Ship Happens

Shining Example Provides Light Relief

All photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

I guess there is something innately comforting in the sight of a lighthouse - even if you're not a mariner.

Apart from harking back to an era when they were the only way of warning ships away from treacherous rocks and other hazards, they still serve a purpose, even in this age of technology.

I took these pictures this afternoon, in wild and windy conditions on the St Kilda foreshore here in Melbourne. As you can see from the white-capped waves in the first frame, the wind was really whipping across the foreshore and while I stood there, it was like getting sand-blasted, too.

The contrast between the first and second frames show you just how much grunt the 18-125 lens has, on this Pentax K100. The first frame shows not just the lighthouse, but the container vessel on the horizon, to its right. On the other hand, the second frame shows the whole scene, without invoking the great qualities of the zoom. You can't even see a hint of the ship.

And the third frame? I just included it here because I was hoping to get some seagulls in the frame, with the lighthouse. I watched these gulls for a few seconds and tracked them with the camera. They were being fairly heavily buffeted by the wind, but I shot this frame just as they headed out to sea - with one to the left of the lighthouse and one to the right. Just a lucky shot.