Nebraska Sunset

[Kathy O]

I have never really tried to shoot a sunset like this before, I happened to look out my window and there was this beautiful sunset so I grabbed my tripod and camera and started shooting off of my back deck. I really like how you can see the irrigation pivot against the sun (irrigation pivots are a very common sight here in Nebraska). What bothers me a little is the edges of the sun seem jagged, maybe because I had to focus in from so far and again it was very windy, could this be the reason?? . . . Comments and advice is welcome.

Kathy

[Dizzy]

Kathy, with the Sun that low you are viewing it through a whole lot of Earths
atmosphere, and that's what causes the rippling effect on the edges. Nothing
you could have done about it.

Sunsets can be hard to catch "just right", especially when it's a spur-of-the-moment
pic.

[Bobobird]

That is one cool (hot) sunset. Nice catch.

What did you focus on?

[Kathy O]

Bobo,
I guess if I had to say what I focused on I would have to say the sun. It all happened so fast, the sun disappeared so fast that I was rushing to get some shots. Thanks for looking!

Kathy

[Kathy O]

Kathy, with the Sun that low you are viewing it through a whole lot of Earths
atmosphere, and that's what causes the rippling effect on the edges. Nothing
you could have done about it.

Sunsets can be hard to catch "just right", especially when it's a spur-of-the-moment
pic.

Mike,
Thanks for the information and also for taking time to look at my photos!

Kathy

[Donald]

In terms of making a comparison between the three, the one that works for me is the second one.

The first one has too much sun in it. We're getting quite a flare on the image. The third one hasn't got enough sun, just a little light area that's not really clear (and this is from someone who usually suggests waiting until after the sun sets to do sunset images).

The second one, however, just clicks for me. And I agree, Kathy - the irrigation pivots are, fro me, what the image is about. It would be just a very ordinary image without them there.

Very nicely done.

And for those interested (and I am sure there will be many), the EXIF on the second one is:

NIKON COOLPIX L120
Focal Length: 189mm (35mm equivalent: 1050mm)
Aperture: f/5.8
Exposure Time: 0.0031 s (1/320)
ISO equiv: 80
Metering Mode: Spot

[Kathy O]

In terms of making a comparison between the three, the one that works for me is the second one.

The first one has too much sun in it. We're getting quite a flare on the image. The third one hasn't got enough sun, just a little light area that's not really clear (and this is from someone who usually suggests waiting until after the sun sets to do sunset images).

The second one, however, just clicks for me. And I agree, Kathy - the irrigation pivots are, fro me, what the image is about. It would be just a very ordinary image without them there.

Very nicely done.

And for those interested (and I am sure there will be many), the EXIF on the second one is:

NIKON COOLPIX L120
Focal Length: 189mm (35mm equivalent: 1050mm)
Aperture: f/5.8
Exposure Time: 0.0031 s (1/320)
ISO equiv: 80
Metering Mode: Spot

Thanks Donald,
The 2nd one was also my favorite for the same reasons. Overall I was pretty happy with the image. Thanks again for looking!! It is appreciated!

Kathy

[tbob]

Kathy;
The second one is the best in my opinion. For the same reasons as Donald. My only suggestions, should you feel like fooling about with the image are to paint out the red pixels on the black below the pivot and maybe try a tighter crop to get the sun more dominant. Perhaps from the leaning tree on the left to the intersection of the leaning and upright tree on the right?

[Kathy O]

Kathy;
The second one is the best in my opinion. For the same reasons as Donald. My only suggestions, should you feel like fooling about with the image are to paint out the red pixels on the black below the pivot and maybe try a tighter crop to get the sun more dominant. Perhaps from the leaning tree on the left to the intersection of the leaning and upright tree on the right?

Thanks Trevor for the suggestions, I will definately take them into consideration!! Thanks for taking the time to look!

Kathy

[Dave Humphries]

It all happened so fast, the sun disappeared so fast that I was rushing to get some shots.

Yes; less than 90 seconds between the first and third pictures

My vote goes for the second one too.

I wondered about cropping 15% off both top and bottom to make more of a panorama of it?

[Teton Chuck]

Kathy, Enjoyed your sunset. I admire your courage to point directly at the sun. I like number 2 as well.

[FrankMi]

What bothers me a little is the edges of the sun seem jagged, maybe because I had to focus in from so far and again it was very windy, could this be the reason??

Hi Kathy, I have just completed a series of sunrise images and the edge of the sun in many of them is all over the place so I would expect this to be normal under the circumstances of seeing an object through a lot of atmosphere and the mirage effects it produces.

[Bobobird]

Kathy, the reason I asked was I was pretty sure that was most people do. In the process a lot of bad things can happen to the eyes.

A guy I know who likes to shoot this type of sunset (ie bright sun orbs with dark foreground type) told me how to get this done without damaging eyes.

Point the camera at something outside the suns influence at about the same distance of the subject that you want to capture. Either lock AF or then switch to MF. Then slowly pan the camera towards the sun and start shooting when it starts to come in view in the viewfinder but turn your head away during those few shots.

These 2 were done that way. Not very exciting but did get the ball and the eyes were safe.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-K...20122_1769.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-7...20122_1762.jpg