straight of georgia

Point Atkinson Lighthouse Redux

The Point Atkinson Lighthouse in Lighthouse Park, West Vancouver, Canada

point atkinson lighthouse

Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver (Purchase)

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   Occasionally I look back at some of my older images with a bit of disappointment due to the new post processing skills I have since learned. This photograph of the Point Atkinson Lighthouse at Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver is a good example.

lighthouse park point atkinson lighthouse in west vancouver

Lighthouse – old version

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In the older version (left) I made a number of bad decisions, and just didn’t know how to get much out of the file. While going through older images recently to do some keywording and uploading to my Image Library I found this lighthouse photograph from 2011 and decided to improve the image.

   Both of these versions were processed from the same single raw file using Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) and Photoshop. I don’t know why I thought it would be a good idea to edit out the rock “island” in the foreground. I did an reasonable job of making that seamless, but the decision to remove it (or manipulate anything to that degree) is now puzzling. This is not the kind of editing I wish to do to images any longer, and most with that level of manipulation have never seen the light of day anyway. The main issue with my previous version is the colour balance and the details in the sky. While the newer versions of ACR (and Lightroom) are much better at bringing out detail in highlight areas, I’m sure the older versions were capable of much more than I knew how to accomplish at the time. When processing the new version I fixed the colour issues (older version was way too warm in my opinion), brought out some details in the sky, and added a layer to function somewhat as a digital graduated neutral density filter. At the time I photographed this I did not own any ND filters that I recall, and even if I had this scene is a tough one to implement them with the trees on the left. Many seem to debate between a physical GND filter and a digital alternative but I tend to use both. I much prefer the results when using a physical filter but often tweak things in post slightly using a digital one (usually in Photoshop not the tools available in ACR or Lightroom). I hope you agree this new version is an improvement. : )

For more photographs from the Vancouver area please visit my Vancouver, Coast and Mountains gallery.

Sunset from Biggs Park / Jack Point

Sunset over Nanaimo harbour and the Coast Mountain Range from Biggs Park in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada

sunset over the coast mountain range and nanaimo harbour from biggs park at duke point in nanaimo british columbia

Sunset at Nanaimo’s Duke Point (Purchase)

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   I enjoyed the scenery and photographic possibilites at Biggs Park near Nanaimo so much that I shot there on back to back evenings. I remain a bit confused as to what to call the area. The very tip of the peninsula is “Jack Point”, the park is called “Biggs Park”, but the BC Ferries terminal that it is adjacent to is “Duke Point”. Regardless of what the area is called, I enjoyed the sunset I was able to witness – and the sandstone formations (tafoni) always make for interesting foregrounds.

   I also was reminded of what I thought was an already learned lesson in that walking back to the car along a trail in the dark is best done with a flashlight! 🙂

Point Atkinson Lighthouse

I have reprocessed this photograph with new editing techniques and a few things I’ve learned since this post. Follow the link here to see the new version of this Point Atkinson Lighthouse photo.

lighthouse park lighthouse in west vancouver

   This photo of the Point Atkinson Lighthouse was not what I pictured in my mind when I headed to Lighthouse Park. I had not been in Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver for any length of time since about 1996, so I was a bit rusty in terms of good photo locations. I quite like this spot though, and there may be better in the park I just haven’t investigated it thoroughly enough yet. However, I did envision an decent sunset, which did not occur. A band of clouds over Vancouver Island came in and obscured the direct sunlight. I find this version appealing but I think the sky will offer something more dramatic if I keep checking this spot out.