Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Belle Tout Lighthouse

Belle Tout Lighthouse

Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes. Voting period ends on 2 Mar 2019 at 17:07:32 (UTC)

Original – The Belle Tout Lighthouse is a decommissioned lighthouse and British landmark located at Beachy Head, East Sussex close to the town of Eastbourne. It has been called "Britain's most famous inhabited lighthouse" because of its striking location and use in film and television.

CSS mockup of a crop.

Reason: Commons FP of this famous, heritage listed British (former) lighthouse.
Articles in which this image appears: Belle Tout Lighthouse
FP category for this image: Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Places/Architecture
Creator: Arild Vågen

Support as nominator – MER-C 17:07, 20 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Support – Bammesk (talk) 02:02, 21 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Weak oppose Checking a few things, it kind of feels like taking this from so near, as opposed to zoomed in a bit, has made a lighthouse in a dramatic landscape look like it's on a bit of flat ground with nothing interesting nearby. It's a good shot of the building, but very weak as a depiction of somewhere noted for being a really impressive location. Hell, there's a bit of the White Cliffs of Dover on the right, but it focuses on a boring field on the left. Adam Cuerden ^(talk)_{Has about 6.3% of all FPs} 07:50, 23 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Comment - Something about the perspective and/or composition is throwing me off. Especially at thumbnail, it almost looks tilt-shifted. Like a toy by a sandbox. Perhaps also, similar to what Adam said, owing in some part to the choice to make it overlook a lawn rather than the ocean? — Rhododendrites ^talk \\ 23:53, 23 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Rhododendrites, to me it looks like barrel distortion of a wide angle lens, which is interesting to see occasionally (if a composition supports it). Different than the typical perspective-corrected images that we usually get. Bammesk (talk) 18:10, 24 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

To me, the whole image seems to be leaning clockwise. A correction of the horizon could fix this optical illusion - I don't think that's barrel distortion on the left wall, the house is built bulging... ;-) --Janke | Talk 18:22, 24 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Agree the 2nd floor wall was built with a real tilt, that's the architecture, not lens or camera. I don't agree with the whole image needing a horizon correction, the 2nd floor column and the first floor wall-edge right under it are perfectly vertical, and they are in the center of the image with the least distortion, so the camera alignment is Ok. Btw this is FP in commons [1], I think the consensus there is that the distortion is part of the charm. Bammesk (talk) 18:53, 24 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I think what's really getting me is that the composition is so dominated by a gravel or sand-filled enclosure, showing everything in it, an out-of focus field, and the lighthouse almost feels like an afterthought. You could trim a bit from the bottom and vastly improve the composition, moving the emphasis upwards. It still wouldn't be ideal - not enough sea for a picture of a lighthouse - but it's a start. Adam Cuerden ^(talk)_{Has about 6.4% of all FPs} 14:18, 26 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Agree that the perspective feels weird. --Paul_012 (talk) 20:15, 28 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Not Promoted --Armbrust ^{The Homunculus} 17:12, 2 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]