Gloucester Light Photo

Photographer’s Note

Yes it was dark under the forbidding late afternoon sky and yes I did have my circular polarizer in place, the contrast gain is worth the speed and dof loss.

This is a light that looks south into Massachusetts Bay and was built in 1832. Aside from the aura that all light houses seem to have I found it interesting that it has the same type house as the Nubble Light of York Beach Maine which was built in 1879.

phwall, Cretense, asajernigan, pablominto, jhm, gunbud, fulvio52, Charo, fanni, dareco, Budapestman, jlbrthnn, Royaldevon, meltemi, bakes888, jvachon, marcan44, stego, plimrn, avene, zmey has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

fanni (8677) 2008-10-31 15:07

Hello Greg,
a sombre mood, good POV and interesting composition! The water looks very cold and not too "friendly"... I like the colour gamma!
best wishes,
Elena

Ina (2679) 2008-10-31 15:09

Great... I love the compo with the big stones lesding my eye to the light-house...
Colors and atmosphere looks nice too...

TFS...Ina...

devimeuxbe (55623) 2008-10-31 15:10

Hi Greg
The perspective on the lightin nice,The picture is well composed with the symetry
Well done
Bertrand

JLG (2086) 2008-10-31 16:02

hello Greg
une excellente perspective et une tres belle ambiance dans cette photo
congratulation
jean louis

dareco (17024) 2008-10-31 19:33

I'm studying a photography book right now which states that one doesn't have to feel that they need a beautiful clear blue sky in order to get a get picture, and this is proof of that. I like the lead in, the composition and colors. Nice work! TFS

Budapestman (40808) 2008-11-01 5:50

Hi Greg,
I liked it very much always was made of the lighthouses photos. Romanticism streams from this photo, very much likes the environment fitting the painting and the superb composition. The wonderful lights provide mystic mood to the photo, the gold light glittering above the horizon fantastic. Congratulations. Have a nice weekend
George

jonathan_hart (22564) 2008-11-01 6:28

well managed available light, well done framing, the perspective is in the right place in the frame, there is a nice touch of color on the horizon, well done photojob
regards
jc

jlbrthnn (36758) 2008-11-01 6:44

Hello Greg,
The colors are particularly sober and realistic. It is a very beautiful image of environment. Framing is a success. Cheer.
Have a nice day and weekend
Cordially
Joël

Charo (31651) 2008-11-01 12:52

Hello Greg,
The headlights are always for somewhat enigmatic and interesting. Excellent composition and very good light despite the darkness of the sky. very good prospect with great detail and depth.
Good weekend
Best regards,
Charo

fulvio52 (8314) 2008-11-01 15:15

Hi, Greg.
very interesting shot, I really like the angle and the type of gloomy lighting and overall atmosphere you managed to capture. I'm pretty sure Edward Hopper painted this lighthouse too, he used to spend time in the Gloucester area in his early days. Later on, Cape Cod became his favorite summertime hangout. Anyways, good job!
Coincidentally : today I went out with doggie to the island of Marken, and took a whole bunch of shots of the local lighthouse in some severe stormy weather... It was raining, so I left the Canon at home and took the Sony digicam with me. I'll have to see what them shots look like, if I find something reasonable I'll post it later on.
Have a nice weekend, see ya soon.
Fulvio.

Longroute (8815) 2008-11-02 9:26

Lighthouses are always an interesting view, even with bad weather... the composition is well achieved with the causeway giving sense of depth and the horizontal framing of the buildings which seems to point to the far right.
Pity for the colours.
Ciao,
Donato

gunbud (27489) 2008-11-02 18:29

Hi Greg,
The silver blue sky gives the stately old lighthouse a somber serious look to goes well with its purpose.
The old granite jetty makes a very effective lead-in to the lighthouse.
Also love the bit of golden sky just above the horizon.
Regards, Tom

jhm (81589) 2008-11-03 2:58

Hello Greg,

Technical a very good picture, the small path lead us to the background with the lighthouse and the nice building to the left.
Composition and presentation are very well, together with the soft colours. TFS.

Best regards,
John.

Eda (614) 2008-11-03 8:19

Hi Greg, great POV. Contrast&Color are beautiful. I not easy to shot a good photo in this light condition. But you realise this. Good Job.
Regards
Emanuel

PS I was too in Gloucester to observe the wahles. Was a splendid spectacle.

angela926 (1882) 2008-11-03 16:16

Hello Greg,
Nice capture, excellent composition and pov, beautiful muted colors, good sharpness and depth of field.
TFS
angela

pablominto (39848) 2008-11-04 5:09

Hello Greg,

Autumn is mostly gray and cloudy days, in spite of all the sparkling colourful images we see in TE!
So this is real life, with the lighthouse and the residence of the keeper...
Good lead in the wave breaker, a balanced composition with moody colours!

Greetings,
Pablo -

Juntas (3011) 2008-11-04 9:37

Hi Greg. Nice view of that lighthouse. The path inviting us to go there is very atractive to me. Most of the times that I can go out and make a few shots I get bad weather, so I learned to apreciate them. Well done. Regards. PAulo

asajernigan (13859) 2008-11-04 9:47

Greg,
Great shot under these less than perfect conditions. Your composition is fine using the rocks to lead the eye into the scene. The off center placement of the lighthouse works well allowing us to see off into the sea.
TFS,
Asa

Cretense (54578) 2008-11-05 4:54

Hi Greg!

Lighthouse is always a beautiful theme for photography! You framed and composed this photo in an excellent way, great perspective created by the pier, great light managment, under the cloudy skies! Congratulations!

Hercules

phwall (5402) 2008-11-05 11:20

Hi Greg,
Interesting looking shot, from an excellent POV. Like you I find lighthouses make for good subjects. The flat light works quite well here by giving the shot an even look overall. The light colour of the rocks gives some relief from the dark gray of the foreground granite. I like your composition as well the shot has good balance and is easy to look at. I'm impressed by the size of the keepers house, but I suppose a few comforts shouldn't be denied considering the solitary life these people had to live.
Interesting point about the polarizer, I thought that in light conditions like this it would tend to flatten the shot more, thanks for the tip
Very good capture.
Regards
Peter

meltemi (9744) 2008-11-07 7:14

Hello Greg,
I like the perspective of the lighthouse and the wooden house towards the beautiful cloudy sky, because the point of view so well choosed.
The light and the colors are wonderful and give a great aesthetic beauty and much attractive to the composition, which in addition has a high quality of image, it is very luminous and very clean.
All the best.
Stella

Royaldevon (5782) 2008-11-07 7:17

Hello Greg,

I think we must expect more cloudy skies now that we are moving deeper into autumn ... nearly winter! In this instance, I think the the sky adds a sombre, even lonely, atmosphere to the lighthouse. It's the sort of weather that a lighthouse might assume its role.
The pov, with the off-centre pathway leading the eyes straight to the focal point is well planned.
There are good colour, shape and textural contrast.

Kind regards,
Bev :-)

bakes888 (18055) 2008-11-08 16:07

Hi Greg. I think lighthouses are a beacon for photographers as much as shipping ;-). Nice subtle colours in the sky add to the atmosphere in this shot. The path of slabs makes the perfect lead-in, directly to the lighthouse. Nice work and thanks for sharing.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend, Paul.

amaryllis (16985) 2008-11-09 7:03

Bonjour Greg
un tres beau cadrage sur ce phare avec une couleur de ciel foncée, une lumière orangée à l'horizon, une mer un peu déchainée, enfin une tres belle photo d'un environnement superbe
juliette

fightingillini (213) 2008-11-09 21:03

Hey greg,

The perspective on this picture is really cool. I like your POV-capturing all the stones in line is great.

Bill

mumek (17464) 2008-11-10 3:25

Good morning Greg!
Great capture of the light house and keeper buildings on the rocky cliff. The scenery is nicely composed, you captured a soft afternoon light.Thanks for posting
best regards
ziggy

jvachon (542) 2008-11-10 22:05

Hello Greg,
You have really captured the ephemeral quality of the light here.
The colours, composition and lightinf all reflect the sombre mood.
Excellent composition.
My compliments!
TFS, Joni
Thank you for your kind comments on my balloons photo

bracasha75 (21544) 2008-11-11 13:16

Helo Greg
I have choise me for this one and i say only wonderful
Sometime i wish to say more but i,m realy not good with English
Thanks anyway for this great picture
Bratislav

marcan44 (3183) 2008-11-16 5:12

Hello, ciao amico Greg,
your standard photo is very high level like this.
Sharpness and perspective excellent!
Greting for Sardynia you have known!
Have a nice sunday!
Mario

stego (22312) 2008-11-16 15:33

Hi Greg,
The rock path leads the eye to the lighthouse in an imposing but pleasing way. It's a great POV and compo, I like the placement of the lighthouse and how the rocks occupy the whole FG. The sunset light and the covered sky produce an atmosphere a bit dramatic, that conveys the lonely mood of the place.
Regards, José.

Waylim (10657) 2008-11-18 19:45

Hi Greg,
While the light is dim here, you manage to capture this light house with really good clarity and sharpness. The hazy and cloudy sky adds to this image a very melancholy mood. The composition is excellent using the path way to lead us in to the lighthouse and overlooking the ocean with plenty of open space and evening sky. Very nice muted by rich tone colors. Thanks Greg.
Way

plimrn (19524) 2008-11-20 13:31

Hi Greg,
You managed the difficult light perfectly.
Thanks for your note, it is really useful information!! I wish I'd known it for my most recent rany trip.
HLJ, Pat

avene (10812) 2008-11-27 17:33

hi Greg,
I somehow missed this post, but better late than never. yes, you're right, there IS something special about the lighthouses. something romantic, I guess. here I like how the stone path leads towards the building, and the touch of colour on the horizon adds a nice accent to the flat light.

regards,
Kristine

Estelle (2317) 2008-11-30 16:14

Hello Greg,
Very good pov with this line of rocks creating a great perspective.
TFS
Estelle

Flavia (10202) 2008-12-04 14:33

Hi Greg,

What a beautiful lighthouse this one! You got a nice exposure despite the sun had already set down. The colors on the bacground are nice.

Regards,

Flavia

zmey (7242) 2008-12-07 12:26

hello Greg
a nice lead-in with the cobbled pathway guiding the sight to the light. not so sure about the color palette: in my opiniion, the abundance of bluish grays creates a feeling of abandonment and solitude. of course, that's fine too as long as it was your intention :)

warm regards,
kristaps

cam (8878) 2009-01-27 18:48

Hi Greg
Lets walk towards the light house, but not before taking a photo.
Good composition.
The light was not as good as your other photo, but, this is what you had at the time.
Good use of the rock pier as a lead in, details are easily accessible.and the reddish rock in the middle gives the necesssary contrast between the two half of the photo.
Have a good night
Charles

Didi (35648) 2009-02-24 12:58

Hi Greg just two kinds of critics
Interesting deep foreground with a nice perspective.
You managed well your PP to make a good light balance with the gray sky.
This was a pure critic without comment it's giving a monotonous ambiance.
Best regards

Nice and deep foreground, interesting frame. That place looks nice for spending holidays.
I suggest you a WS just to explain my opinion.
Cheers

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