Shelley and I arrived at Point Arena in the early afternoon. Not the most ideal time of day for photography, but with the right gear, you can make some beautiful photographs. That day I came away with two photographs that are similar in composition. The second composition is my favorite of Point Arena.
Point Arena Lighthouse
For my first composition, a chose to shoot the scene in landscape mode with a minimalist foreground. This choice of composition looks so much like a postcard image. It also lacks any connection with the coastline below the sea cliff that Shelley and I were standing on. Don’t get me wrong I still love this photograph, especially for the time of day that I made it. I used my 70-300mm lens at 70mm to pull in closer to the lighthouse, which allowed me to include the sea cliffs that are below it. I also closed down my aperture to f/9. By doing this, I was rewarded with a shutter speed of 1/500 of a second. Here again, I was able to achieve ISO 100. And even though I was shooting at 1/500 of a second I used my tripod, which allowed me to slow the photographic process as well as take in the beauty of the location.
Point Arena Lighthouse with the Shoreline
For my second composition of the Point Arena Lighthouse, I rotated my camera into portrait mode and tilted my lens downward. By doing this, I was able to include more of the seascape below my shooting position. I left my focus distance alone at 70mm. I tried lowering my ISO into the extended range for my camera. By doing this, I was able to achieve an ISO of 50 as well as open up my aperture to f/5.6, all while maintaining a shutter speed of 1/500 of a second.
Stay tuned for Point Reyes our next post as we inch closer to San Francisco.
Please check out the corresponding video over on my YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVEf9aXoQMPTAVTztNkNIxg.
