I had no intentions of going out to capture any images this day.
I went to sleep the night before with plans to take Austin to Darlene’s before school, same as any other Friday. I was surprised the next morning when my phone rang at 0538 to notify me that school was closed and I already knew that Austin was going to take the opportunity to try to sleep in.
Throughout the night, I had been woken by strong winds that were making considerable noise as they rushed and whirred past the house. They left me wondering what the conditions might be like at the Sodus Point Lighthouse. The lighthouse at Sodus Point is a subject that I have been waiting to capture. It is approximately 90 minutes from Chittenango, so I have been hesitant to drive for the sake of photography alone unless I knew with confidence that the conditions were right for an tremendous image.
I proceeded to look at the boating forecast and the waves were supposed to be 8-10 feet in the morning and reducing to 6 feet by the end of the day as the wind gusts dropped from nearly 60 mph to only 30. In the spur of the moment, I chose to pack up my camera and make the drive.
I had never been before, so I wasn’t sure what gear to bring. With the conditions likely cold enough to force me to wear thick gloves, I put the grip on the OM5. I debated between a one lens solution with the 14-150 vs bringing the 12-45 and 75-300; I chose the latter.
When I arrived to Sodus Point at 0720, the conditions were right. I don’t know that the images that I was about to capture was worth 90 minutes in the car, but it was probably time better spent than me hanging out in the korner room sitting in my recliner. There was one other photographer present, they were photographing exclusively with their car with a long lens.
I would follow suit for a while, sitting inside the car and capturing some decent images. The winds were so strong that I initially struggled to capture sharp images at 1/400 of a second. The car was being rocked so violently in the wind gusts, I couldn’t keep the camera steady and the movements were large enough that the IBIS couldn’t account for them. A bump to 1/800 would soon do the trick.
The 75-300 had been the right choice and was on my camera throughout the duration of the visit. I only went past 150 on two occasions, but the 75-300 is sharper at between 100-150, which is wear most of the images were captured. It isn’t weather-sealed, but the snow was limited and intermittent, so it didn’t end up an issue for me today.
I wouldn’t stay in the car forever, either. The winds were crazy-strong, though. I struggled to keep myself still enough to take pictures with the camera and propped myself up against railings to try to keep my steady as I would focus on the subject (almost always the lighthouse), recompose, and half-press the shutter in Pro-Capture mode, waiting for a wave to crash before fully depressing the shutter button. None of these images would have been captured so easily without the camera feature.
I bought this camera one year ago for pro-capture, live ND, and HHHR. The pro-capture and the live ND have not let me down. The experience of using the camera is so very pleasant when I want those features. I have no regrets. I am still waiting to acquire a few images when the HHHR feels worthwhile, but I didn’t travel at all this fall, and I think it will shine the most when I try to use it for landscape scenes. But I digress…
I only spent 30-45 minutes in the area before I had to leave to go to work. I knew my time would be short, but I was very glad that I went, even though it was really cold, windy, and occasionally snowy. I wish the light were a little better, but I don’t mind the mood in any of the images I captured and I am pleased with the tonality in most. I wish the clouds had a little more interest too, but I really cannot complain and it is definitely a scene that I would return to on a windy summer day.
