Kråkenes lighthouse near Måløy, Norway. Photo: John Einar Sandvand
PICSPIRATION SUNDAY: Can there be a better place to be an amateur photographer than alone on a mountain top capturing the sunset over a lighthouse? I don´t think so.
During my summer vacation I drove up to Kråkenes Fyr, one of the many beautiful lighthouses along the Norwegian coast. Together with my son I spent one night in the lighthouse.
I loved the area – and would gladly have spent several days there if I had the time. The landscape is rough and beautiful – and walking alone in this nature tends to give peace to your soul.
My camera in position overlooking Kråkenes lighthouse.
The lighthouse rents out six rooms for tourists – and I really recommend the experience. For a photographer it is a dream – and it will be hard not to come home with some great images.
In the evening I climbed up a small hill overlooking the lighthouse and the ocean. I wanted to try to capture some nice images of the sunset.
About the photo
This photo is taken just before the sunset – at around 10 PM. Colors were beautiful – and reflected in the water.
For this photo I wanted to blur the water and skies to create somewhat of a magical atmosphere. To achieve it I used a very long exposure – making the waves look like smooth water.
Technical info
ISO: 100 and aperture f/13. Exposure time: 59 seconds.
To achieve such a long exposure time I had to use a socalled ND filter. In this case I used a filter that blocked out almost all light – and such allowed me to use a very long exposure time without washing out details.
Originally I planned to do it as HDR photo – putting together several exposures. But after working with it in post-production I felt the best result was using only one of the exposures and instead lift shadows and reduce highlights in Lightroom.
Photo tips
- Make sure to have a very steady tripod for this type of photography, especially close to the coast where the wind can be quite strong
- As remote trigger I use the mobile app from Triggertrap with iPhone and a cable. I find this app very easy to use – and it has a lot of options.
Location
Other photos from the same shoot
HDR photo from Kråkenes lighthouse – composed of five exposures. Photo: John Einar Sandvand
Waves in the rocks. HDR photo using ND filter to make very long exposures possible. Photo: John Einar Sandvand