Sun set.....

[just me]

Griddi....

[Rick50]

Lovely, like the wide view.

[just me]

Lovely, like the wide view.

Rick, thank you for looking , and commenting........

Griddi......

[Shadowman]

Very nice.

[Manfred M]

Sorry Griddi, but this one is not working at all for me on both a technical and on a compositional side.

Pointing your camera straight at the sun fools your camera's light meter into underexposing the shot quite significantly; that is what the camera's exposure compensation controls are used for; to correct for this issue. Based on where the sun is sitting above the horizon, I would be extremely surprised to discover it was this dark out.

When I pull the image into Adobe Camera Raw, the areas of blue show where the image has lost all shadow detail (this is called blocking) and the areas of red show here highlight clipping has occurred. As we see both, it tells me that you have exceeded the camera sensor's dynamic range.



Centring the sun in the frame is usually not going to give you a strong composition. A sunrise or sunset usually works best when the scene is interesting in the first place and the rising or setting sun complement it. There is nothing of particular interest in this image other than the funky colours.

[just me]

Sorry Griddi, but this one is not working at all for me on both a technical and on a compositional side.

Pointing your camera straight at the sun fools your camera's light meter into underexposing the shot quite significantly; that is what the camera's exposure compensation controls are used for; to correct for this issue. Based on where the sun is sitting above the horizon, I would be extremely surprised to discover it was this dark out.

When I pull the image into Adobe Camera Raw, the areas of blue show where the image has lost all shadow detail (this is called blocking) and the areas of red show here highlight clipping has occurred. As we see both, it tells me that you have exceeded the camera sensor's dynamic range.



Centring the sun in the frame is usually not going to give you a strong composition. A sunrise or sunset usually works best when the scene is interesting in the first place and the rising or setting sun complement it. There is nothing of particular interest in this image other than the funky colours.

Hi Manfred, big thank you for telling me , can you please tell me with exposure compensation I should have been used ?
Greetings,
Griddi.......

[Manfred M]

Hi Manfred, big thank you for telling me , can you please tell me with exposure compensation I should have been used ?
Greetings,
Griddi.......

I wish there was an easy answer to your question, but it is not and the answer is a bit complex. A bit of trial and error is involved unless you do a lot of this shooting and get a feel for it. The most important thing to remember is that if an image is too dark, then + Exposure Compensation (EC) is required and if it is to light, then - EC is required. I would start with +1 or + 1-1/3 to see what happens. I will always check my histogram to see what the exposure is doing when I'm not sure and I will bracket my shots (+1, +2. +3), for instance to see which one works out well.

The other problem with this scene is that you are also getting a little bit of highlight clipping, which means you are exceeding the dynamic range of your sensor at the ISO setting you are using. Dropping the ISO level, ideally to as low as it will go, give you the maximum dynamic range your camera can deliver. The problem is that this will mean you will likely have to shoot at a lower shutter speed which might be so slow that you need to use a tripod. If you have one along (something most landscape photographers will do), then this will work.

The issue though is shooting directly into the sun, even when it is low in the sky, this approach may not be effective enough and then one has to try other techniques; an inverse graduated filter for your camera might work or exposure bracketing with some kind of multiple image blending like HDRI might have to be considered as well.

Shooting directly into the sun creates all kinds of photographic challenges.

The problem with giving you specific advi

Th

At a high level

[just me]

Manfred, many thanks for taking out the time to respond, I have bookmarked this advise from you, and will try to get better to photograph sun set images.......

Now as you have opened my eyes, ( I thought the posted image was good,) but can see now with your help, it certainly is not, so I will try to keep next time your advice in mind, and in the meantime will dot down some points of your advice........

Thank you again very much,
Griddi.....

[rpcrowe]

IMO, it is scenes like this that beg for auto exposure bracketing and very likely might wok as an HDR composite...

[just me]

IMO, it is scenes like this that beg for auto exposure bracketing and very likely might wok as an HDR composite...

Richard, thank you, next time, I will try everything to get it right......problem is only the sun don't wait long enough ......

Griddi......

[Manfred M]

Richard, thank you, next time, I will try everything to get it right......problem is only the sun don't wait long enough ......

Griddi......

If your camera supports auto-bracketing and burst mode, getting the shots will take half a second.

[DickyOZ]

Hi Griddi, I really like the dramatic effect and wouldm't change anything. To me it conjures up images of Mordor and the eye of Sauron. I agree with the advice on how to improve the technical aspects of the image, but they don't improve the artistic result.
I've always liked the way Fuji pumps up the saturation of sunsets ( and colours in general).
Dicky.

PS. I've given up posting images here - it's just too hard; Firefox and Norton have all sorts of issues with Tinypics and Google+ links aren't accepted as embedded images. Maybe I'm just becoming a grumpy old man...