This is the beautiful Castle Hill Lighthouse near Newport, RI. I met Steven Brown (brownsm) there for an informal get-together, since I was going to be nearby (driving my daughter back to college).
I found it by researching lighthouses in the area on the Web. I was really impressed with the shots I saw on the web of it--it's proximity to the water and the rocky shores.
But it was cold as hell out there. Steve basically saved my butt (well my fingers) by bringing handwarmers! After a while, my hands were so cold, I was shooting with my gloves on, and I couldn't even change settings. But I got some very nice shots, met Steve, and had a great time. So I'm happy, however this does!
This is HDR/Tonemapping from bracketed shots.
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This is one of those rare instances where I LIKE the effects of tone mapping. It was done very nicely here, and not to such an extreme like so many other shots nowadays. This was a 10 from me. Congrats, Neil!
I saw the similarity between this and another shot in the challenge. I'm leaning towards liking this one a bit more. I certainly like the sky better here, and the composition. Sharpening is slightly less agressive here, looks great. The tonemapping looks good on both. I like the mood in this one. Wouldn't have minded just a sliver of more brightness ala the glow on the rocks like in the other shot, but just a pinch really. *bump*
Great job on the HDR with a perfect touch. The textures are lovely, as is the scene but what really makes this stand out for me is the red light inside the lighthouse and the light it makes on the rocks.
Neil, your photo was the first that came up when I went to look at FS shots. I'm sure it is scoring well for you - love the details you pulled out of the rocks. Almost looks HDR but not overprocessed. Can't wait to see who wins the Critical Mass head-to-head lighthouse competition :-)
Sailor's Delight
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