Sunset at Crescent Beach

[bleys]

Nikon D60, 18-55MM@32MM, f/10, 1/250s, ISO-110


@18MM, f/10, 1/200s, ISO-200

I shot these minutes after arriving on a quick trip to the beach a few days ago. It's a beautiful area. Great beach, great houses, great flora.

C&C welcome!

[mrrod]

Nice shots, i know Cresent Beach, I live about 15-20 mins away.

[bleys]

Cool, a fellow member from BC! I live in Abbotsford so it's like an hour's drive for me.

[Keith]

I Like the portrait shot best, it gives more impact to the actual sunset imo.
The landscape shot is a little to 'busy' in the bottom half for me.

Keith

[Dave Humphries]

I Like the portrait shot best, it gives more impact to the actual sunset imo.
The landscape shot is a little to 'busy' in the bottom half for me.

Hi bleys,

I agree with Keith and prefer the first because you have found a spot with less foreground clutter.


While I appreciate we should not always be slaves to rules, in this case the rule of thirds; I think it may have helped the second shot. I think the reason we see the foreground pools and rocks as clutter (or as "too busy") is because, with the sun's central position, they compete with it.

I feel if the sun was on a third (laterally), as well as the horizon is (vertically), with a suitably placed foreground pool/rock, it would have complemented the overall composition.

In the second, there is not much happening on the right hand side, so a pan left, or a few side-steps to left, placing the sun on the right hand '2/3 across' position may have done the trick.

But that's just my view; others may differ.

Did you manage to stay a little later and get any more orangey/red ones, or did the sun just go behind the far cloud bank and get dark? That nearly always happens to me if I go out to shoot a sunset - the nice ones only happen when I am somewhere inappropriate, or without the camera.

Cheers,

[bleys]

Unfortunately the sun sank lower and there was no lights show, just increasing darkness. I was really hoping for it to light up, but alas, my luck is like yours. I've seen a couple beautiful sunsets around where I live over the past couple weeks, but I didn't have my camera and I wasn't in a place where I could take advantage of them.

Thanks all!

[risingwolf]

Very nice pictures. It is so hard to be in the right place at the right time with the right equipment.

[Terry Tedor]

I too like the vertical better. Interesting illusion (or at least to my mind) in the horizontal shot, the way the sky is reflecting off the pool closest to the bottom edge causes it to appear to be raised from the beach instead of being a depression filled with water. Anybody else see it?

...or without the camera.

...but I didn't have my camera...

Tsk, tsk folks... Don't you know, the best camera in the world is the one you have with you.

It is so hard to be in the right place at the right time with the right equipment.

That's why mine stays in the truck, even down to -40°F. Eliminates one of the three variables right off the bat!

[Dave Humphries]

~ Interesting illusion (or at least to my mind) in the horizontal shot, the way the sky is reflecting off the pool closest to the bottom edge causes it to appear to be raised from the beach instead of being a depression filled with water. Anybody else see it?

Now you mention it yes, looks more like a snow covered bit of ground than a pool. Weird and possibly subconciously contributes to why the horizontal one is less well liked.

I agree with your last points, and I have started taking 'opportunity' pics on my Blackberry, as that is usually always with me.
Trouble is remembering/being bothered to download them (knowing they are going to be severely challenged technically).

I wouldn't feel happy leaving my kit in car and it isn't always close enough to be usable when needed. Can't argue with the valid point though

Cheers,

[Terry Tedor]

Now you mention it yes, looks more like a snow covered bit of ground than a pool. Weird and possibly subconciously contributes to why the horizontal one is less well liked.

Snow, yes, that's exactly what I thought - wind blown snow. I do think you're right about the possible subconcious influence.

I agree with your last points, and I have started taking 'opportunity' pics on my Blackberry, as that is usually always with me. Trouble is remembering/being bothered to download them (knowing they are going to be severely challenged technically).

I wouldn't feel happy leaving my kit in car and it isn't always close enough to be usable when needed. Can't argue with the valid point though

Cheers,

I know what you mean. Fortunately, I work in an area that is pretty safe and secure. Have you considered a pocket size compact P&S? I would think that even an inexpensive P&S would be vastly superior to a Blackberry.

[Radu Dinu Cordeanu]

Hi,
When someone look at this picture he will say what quitness,what beauty and he will lieve with the hope that tomorrow will be a wonderful day.Of course all of us know what the the golden mean is and what is the rule of third.These two rules tell us about the border and the position of the subject inside the borders.All of us heard the slogan of "breaking the rules we will add more..." The serious books about composition have a chapter about how we do wonderful things braking the rules but,only one chapter.The rest of the book tells us about the rules.In this case where quietness and beauty are important both rules can be applied without fear.I begun from the sun drawing a vertical line which was divided in three parts one under the sun and two up.In that way I know the lenth of vertical border.Multipling it with around 1.60 we know the lenth of the horizontal border.In this way we will obtain the limits of the future picture in which the sun is in one of the hard points.

[Radu Dinu Cordeanu]

Because the line between blue and white is too strong I filled the sky

[Radu Dinu Cordeanu]

An other way to "distroy" that line is to apply selective Gaussian Blur

[Radu Dinu Cordeanu]

In the end another image with the sun at the upper point of interest.
Thank You Bleys


Radu Dinu