YAQUINA HEAD

April 4, 2024

One of my favorite locations we visited at the Oregon coast last week was Yaquina Head with its lighthouse and rocky sea stacks all around. It is a great place for bird watching and offers many different angles for having some photography fun.

Colony Rock is a great habitat for thousands of seabirds. We saw Common Murres, Pelagic Cormorants, lots of Western Gulls, and some other species.

The lighthouse guides ships and their supplies along the west coast since the light was first lit on August 20, 1873.

View to the North Coast from Yaquina Head

PORT WASHINGTON BREAKWATER LIGHTHOUSE, FIRST TRY

March 8, 2024

Port Washington Breakwater Lighthouse, Lake Michigan, Wisconsin

During business trips in the eastern part of Wisconsin I always enjoy a stop somewhere along the shore of Lake Michigan and especially if there is a lighthouse nearby. Port Washington Breakwater Lighthouse has been long on my radar but this week was the first time I was able to visit it. While heading east I started worrying long before I even saw the lake, due to the fact that I didn’t see a single cloud in the sky. Just a blue sky seems always a bit boring and it takes some thoughts to find a way to overcome what the ”beautiful” weather may present.

Walking on a pier didn’t leave many choices about getting lower or higher above the sea level. Putting the horizon line and the lighthouse on the left in places that go along with the ”rule of thirds” was a way to start this composition intent. So, now what? I saw a few gulls flying around over the entrance to the marina of Port Washington and waited until two of them filled the spot above the pier on the left and right. The birds don’t become the subject of this photo but the triangle between the two lighthouse points and the gulls make the eye go around in the photo. It’s definitely a picture that wants me to come back again during the hour before sunset and maybe we can see then a little more drama in the frame…

BACK AT THE LIGHTHOUSE

December 20, 2022

Manitowoc Breakwater Lighthouse, Lake Michigan, Wisconsin

I’m back from probably my last business trip this year, this time to the western shore of Lake Michigan. Native Americans, who called this place home in the days before European settlement, named it Manitowoc, home of the good spirits. I have been there before in September 2021 and came back with some pictures of the Manitowoc Breakwater Lighthouse that marks the entrance to the marina. (Click HERE for a link to my blog post from last year )

This time the image was was created from a different angle and different light. The late afternoon sun was muted by a layer of clouds but the building stood out against the darker clouds over the lake. A little snow on the ice in the foreground and tweaking the white balance towards a colder tone give this photo the peaceful wintry mood I felt yesterday at the lake shore. Maybe this was just the prelude to a big snowstorm and arctic temperatures that are expected here in the Midwest still before Christmas…

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Nikon Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm, f/4, @ 200mm, 1/400s, f/5.6, ISO 400

MANITOWOC BREAKWATER LIGHTHOUSE

September 22, 2021

Whenever I go on a business trip I take the camera with me, although quite often I don’t find the time to do some serious photography. Today I was a little early for an appointment with a customer in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Clouds and light looked kinda promising and so I went quickly down to Lake Michigan to make a few clicks of the Manitowoc Breakwater Lighthouse, that marks the entrance to the marina at the north pier. At arrival in the parking lot I realized that it was quite a long walk to get an unobstructed view of the lighthouse. I did it anyway, shot for three minutes and ran back to the car to make the appointment on time. It was worth the effort. Although the sun was behind my subject, nice clouds in the background, the sun reflecting on the water, and even a few waves crashing onto the pier were all good ingredients for this photo.

Nikon D750, Nikkor 70-200mm / f/4, @ 200 mm, 1/1000 s, f/5.6, ISO100

LIGHTHOUSES (2)

November 30, 2017

Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Pierhead Lighthouse, Lake Michigan, Wisconsin -------

Here is another one of my favorite lighthouses on the Door Peninsula at Lake Michigan. North Pierhead Light is situated on the north pier of the southern entrance to the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal. Its red color makes quite often for a nice color contrast and the pier and dunes on the south side of the canal provide many interesting perspectives for making a click.

Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35mm / f4, @ 16 mm, 1/400s, f/13, ISO100, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, KIRK BH-3 ball head

When I saw the big ship on the horizon moving into the frame I envisioned a shot that includes both, the lighthouse and the boat. As the ship was behind the lighthouse the building was still in the shade, but finally the clouds opened a small gap and direct sunlight hit the red lighthouse just right. You can see by the colors of the water how this all played out in our favor.

Nikon D750, Sigma 150mm / f2.8 APO EX DG HSM, @1/1000 s, f4, ISO 100, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, KIRK BH-3 ball head

LIGHTHOUSES (1)

November 27, 2017

Algoma Pierhead Light, Lake Michigan, Wisconsin

Visiting the lighthouses on the Door Peninsula in Lake Michigan is always a highlight of our trips up there. Most of them we have photographed before but every time it is different. Light and weather are never the same and looking at my older pictures reveals that some of the towers and buildings have undergone some reconstruction or maintenance.

We went as far south as Algoma, Wisconsin, to make a new photo of the Algoma Pierhead Light. Three years ago the pier had a nice ice cover but gray weather and fog didn’t lead to satisfying results. The lighthouse has a new paint and although this picture was shot in the early afternoon the light was just gorgeous.

Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Lighthouse, Lake Michigan, Wisconsin

The photo of the Coast Guard Station was shot across the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal that was opened for large-scale watercraft in 1890. The canal connects the Green Bay with Lake Michigan. The Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Lighthouse is located within the premises.

POINT IROQUOIS LIGHT

November 30, 2016

Although we were running out of time towards the end of our trip around Lake Superior we still took every chance to visit lighthouses along the lake shore. Point Iroquois Light was constructed in 1870 and served until 1962. It is now a museum and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The photo was made at 16 mm with the Nikkor 16-35, f/4 lens and my Nikon D750. Working in black & white gives the image a more dramatic look and was finally my preferred version.

While entering the 20 m tall lighthouse tower the simplicity of the stair case caught my eye. The small window you can see in the upper photo shaped the light of the low sitting sun. Subtle shadows and the imperfections of the paint add charm and make this photo work for me.

LIGHTHOUSES

September 16, 2016

Split Rock Lighthouse, Two Harbors, Minnesota, put into service in 1910

It doesn’t matter what kind of weather we have or how good or bad the light treats me, I like to photograph lighthouses. As you can imagine there are quite a few around Lake Superior and any time I had a chance a click was made. For me it is the fascination of the technical side that every lighthouse bares, combined with the fact that not even two are exactly alike. It is story telling about our heritage and a great chance to work with architecture, quite often embedded in a natural environment.

The bivalve fresnel lens of Split rock Lighthouse was built in Paris, France. While operating, the lens made one revolution every 20 seconds, floating on a thin layer of mercury. Light for the beacon was provided by a kerosene vapor lamp, which was replaced in 1940 by a 1000W electrical bulb. (source: Visitor Guide: Split Rock Lighthouse)