There is a Challenge to All: Lighthouses thread at Nikonians.org (of which I am a member). There are plenty of Lighthouse photos displayed.

Challenge to All: Lighthouses Stopped at 101 posts
Challenge to All: More Lighthouses Continued

Take a look and enjoy!

Joe, I went and looked but was disappointed that there were no low light shots nor were there any gale or winter shots among what I saw. Lighthouses shot on nice sunny days are fine, but the enduring spirit and perserverance that they represent to me in man's struggle against the elements are best reflected by photos of lighthouses in more demanding weather that is often less than ideal for photography. Maybe it's just me, and Dave H will tell you that I'm certifiably crazy, but there's more to photography than bright sunny days where lighthouses are involved.

Gary

Gary,
I looked up crazy in the dictionary. I showed an image of a man photographing a lighthouse in the middle of a raging gale in the dead of winter. Was that you?!?! I noticed the Nikon logo through the ice!

Its true, all of the pics there are in good weather. You could change that though...

Joe, I didn't know there was anyone out there but me that day. I guess that makes two crazies, me for photographing the lighthouse with my Nikon according to the definition you found in the dictionary, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and whoever the other person was who was photographing me for that definition? I happen to love the challenge of photographing in low light and storm conditions. I understand completely that there are very few who enthusiastically seek out the latter sort of photographic challenge. That's fine if it isn't someone else's cup of tea. It is mine! As for changing the mix of what's on the Nikonian site, I'll probably do just that when I have the time. I need to join Nikonans first, which I didn't have time to do earlier today when I went through the images that were posted.

Gary

To anyone who doesn't understand English, Gary said that sunlit images are fine. He's taken many great ones himself, if you've surfed his website at all of his almost 500 images there. But as he also said (and this is my "take" on his words), sunlit images, in his opinion, don't portray the main reason why lighthouses were first built, which was to guide "travelers" on the seas to safety in dark and stormy weather conditions. I totally agree with this opinion. With this PRIME reason why they were initially built, it would seem eminently reasonable and feasible to me, at least, that some of the images in this lighthouse challenge at Nikonans should have some images of this caliber. Granted, I count Gary as my very good friend and "big brother", it still stands to reason, in my opinion, that if you have any knowledge of lighthouses at all, you know that lighthouses were 1st built to guide travelers during dark and stormy weather conditions.

Gary, would this be that shot? It sure wasn't sunny or nice THAT day! I remember I had to go to the hotel and get in the shower to dry off some!! To be kind to those of us that do a lot of the nice weather shots, not everyone is blessed to live that close to the lights, and they do thier shooting on family outings, which I'm sure they try to do in nice weather.

That would be me shooting out along the catwalk, up on one of the footings to keep my feet a little drier, with a leg wrappaed around it to steady my 200 mm lens from the buffeting by the winds. Here's what I was shooting the day Bud and I were at Grand Haven last March...



You're right too, Bud, most generally don't make family outings when a gale is sweeping in off the lake. But if you've traveled some distance to go to where you'll see lights and have a bad day, why not at least try to get some such shots? Few do...

Gary

OK, Lighthouse Joe, I took you up on the offer to change the content on the lighthouse thread on Nikonian's that you started this thread with. I guess there are about 6 or so of my low light and gale photos on the second thread now.

Gary

I saw them. You introduced the Nikonians group to a different view of lighthouses.