Not sure I like this at all, so open for comments.

--------
Gary
Will Fly for Food.... and more Nikon stuff

One from inside the lighthouse.

Gary,
Part of the problem with the first shot is trying to get vertical buildings to look vertical. Unless you have a special lens designed to do that, about all you can do in-camera is back up and use a telephoto lens.
About the second photograph- I really like it. The composition is swell (I'm trying to get the word back into circulation), and the pattern of the bricks adds greatly to the success of the shot.
Charlie

Charlie,

I used the chimney in the house in front of the lighthouse to straighten the vertical. It made the lighthouse look likes it leans to the right even more than before I straightened the chimney. I was about as far away from the light house as I could get. To get further away, one needs to go to the highway, and shoot from almost a mile away, so I’m stuck with this. I have a two shot vertical pano of this lighthouse, but not sure I like it enough to post, and the lighthouse part still leans to the right. I did take some shots from the distant vista point, and your right, everything looks vertical in that shot, but too much haze, and too much wind to hold the camera steady enough. Don’t really like the softness of those photos much, so not sure if I will process any of them or not.

The second shot was a hand held at 1/30sec, ISO 800. It was a narrow passage way with low light, and difficult conditions. Those brick walls are 3-feet thick.

--------
Gary
Will Fly for Food.... and more Nikon stuff

Gary,
You pretty well summarized the problems of a photograph like the first shot.
There IS one possible solution that I have found sometimes works. It is this: back up as far as you can. Then, using the most extreme wide angle you have, shoot vertically, with the top of your composition being at the top of your viewfinder. Forget about what's at the bottom of the viewfinder- that can be cropped later however you want. Under the right circumstances (and if your lens is wide-angled enough), your camera will be close to a horizontal axis- thus "straightening" the lighthouse (or other). Rate the exposure at the lowest ASA equivalent possible because this method tends to waste space, requiring some enlargement in the processing.
Good luck.
Charlie

great advice from charlie there

the second shot is really cool, you have some great elements in there as well as great composition my only suggestion would be to try and darken the lower section of the hand rail a bit to shot it jumping out at you so much.

Cheers

Martyn

second one is my favorite

Charlie Shugart wrote:You pretty well summarized the problems of a photograph like the first shot.
There IS one possible solution that I have found sometimes works. It is this: back up as far as you can. Then, using the most extreme wide angle you have, shoot vertically, with the top of your composition being at the top of your viewfinder. Forget about what's at the bottom of the viewfinder- that can be cropped later however you want. Under the right circumstances (and if your lens is wide-angled enough), your camera will be close to a horizontal axis- thus "straightening" the lighthouse (or other). Rate the exposure at the lowest ASA equivalent possible because this method tends to waste space, requiring some enlargement in the processing.

I was backed up as far as I could go without having to crawl over a fence, and plunge hundreds of feet to the ocean. I was using an 18-35, but I shot it at 24mm. I’ll certainly remember your advice the next time I shoot a lighthouse.

greswolde wrote:
the second shot is really cool, you have some great elements in there as well as great composition my only suggestion would be to try and darken the lower section of the hand rail a bit to shot it jumping out at you so much.

I actually did darken the handrail as much as I could. There was a light above that part of the rail that shined right onto the lower part of the rail, and the upper part of the rail didn’t get the light.

Amercko wrote:
second one is my favorite

Thank you.

--------
Gary
Will Fly for Food... and more Nikon stuff

a fan of the 2nd one...nice

digitalbug30d wrote:
a fan of the 2nd one...nice


+1.

marty

Gary - another vote for the 2nd one! I realize the perspective problems with a shot like number one .. to me it looks as though the tower is lifted off the ground.
Thanks for sharing.
Bill

digitalbug30d wrote:
a fan of the 2nd one...nice

m. goodwin wrote:

+1.

Thank you both. I agree that the second one is the better of the two.

Bill C wrote:
Gary - another vote for the 2nd one! I realize the perspective problems with a shot like number one .. to me it looks as though the tower is lifted off the ground.

Thanks. Yes, the lighthouse does look like it is lifted off the ground on the left. This is the first time I’ve shot a lighthouse while being so close, but there isn’t enough ground to back away from it, so it’s shoot it closeup, or shoot from a turnout on the highway about a mile away. I just might have to post one of those shots from the highway, even tho they aren’t very sharp. Too windy to hold the camera steady.

--------
Gary
Will Fly for Food... and more Nikon stuff

Here is one of those shots from a mile away. It shows one just how little room one has to back away from the lighthouse at the lighthouse location.

--------
Gary
Will Fly for Food... and more Nikon stuff

Wow! Now I see what you mean! (how about a shot from a parasail?
I like this shot as well.
Bill

You know, I took some shots of this lighthouse from the air on a perfect day for doing it years ago, and have never been able to find the photos. The cool thing about that day, is right after we passed the lighthouse heading south, and right after putting the camera away, my passenger noticed I had a pair of Oregon National Guard F-15's just off my right wing. Close enough to see their eyes. Put the camera away just a tad bit too soon.

--------
Gary
Will Fly for Food... and more Nikon stuff

Second is great!

Scott