Picture of the day - November 27, 2006

Sunset At Heceta Head

Photo courtesy of Winston Rockwell.   The rocks along the Oregon coast at Heceta Head have posed a constant danger for boats and ships for centuries, but since its construction in 1894 the famous Heceta Head Lighthouse makes venturing into those waters much safer. The lighthouse is still in use today, and over the years it has become quite a popular tourist attraction. But...well, Mr. Winston Rockwell can take it from here... "This photo was taken from the beach at Heceta Head on the Oregon coast. The rocks here are dangerous to ships, and there's a lighthouse about 1/4 mile to the right of where I was standing when I took this. It was built in 1894, and is one of the most photographed lighthouses on the West Coast. On this night, however, I was more interested in the sunset... I wanted to capture the setting sun dipping below the horizon between the two rocks that form the "Devil's Elbow", as this outcropping is known, but I had to keep moving farther and farther south along the beach to keep the sun in the proper position. I almost ran out of beach - in June, with the sun farther north, I might not have been able to get this shot at all! In the end, I had to wade across a small stream and set up my tripod next to a rock cliff to capture this image, but wet feet was a small price to pay for such a spectacular sunset! This photo was taken with a Panasonic FZ20 camera. It was taken at a focal length of 430mm (35mm equivalent), 1/200 @ f4.0. The shot was taken with the camera hand-held. Thank God for image stabilization!"                                                                        -Winston Rockwell Submit a photo                       Picture of the day archives