Point Arena Lighthouse stands above a rugged stretch of the Mendocino coast. What draws me to this photograph is everything happening below the tower: the steep, weathered cliffs, the scattered rocks, and the Pacific breaking around them. The lighthouse gives the scene its anchor, but the coastline does much of the storytelling.
I made the original photograph years ago under a plain gray sky. When I returned to the image, I still liked the land and water, but the sky gave little back to them. I chose to add a sunset sky during editing. The lighthouse, cliffs, rocks, and ocean are from my photograph; the pink and blue sky is an artistic addition.
That choice changed the feeling of the picture. The warmer light draws your eye along the cliffs toward the lighthouse, while the cool water keeps the scene grounded. I wanted the finished work to convey the drama I see in this part of the California coast without suggesting that I photographed that sunset on that day.
I’ve recently prepared a new version of the image for my LightIntoArt shop, along with room views that show how it looks as a single print or a large three-panel canvas. You can see the available sizes and materials in the Point Arena Lighthouse listing.
— Bryan D. Spellman
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