Tags
Cape Elizabeth, Coast, Fog, HDR, Image, Light, lighthouse, Maine, New England, Portland, Portland Head Light, Road Trip, travel
As the Fog Lifts
The Portland Head Light in Cape Elizabeth, Maine is America’s oldest lighthouse. It was commissioned in 1787 by President George Washington.
Last August, I spent some time in Maine. This landmark was on top of my list of places to photography. I had done some research in Instagram and Flickr and I had hoped to photograph the lighthouse during the sunrise. When I got there, you could not see the lighthouse from the parking lot. The building and the rocks were covered by thick fog. Rather than driving back to my in-laws’ house, I decided to sit down, enjoy the scene, and see if the rising temperature could burn off some of the fog. I was rewarded for my patience and I took this shot as the fog started to lift.
I will return to this lighthouse later this year. I really want to add a sunrise photograph to my collection. But I am very happy with this result. It is unique in many ways and I love the warm tones on the right side of the frame, created by the rising sun, and the cool tones in the left side of the frame. I also like the fact that the side of the lighthouse is lit by soft light, while the shadows add a sense of depth to the image.
This is an HDR image. I took three exposures (-2, 0 & +2) and I merged them using Lightroom 6. I also used OnOne’s Perfect Effects 9.0 to bump up the midtones and add a little bit of sharpness on the rocks.
Camera: Canon 6D
Lens: EF 24-105mm f4 L
Focal Length: 35mm
Aperture: f 10
Shutter: 1/125
ISO: 100