Ed Vatza
09-26-2009, 02:00 PM
I've always liked this lighthouse but have found it very difficult to photograph as it sits high on a hill with houses surrounding the grounds and extending all the way down. I've tried from the grounds but even at 10mm, you can barely fit both towers in a single image. And I have tried from several locations on Sandy Hook and have never been satisfied with the image.
So this morning it was time to try something very different. Sandy Hook was a total bust as far as birds were concerned. And all I had with me were two bodies and two lenses (a 24-70 on a 30D and a 300/2x combo on a 50D). While standing on the boardwalk across from the visitors center, I looked up at the lighthouse and thought I'd give it a shot with the 50D and 300 2.8 w/2x. That's an effective focal length of 960mm which was fine because I was one heck of a long way from the lighthouse.
Anyway in PP, I ended up making some typical adjustments and cropping the image somewhat before taking it into Topaz Adjust where I used the "Spicify" preset and made some adjustments from there. I then desatured the image and, after looking at the black and white version, decided I needed to go sepia. As a final touch, I added a bit of vignetting in the corners.
1/400 sec @ f/8.0; ISO 400; +2/3 EV; Sunny WB
So this morning it was time to try something very different. Sandy Hook was a total bust as far as birds were concerned. And all I had with me were two bodies and two lenses (a 24-70 on a 30D and a 300/2x combo on a 50D). While standing on the boardwalk across from the visitors center, I looked up at the lighthouse and thought I'd give it a shot with the 50D and 300 2.8 w/2x. That's an effective focal length of 960mm which was fine because I was one heck of a long way from the lighthouse.
Anyway in PP, I ended up making some typical adjustments and cropping the image somewhat before taking it into Topaz Adjust where I used the "Spicify" preset and made some adjustments from there. I then desatured the image and, after looking at the black and white version, decided I needed to go sepia. As a final touch, I added a bit of vignetting in the corners.
1/400 sec @ f/8.0; ISO 400; +2/3 EV; Sunny WB