mpeters and I went in Feb and took several shots. My Feb FS entry was from down at the beach just to the north of the lighthouse. The first one here was my entry, the second is just one of my other shots.
I really like the dead wood but I wish the lighthouse itself was just a little sharper. Maybe to have the focus on the buildings with the wood just OOF in the foreground. It looks like the shot was around 10-11:00 am (we were there in the evening @ sunset); you did good with the direct sunlight as the shadows don't detract from the overall image. I don't have much else to say except, "Excellent shot". -BB
Compositionally, I think you could have done a couple of things to make this feel more balanced. The driftwood in the front and the lighthouse tower line up *almost*. I think a couple of steps to the right, then shooting, so that they were offset in a diagonal would make it feel more dynamic. also, I don't know how far the wood extends, or what might have been at the end of it, but cutting it off like you have makes my eyes follow it straight out of the frame.
Technically, you have good focus, exposure, colors, etc. I think though, that more shallow dof could have helped to isolate your subject more and made it a bit more interesting. If you wanted the focus on the lighthouse, making the driftwood be blurry, or vice versa. Personally, I think focusing on the driftwood with the lighthouse thrown out of focus could have added to the interest simply because it was "unexpected." also, a lower perspective may have given it a bit more interest.
I tend to agree with surfdabbler that you need to choose one subject or the other in this shot and for me it's the lighthouse. Perhaps if you'd stood the other side of the log?
The blue of the sky is magnificent and although the lighthouse isn't particularly sharp, I agree with surfdabbler that it's nothing a little sharpening won't solve. I like the composition of the lighthouse as well - centred compositions aren't trendy at DPC (apart from in this week's challenge lol) but I quite like them.
Hi Craig. Here's a critique for you...
Colour are nicely saturated, and contrast is quite good, perhaps just a touch dark from the high-contrast back-lighting. I don't think the focus is an issue - a little USM on the final shot would fix this up no problem. Composition-wise, the lighthouse as the focus of the image might be better larger in the frame and off-centred a little. The log is fighting for attention here, so if you want to use two very different subjects like this, you need to find a way to link them. Perhaps they can mirror each other's shapes, or connect together in some way. Alternatively, pick one of them. The lighthouse with the keeper's hut is so nice on it's own, you can probably get a great shot by forgetting about the log, and walking closer the lighthouse. Different times of day would give many different great moods and lighting on this lighthouse. I hope you've planned some times to revisit this location. :) (by the way, where is it?)
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