Heceda Head, with its lighthouse located on the headlands just north of Florence, is one of the most iconic spots on the Oregon coast. Easily accessible and photographed often, capturing a unique photograph of this lighthouse can be challenging. While tourism is one possible function of the lighthouse, its primary role is to serve as a navigational aid by warning ships of the nearby rocky coastline during nighttime. The lighthouse's light is central to this function.

To achieve a more compelling photograph, I departed from our family beach house in Florence and proceeded to one of the highway viewpoints at Heceta Head, aiming to arrive at dusk. This time of day provided sufficient ambient light to reveal some details of the headlands, yet it had a beautiful palette of yellow and pink in the sky with the blue hues of the ocean.

After setting up my camera on a tripod (a necessity for shooting in this low-light situation), I watched the lighthouse for a few minutes to get the rhythm of the light as it rotated around. Positioning myself on a point with the ocean between me and the lighthouse allowed for a composition that highlighted both the location and the purpose of the lighthouse. My objective was to capture the lighthouse light pointed directly towards my position, effectively illustrating the emanation of light rays and reinforcing the lighthouse's primary function.