Lighthouse and pier, silky water

Do this

1. Tripod on rock or firm sand, legs spread wide, hang your bag from the centre for weight. Stand so your body shields it from the wind.
2. Mode dial to M. ISO 100. Aperture f/11. Turn the lens stabiliser off in the Shooting menu (IS mode) — on a tripod it can blur the shot.
3. Compose with the flip screen. Half-press on the lighthouse until the box turns green, then press the Left key to switch to MF so it can't refocus.
4. Polariser on and rotate it — here it's a light-reducer, buying you the seconds you need.
5. Right key → 2-second timer, so your finger isn't touching the camera when the shutter opens.
6. Shutter 1 second. Take the shot. Press INFO in playback to see the histogram: too bright, go faster or f/16; too dark, go longer.
7. The sweet spot for silky water is 1–4 seconds. Longer than 8 and the sea turns to fog — also beautiful, different photo.

If it goes wrong

Soft, slightly doubled image

Wind shook the tripod. Weight it, shield it, shorten the exposure. In a strong wind go home and try tomorrow.

Can't get a long enough exposure — too bright

Polariser on, f/16, and come earlier. Once the sun is up, this shot is over.

Pier lights are burnt-out blobs

That's normal at 2+ seconds. Take one frame at ¼ second too and keep both.