11:14

Hello Kath
An appropriate vertical format for which the lighthouse fits in perfectly ;)
It is luminous and so well exposed! I also like the blue gradation of the sky for which the lighthouse stands out well...the man gives a good idea of the size of it!
Cheers
Marilyn

avene (11140) 2009-08-06 7:08

hi Kath,
fascinating simplicity of pure white against the deep blue of the sky, there's something very "summer, sailing, sun" about this colour combination. like something from Ralph Lauren advertisment :) especially with the person in the frame who seems to be lost in thoughts while looking towards the horizon. moody shot, I like it a lot.

best,
Kristine

subhendu_bagchi (3540) 2009-08-08 9:46

Namaste Kath, great arrangement of colours. The black and white tower and the deep blue sky... Nice contrast. Good sharp shot... TFS. Have a nice WE.
Subhendu.

mikolaj_kawa (31335) 2009-08-10 1:21

Hello Kath! Marvelous lighthouse. Amazing angler. Nice sky. Perfect exposure. Original frame. Well done!

Kielia (8739) 2009-08-13 11:37

Hi Kath,
excellent POV on this beautiful lighthouse and my compliments for omitting the cars! Outstanding management of the light, this deep blue is incredibly attractive and creating wonderful contrasts. I also like that you included the angler. A great impression!
Warm regards
Harriet

xuaxo (5843) 2009-08-22 7:32

Hi Kath,
I like lighthouses. This is small, but also nice.
The night shot is great too.
Greetings,
F.

Photo Information

Copyright: Kath Featherstone (feather) (50168)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2009-05-31
Categories: Daily Life, Nature, Architecture
Camera: Nikon D300, AF-S DX VR Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G, RAW, HOYA 72mm PL-CIR
Exposure: f/14.0, 1/125 seconds
More Photo Info: view
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Travelogue: Cornwall
Date Submitted: 2009-07-30 3:23