Sunset 2 HDR

Tonight's setting sun after work. Thanks.

What a wonderfully casual title. The way the image is broken into thirds is very interesting. I would be very interested in a lengthier discussion of your technique.

An amazing capture,and amazing view and an amzing technique..it's beautiful.

Kurt, this place you are documenting is a marvel of nature, its beauty in real life must be all inspiring. You are capturing the soul and essence of this place in a magical way. Very impressive works.

Thanks for your comments! Now that they days are getting longer, I am able to make the short drive to this favorite place near where I live. I thought this sunset was rather a dud because the set into thick cloud and was not very colorful, but I decided to experiment a little with high dynamic range (where the total range of light and shadow exceeds normal camera ability). This involves compositing multiple bracketed exposures, and I have had very little experience doing this. Generally, you must avoid moving subject matter (such as clouds or ocean surf) but I am a rule-breaker, so I did the following:

Widest possible view: 24 mm

Polarizer to cut sky glint

Smallest aperture: f/22

Speed: ISO 100

Seven total exposures EV -3, -2, -1 0 1 2 3

 

This is probably overkill, but I do not have GND filters, so I am trying to deal with the very bright light from the setting sun, relative to everything else in the foreground. Thanks again for commenting, I will try some more experients.

The colors and composition are superb. My critique is on the rocks on the foreground that look like having some motion blur.

Great use of HDR. The split between the foreground and background is very interesting. This is my favorite of the shots from this location.

 

Peter

Peter, thank you for adding your comment because I am very frustrated with this particular lens. It is the 24-105 lens, and I think it is one of Canon's best; however, 24mm is just not wide enough! In this image, for example, I struggled with inclusion of the sweeping swath of cloud and its texture pattern, but with HDR this evening, my goal was long exposures of the dark foreground. So, this particular "split" was what I found to be optimal at the moment. What's funny is that it had become so dark, I could barely make out much detail in the foreground compared to the brightness of the sky. Your comment will encourage me to try again. Thanks.

 

ROCKS: The rocks are moving. There were several large waves breaking, and the blurring effect is caused but the rising and falling sea water in this little cove. Several of the exposures in this composite were more than 10 seconds long, and the merger results in this blurring effect. As I mentioned, this is a violation of normal HDR technique. I guess I need to keep playing with it.