Dungeness Spit State Park is located on the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. The views (on clear days) is spectacular and can include views of Mt Baker in the North Cascades plus the northern Olympic Mountains. The Dungeness lighthouse is a 16 mile round trip hike … I’m not sure if they sit offer it, but there used to be an option to stay the night at the lighthouse (bring your own everything).
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.
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.
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.
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.