Mendocino Sunset

[websailor]

I was up on the Mendocino Coast with the DW as a winter storm passed through. After a day of rain, bits of sun came out, mixed with rain showers. People headed for the beach. As the sun went down I was able to capture a few shots - it was bright red like this for only a few minutes.

I have only resized this for the web. What other changes/comments would you have for this picture?

Olympus C75UZ
ISO 200
Exposure Time 1/30 sec
F-stop f/3.70
Focal length 63mm

[starriderrick]

Is this the original capture ?
Color balance/color tone ?? Is this in-camera results? or did you post process this.I would like to see the water more natural color or even enhanced dark blue grey/green.Maybe more blues, greens needed. I like the shiny sand,the people add interest/ a nice feel.The color is too shifted in my opinion.
Rick

[websailor]

I'm going to have to learn the terminology here...

That is the in camera result. I didn't do any post work at all, and I framed it just this way by zooming the lens. It was just that red in real life, maybe a bit more brilliant to the eyes.

I'm sure I was on landscape mode and didn't use anything other than the normal camera setting.

I was pleasantly suprised the camera actually caught the color much like I was seeing it.

Oh, btw, the streaks that you can just barely see are big raindrops coming down.

[Ronnoco]

Having done sunsets, the colour may be as shot but the image is soft and over-exposed. The silhouettes in the distance should be a deep black as opposed to a somewhat fuzzy dark grey. The waves should also be sharper.

Ronnoco

[CLKunst]

Who hasn't done a sunset? But how many of us have sunsets in a rain shower? If I read this right, the haze and softness is created because it is raining between the camera and the people on the beach. I don't see the softness as a distraction, I like it the way it is, personally. A very interesting moment to catch. Before I read that it was raining when this was taken I thought this had the look of something viewed through a veil. Neat shot. :thumbsup:

[mpreece]

WOW! Great capture on the red tone.

[Ronnoco]

Who hasn't done a sunset? But how many of us have sunsets in a rain shower? :

Well, I cannot say that I have seen many sunsets with impact in this forum, and I did shoot a sunset in the rain, this previous Thursday.

If I read this right, the haze and softness is created because it is raining between the camera and the people on the beach. :

No, the softness is not due to haze or rain. I have shot in both fog and rain, both of which have been common this year. Shutterspeed, camera vibration, and slight over-exposure are more the reasons for it.

I don't see the softness as a distraction, I like it the way it is, personally. A very interesting moment to catch. Before I read that it was raining when this was taken I thought this had the look of something viewed through a veil. Neat shot. :thumbsup:

Well, softness of the waves and the whole scene does not contribute to the impact or the centre of interest, so therefore it must detract from it and be a weakness. That is the basis and method of critique.

Ronnoco

[Copy_Kot]

That is areally cool image to play around with in CS2. With your software try darkening the image in levels, and then try adding some shadows... especially to the big rocks on the right, I think you will be VERY happy with your results.

[websailor]

Thanks for your comments and suggestions everyone.

I do need to use a tripod more often - I didn't think I had time, so I shot this just standing up (not to mention I didn't have a tripod with me!).

For me this lighting was very hard. The light was fading fast and I'm not good at trying different camera settings. One of my areas I want to improve. I saw some info on this board about cameras that do auto bracketing - I think I'll look into that. This photo is probably over exposed.

Too bad I don't have a "stop time" machine - it would have been nice to see what could have been done with a tripod, different shutter settings and a much closer viewpoint (so the zoom could have been reduced).

I actually like the softness of this picture, but I probably should change the title to "Rainy Mendocino Sunset". Out of curiousity, how important is it to give a picture a really good descriptive title? This one seems to need a text description rather than just standing alone....

Photoshop - uuuummmm, let's just say I'm still at a primitive level there. I'll try the darkening and shadows - I would like to learn this more. I'm seen what "miracles" PS can do and would like to try more out here. Thanks for the specific hints.

:thumbsup:

Finally I have to admit to being somewhat conflicted when taking this set of photos (there are others taken around the same time) - do I concentrate on taking photos or do I just take in this absolutely gorgeous sunset???? :crazy:

[trog100]

sunsets without the sun dont look like sunsets.. just pictures with something wrong with them..

u know about the sun.. u remember the spectacular lighting but the camera hasnt pulled it off.. it triggers memories for u but simply as a photograph it hasnt worked..

sunsets mostly dont..

if u are not sure fire off multple shots.. if u are lucky one of them might look okay..

trog

[readingr]

When I first saw this I thought it was fogged film not a sunset. Managed to get some film just like this in my early photography days with film.

Composition looks good, but the colour spoils it for me, just doesn't look right.

Roger

[starriderrick]

This turned into a really good thread.I have learned alot from this ONE posting.Thanks everyone.
Rick

b.t.w. Ronnoco is the master of sunsets.Canada is Stunning.