By Robert Baker. From the front yard of the Smokey Cape Lighthouse Keeper’s residence, looking due north.
Smokey Cape, by Robert Baker
Olympus E-30; 12-60mm lens @ 29mm; f/4; 1/640s; ISO 200
Don’s response
It’s the fence that really makes Robert Baker’s Smokey Cape picture interesting.
The sky’s picture perfect of course, but where your average snapshooter would’ve practically leaned against the rail to get a picture of sea and sky, Robert saw that light angling across, and popping those white palings out against the wider scene. By creating a foreground layer very near to the camera, he not only emphasises the contrast between the geometric precision of the fence and the fluffy clouds beyond, but he also forces the perspective so that the viewer really feels the depth of the scene.
Without the fence, it would’ve been just another ho-hum picture of a pretty sky over a featureless sea.
