Looking for a Shot, Finding Another
Nicole Robinson - Point Bonita Lighthouse
Nicole was looking for a vantage point to photograph the Golden Gate Bridge and stumbled on this scene of the Point Bonita Lighthouse in the Marin Headlands, just north of San Francisco. Hoping for something unique and to properly convey the scene, she set up her tripod and opted for the very long exposure of 20 seconds which allowed the ocean waves to appear more like wispy fog than moving water. This softness provides a strong contrast between the soft spray and the rugged, prominent rock formations. Because the light was far too intense to use this slow shutter speed without blowing out the scene, she attached an 8x neutral density filter which brought the effective shutter down to about 1/13 second. Using an aperture setting of f/11, the total light reaching the sensor was controlled.
Her camera is the Canon EOS 50d with the excellent EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens. For this scene, the lens was zoomed to 125mm. The final image is certainly an excellent capture.
Hi Nicole,
Great shot, reminds me of my trip to the Oregon Coast. Good choice to use the ND filter to get the mood in the water.
Dale
Thanks y’all. It was a beautiful opportunity. I took a few shots without the filter and it is amazing the difference in the emotion of the water. This one just gives me comfort.
Spectacular! You are so fortunate to be able to travel to such beautiful places and take pictures!
This shot is breathtaking!
Really nice shot with a great lens. I’ve just gotten this lens myself, its a outstanding piece of glass with which to capture shots like this.