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Portland Head Lighthouse


Portland Head Lighthouse
Photo Information
Copyright: Tom O'Donnell (gunbud) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 4607 W: 4 N: 4484] (20064)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2008-02-21
Categories: Architecture
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2008-02-24 18:34
Viewed: 841
Points: 58
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
The jagged rock coast of Maine is a haven for lighthouse enthusiasts, with 60 glorious sentinels dotting the beautiful shoreline. But none is more visited nor more photographed and painted than Portland Head Light, sitting regally in Casco Bay at Cape Elizabeth, the historic town south of the city of Portland and about an hour north of Boston.

Portland Head Light was first petitioned in 1786, when the District of Maine was still a part of Massachusetts. The merchants of Portland requested the lighthouse and construction was begun the following year. Lack of funding caused the building to be curtailed until George Washington became President and the Federal Government took over construction and operation of all lighthouses.

In 1789, construction of Portland Head Light was resumed when Congress appropriated $1,500 for its completion. Still, the lighthouse was built with rubble stone and brick, and the 80-foot tower outfitted with a second order Fresnel lens. With its single story keeper’s house, the first sentinel to be built on the Maine coast and the first tower to be completed by the US Government was officially placed in service in January 1791.

Keepers regarded Portland Head Light as one of the most favorable assignments in all the system. It was neither isolated nor lonely, for almost from it’s beginning, tourists and artists visited the lighthouse. Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who was born in Portland, spent many hours sitting on the rocks beneath the tower and was inspired by Portland Head in 1849 to write the beautiful tome

The Lighthouse
The rocky ledge runs far into the sea,
And on its outer point, some miles away,
The lighthouse lifts its massive masonry,
A pillar of fire by night, of cloud by day.
parbo, Benedict, angela926, snunney, John_F_Kennedy, asajernigan, cfreire, gneufeld, avene, pboehringer, Dyerco, Gerrit, AROBN54, jaywalker, scobert, evanrizo has marked this note useful
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ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To pboehringer: You are Mistakengunbud 1 02-28 09:10
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Critiques [Translate]

magical and realxing colors. very sharp and crisp!
i would love living here! the ala-3D framing adds the bang!
benedict

Hello Tom,
Great shot, excllent composition and pov, very good sharpness and great depth of field, lovely colors and nice light.
Angela

  • Great 
  • marjan Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1201 W: 76 N: 926] (5776)
  • [2008-02-24 23:38]

hi Tom, very nice shtot with good strong coloure and fine composition.
Marjan

Hello Tom,
An excellent composition that puts the lighthouse in its context even down to the inclusion of the passing ship. Very good colours and clarity.

Nice the view of the tower. I like the sharpness and the clarity as the colours and the light of your capture. And you are lucky that just in this moment a ship cross the horizon. Well done
Best wishes,
Achim

  • Great 
  • parbo Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1883 W: 15 N: 2179] (7813)
  • [2008-02-25 2:12]

Hello Tom,

Congratulations for your first 500th photos on TE.

It seems you captured beautiful properties from your last hunt. Red roof tiles are stunning under splendid blue sky while sea and ship is adding great depth. A great capture with naked trees at foreground too, congratulations.

Friendly Regards,

Ertugrul

Tom,
Congratulations on your 500th post!
You have a very fine gallery and I hope your next 500 photos will be as good as the first!
This is a very nice view of the Portland lighthouse. The lighting and colors are great with excellent sharpness and DOF. The ship in the background gives the photo a nice sense of motion and direction. The blue sky and sea creates nice contrast to the red and white of the lighthouse.
TFS,
Asa

Hi Tom,
Great capture of this wonderfull lighthouse.
Very good pov and perfect compo.
Amazing graphical effect and nice notes.
TFS and best regards
MESUT ILGIM

Hi Tom,
Wonderful view, very beautiful picture...
Great light, nice colors and POV.
Good work.
Best regards. Uğur

Hi Tom
superbe cliché de ce phare avec la maison du gardien, en toile de fond ce magnifique ciel bleu et ce navire qui passe au loin.
Amitiés
Jean-Pierre

Hi Tom
Splendid shot about this beautiful lighthouse. The colors, framing and contrast are fine and you had a good POV for this picture. Well done, Best regards, Consuelo

Hi Tom,
Very nice shot of this lighthouse - sounds like a "strip" I would love to take some day. Good colors, very nice square format, and well composed. TFS. Gerald

  • Great 
  • jmcl Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2437 W: 136 N: 3486] (12382)
  • [2008-02-25 13:08]

Hi Tom,

Love the angle and feel of the light .. Love the sense of 3 dimension from the composition .. especially the boat .. again the saturation creates an almost oil on canvas feel .. very nice.

take care,

John

  • Great 
  • avene Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1453 W: 80 N: 1837] (6910)
  • [2008-02-25 15:14]

hello Tom,
I agree with John, the postproduction and saturated colours do create a feeling this is painting, I find that because of the texture this effect is particularly strong on the white light tower (although I seem to detect a slight halo around the tower). I quite like the square format you've chosen, it emphasises the harmonious composition with two strong diagonal halves. smart idea to wait for the ship, that's a nice accent to fill the otherwise quite empty upper part of the shot. very good work.
with kind regards,
Kristine

Tom,
if I'm not wrong I believe that you already posted different images of the same lighthouse. Right? Everything seems so perfect - the high contrast, the saturation, the composition - did I say that this outgoing ship adds a tremendous detail and depthness to the image.
A very good one to celebrate your #500 post!
Peter

Hello Tom,
Thank you for sharing this beautiful lighthouse composition!
excellent pov with beautiful and warm colouration in so much details in the shot!
the lighting is perfect here!
well done
best regards
Tony

  • Great 
  • Dyerco Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1341 W: 17 N: 1450] (5974)
  • [2008-02-25 22:20]

Hi Tom
Congrats on your 500th post. The colours are rich and the blues are nicely offset by the reds. The freighter is a nice addition to the scene.
Phil

Helo Tom
First all my congrats for your 500 post and second excellent view on open sea ...great lighthouse to
One lovely shot full with harmony
TFS
Cheers,Braca

  • Great 
  • Gerrit Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 4365 W: 88 N: 5576] (27313)
  • [2008-02-26 2:50]

Hi Tom,
very good composition and excellent colouring. The format is very apropriate.
Regards,gerrit

hello Tom
Nice lighthouse and that's great to see the boat far in the background. The point of view is excellent. I like the brownish colors in the foreground.
Best regards
Denis!

Wonderful shot of this famous lighthouse, Tom.
I think I have a few shots of this from when I was stationed in Maine. You composed it perfectly and the ship in the distance adds a really nice touch. Beautiful light and color, sharp detail. This is just marvelous! Thanks a bunch and take care,
Shelly

Hi Tom, Now this really is a great photo, the composition is excellent with the ship beautifully positioned, lighthouses are a fascinating subject & this one is a beauty, the house attached looks a real home, the light & colours are splendid, perfect POV &, very well framed, kind regards Wilson.

Hi Tom,
$1500 for the original construction of this famous lighthouse was probably one of the best "bang for the buck" expenditures that this county has ever made. I imagine that this lighthouse has saved many a seafarer from certain disaster. This is a stunning and beautiful image and I like the inclusion of the huge tanker on the left side of the frame. Your usual excellent and informative notes. Superb!
Stan

Hi Tom, it is really stunning here, we can see every point, every details very very clear.
Technical is very very good too.
As a composition with the ship works very amazing.
Have a nice time.
Evangelos
later...

Ola Tom,
Belo ponto de visão com este belo farol a casa ao lada dele é muito bonita , gostei do primeiro plano com estas ervas secas ,o navio no horizonte ficou fantastico , bons tons de azul , parabéns!!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

  • Great 
  • mumek Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2216 W: 27 N: 2399] (16078)
  • [2008-02-28 2:59]

Good morning Tom!
Very nice capture of the lighthouse from portland. Great composition with superb colours, light and sharp details. Thanks for very interesting and informative note
regards
ziggy

  • Great 
  • trekks Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1662 W: 118 N: 2984] (10116)
  • [2008-02-28 7:13]

hi Tom

Fantastic view of the coast with lighthouse and boat in the background. Superb color contrast.

I like the strong bright light captured.

Well done.

TFS, bill

Hi Tom,
Superb scenery! Beautiful colors, light and good POV. I like your photo.
Have a nice day.
Ahmet

Hi Tom,
Great POV. I love the color contrasts between the blue sky and sea and the red roof. Great composition.
Regards,
Claire

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