Eldred Rock Lighthouse

Eldred Rock Lighthouse

The Eldred Rock Lighthouse is located in Southeast Alaska between Juneau and Haines on Lynn Canal. It is an automated light, so I guess it isn’t really a ‘house’. I took this from the Alaska Marine Highway ferry on a trip to Haines to visit my Aunt. It was May and this was the amount of snow left on the mountains. I did not come back this way, but drove back down the Alaska Highway … a wonderful trip, if you have the time and are interested in being impressed with just how big the country is up there and how far apart towns are.

Below is a photo of Haines as we were sailing past to get to the ferry terminal north of town. When I lived there one winter in the mid-’70’s, I lived just at the foot of the hill on the right edge of the photo. It had a spectacular view of the water and mountains.

Haines, Alaska from the Ferry

Point Wilson Lighthouse in Winter

Point Wilson Lighthouse in Winter

It was a pleasant winter day down at Fort Worden State Park and the Point Wilson Lighthouse. The view when the clouds are high or non-existent includes a dramatic view across to Mt Baker in the North Cascades. In this case, it was above the smog layer … or most of it.

Oh Boy, New Toy

Point Wilson Lighthouse — slightly cropped

Photographers generally enjoy getting new equipment. I always find that a new lens or camera will inspire me to go experiment and try to find new ways of seeing. One of my favorite subjects for photography is the moon: very thin crescent moons, full moons near the horizon or eclipses (lunar or solar). I have used different lenses for these shots, but didn’t really have a long lens … so I would end up cropping a lot.

I recently treated myself to Nikon’s 500mm f/5.6 PF lens. This lens is a Fresnel type … and I tried it out shooting the Point Wilson lighthouse … which I thought was appropriate, since the lens in the light of a lighthouse is a typical use for Fresnel optics. The advantage of a Fresnel lens is that it is shorter than a standard lens design, and typically lighter weight … plus (big advantage here) cheaper. (not to say ‘cheap’ … but at least somewhat cheaper … the Nikon standard version runs nearly 3 times the price of the Fresnel version)

I’m looking forward to shooting some moon shots … just as soon as we have some clear weather here in Western Washington.

Point Wilson Lighthouse — full image *
Point Wilson Lighthouse detail — cropped at 1:1

Inside Passage View

Inside Passage View

This is a shot I took while taking the Alaska Marine Highway ferry up to Haines, Alaska. I know it is along the coast of Vancouver Island, but that’s it. I really wish I had taken note of the location at the time. Sigh.

It was a nice spot, though.

Beach Walk

Beach Walk

Nice weather in Mid-March brings out plenty of beach walkers in the Puget Sound country. Point Wilson Lighthouse, with the North Central Cascades in the distance.

  • Camera: Nikon D850
  • Lens: Nikkor 28-300mm set at 300mm
  • ISO 400 1/400 sec f/10

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