Wisconsin Point Lighthouse with repost

Last weekend John and Barbara Gerlach were offering Nature Photography Seminars in the Twin Cities and Duluth. I opted for Duluth because it gave me an excuse to head for the North Shore. This was shot at Wisconsin Point on the way up to Duluth.

Comments are appreciated.

Phil Schwarz
E2311 530th Ave
Menomonie, WI 54751
e-mail: schwarzp@uwstout.edu
web: http://philipschwarz.zenfolio.com/

Phil, this photo is very "emotional" - that's the only word that I can really come up with right now. You've really captured some very nice contrast in the image so that nothing is really blown out or in the shadows. There's a part of my that wants to change the perspective on the lighthouse some how, but I can't quite place my finger on it...

Good work,

Tim!

That's what caught me eye, the lighting is so rich in a muted way, I REALLY like that. I also like the broken "rule" of thirds where the lighthouse is centered. To me it works because the FG rocks and the horizon are sitting on thirds, and they create this zig-zag that leads you to the place you want to be, out to the lighthouse. Then the sky behind it gives it all a good sense of depth. This is a great capture, keeper for sure, no real nits at all. Some may want the close FG cropped a bit, but to me I get the sense of really standing there, so I like it as is.

Beautifully captured, Phil. My first thought was, "I really like this." My second was, "I wish the lighthouse wasn't dead center." As Paul mentioned, this image breaks the rules and still works. That said, I wonder if it would benefit from some cropping?

As already pointed out, the lighting is excellent, Phil. The composition is good, but the centered lighthouse is not a strength to my eye. When I follow the leading lines across the FG and out the jetty to the lighthouse my eyes want to continue and find nothing to hold onto. Did you take one panned slightly left? It would be fun to compare.

Phil, I think if the rocks didn't completely spit the middle FG this would work. To make this better, I'd recommend a crop of literally all the snow in the FG or at least half of it. We take what we get a lot of times. The lighting is nice in a subtle way.

This is a stunning image, Phil. A beautiful balance of melting snow in the FG and matching clouds above. Same with the rocks. I guess I would like the lighthouse a little further to the right, but it isn't enough of a problem to worry about with so many wonderful elements working together here.

Nice capture Phil, I like the soft "muted" light throughout. The lack of bold color in the sky works well with the overall tone of the image. The centered lighthouse doesn't bother me.

Unfortunately I only took a couple of shot of the lighthouse. My wife was along for the trip and she had already endured a stop at Amnicon Falls State Park so we didn’t stay long.

I’ve reworked the image based on the comments. I realized that the first image didn’t fit the rule of thirds but then rules are made to be broken. I think the second image is better from a compositional point it seems to me to loose some of the mood evoked in the first image.

I really like the cropped comp, Phil. Nicely done.