More than anything else, landscape photography is about the quality of the light in the scene. Often you just have to walk away from a great subject you’re interested in for the lack of favorable light. Sometimes you get lucky, and all the factors influencing the light conspire to keep you releasing the shutter. In this case, the evening sunlight reflected red light off the lighthouse, mixing it with the blue water (colored by the scattered blue light of the clear sky) creating a complex of purples, violets, and oranges.