In "Understanding Exposure," Bryan Peterson suggests choosing a single subject and photographing it repeatedly over the course of a year, arguing that at the end of twelve months, ". . . you'll have amassed a knowledge and insight about light that few professional photographers -- and even fewer amateurs -- possess." I am in my seventh month of photographing the lighthouse at Pigeon Point, on the central California coast. I began in January, a neophyte with a camera I didn't know how to use; in the interim, I have already learned a great deal, not only about light but weather, perspective, various photographic techniques, post-processing . . .

I have a lot to learn, but I am confident that "my" lighthouse will teach me many things that I need to know.