Peggy's Cove with the Fujifilm X-H2 and 23mm F2

Peggy’s Point Lighthouse (RAW conversion shot at f/8)

I visited Peggy’s Cove a few weeks ago, which was my first time being there in years. It was a brief visit, but I saw the changes since my last time there. Our last few weeks have been somewhat gloomy, and the sun had rarely appeared, but this night, the forecast called for clear skies. I knew it would still be quite cold with the wind around the lighthouse, which is typical. I wanted to take advantage of this rare, clear day and take some time to explore Peggy’s Cove to capture some photos.

The Camera

The X-H2 is still new to me. I’ve only had it a few months, and I’m still getting comfortable using the camera quickly. Features are easily accessible, including AF lock and AE lock, two of the most essential features to have quick access to. I currently have five custom modes on the dial set up with various film simulations and recipes, and I stick with one lens most of the time, rarely switching lenses during a day of shooting. For this, I was using the 23mm f/2. Although the 23mm is an f/2 lens, I mostly shot at f/8 to ensure focus throughout. f/2 is a relatively fast lens, but that aperture was mostly unnecessary for what I was looking for.

The Process

Before arrival, I had planned to use two film recipes. For colour photos, a Kodak Ultramax 400 recipe, and for black and white, a Kodak T-Max P3200, switching between the two as needed. I’ve used film recipes recently while travelling and wanted to continue with straight-out-of-camera JPEGS. Shooting both RAW + JPEG, I could give the photos my own treatment if I chose.

It was late enough in the day that the sun was getting into an attractive spot low in the sky. I arrived to give myself enough time to park, get a feel for the scene, and capture some practice shots—an essential step to get in the groove and a comfortable approach when shooting. I also captured video, switching between the X-H2 and the GoPro.

The Photos

Above, in the second photo in this post, I appreciated the minimal composition with the shadows of the lights cast on the wall and the small window within the A-frame. The third shot was an establishing shot capturing the detail in the ice with the added sunbursts in the upper-right of the frame.

The following two photos were focused on portraying Peggy’s Cove as a fishing community. Although the area is known mainly for tourism today, it’s still an active fishing community that retains the historic look and feel of what it was first established. I also liked the light in these scenes, especially the first, which draws interest to the small homes and buildings and less to the foreground. The sun was blocked by the hill I was standing on.

Few moments can rival golden hour when capturing stunning outdoor photos. The sun sits low on the horizon, casting that soft, warm glow across the landscape, resulting in evenly lit subjects and a more pleasing aesthetic overall. In some places, there were no people, and there was only a small crowd around the lighthouse, which is expected. This allowed me to capture a sense of scale and isolation when needed. In the summertime, this place is overrun with people, primarily tourists looking to see the lighthouse for the first time and take in a fantastic sunset with great views.

Kodak Ultramax 400 Recipe

For the dark and moody shots of the lighthouse with people silhouetted, like the one at the beginning of this post, I shot at f/8. The sunburst effect is created by photographing the sun as it is partially blocked and marginally creeps into your frame. Generally, the higher the f-stop (f/12, f/16, etc.), the more substantial the bursts will be in your photo. Sometimes, in my opinion, it can be too much.

The photograph below shot at f/2, frames the top of the lighthouse between the rusting metal loops, emphasizing the lighthouse itself and drawing the eye to what is in focus. The second shot of the lighthouse, with one solitary person standing beside the lighthouse, is shot from afar to give a sense of scale to the scene. The shadow of the railing leads to the person in the frame and the lighthouse. For this photo, I used a Kodak T-Max P3200 film recipe.

As the sun lowered in the sky, I continued to walk around looking for something that could be interesting that I had not noticed earlier. Even a few minutes can significantly affect how light reacts to subjects, and it’s always surprising how something previously overlooked can become an attractive scene with the right light.

The photographs that conclude this post are of the Sou’Wester restaurant, the most prominent restaurant at Peggy’s Cove. It has excellent views of the lighthouse and, if lucky, a fantastic sunset while dining. There were a few elements here that I think came together nicely. The silhouettes of the diners inside the restaurant, the sun setting, and the lobster traps to the right of the frame. There are two versions of this photo, one horizontal, including the traps, and one vertical, that does not. The one with the lobster traps identifies more as Peggy’s Cove. Still, the second one is probably a more visually cohesive photo as you follow the shape of the restaurant’s roof from the top down to the corner where the main subject is.

Conclusion

Capturing both RAW + JPEG is a great way to experiment with different looks without limiting to that specific photo treatment. I can try any recipe captured as JPEGs while retaining the original RAW file. Between the RAWs and JPEGS captured, I preferred my choice of post-processing for the majority of the photos. As a result, I mostly used the RAW files, with only a few images from the Kodak T-Max P3200 and the Kodak Ultramax 400 recipes.

Both recipes can be found on Fuji X Weekly.

Sunset at Peggy’s Cove (RAW conversion shot at f/8)