This is one of My Very Favorite Photos Because it Speaks to Me
 
I took this picture of the Crescent City Lighthouse on July 22, 2016

(Click on the picture to view or download a full 4K version)


The story of this picture:

This is the Battery Point Lighthouse and Museum in Crescent City, California.
While traveling by and when the weather allows, I like to stop by and maybe take a photo or two.

I like the curve of the beach which seems to continue onto the zigzag approach road on the island.

A remarkable thing is that the peninsula on which the lighthouse is located is only accessible at low tide.
When the high tide rolls in, this becomes an island and is not reachable by vehicle
and difficult and dangerous to do so on foot.

No longer actively guarding the coast, it is has a small museum open to the public.

 

In my composing the picture:

I composed the photo with the island near the upper right third focal point of the photo
so that I could include the beach and the waves in the foreground

The island with the cypress tree sort of creates a visual triangle of interest.

The curve of the beach and the wave crests all lead the eye toward the focal point -- the lighthouse.
The shattered driftwood in the foreground and the broken rocky left side of the island speak about the impermanence of life.
 
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