Recent Sunsets

This time of year as the weather is turning we can get some pretty nice sunsets. I have been playing around trying to get sunsets dialed in. I am having issues in low light and trying to get the foreground to expose without detail loss. Even using HDR with long exposures at full ISO the quality just is not what I think it could be. I suppose this is another reason on why I should start saving my pennies (a lot of them) for a full frame 35mm DSLR. Any info is much appreciated as always. Thanks

I shot these first two today. A big problem was that everyone and there brother decided to burn there fallen leaves today, so the smoke was very heavy in the canyon. I tried to filter it out as much as I could.

Attachment 73996
Camera Model Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XSi
Shooting Date/Time 11/7/2009 5:05:06 PM
Shooting Mode Aperture-Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 13
Av( Aperture Value ) 22.0
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation 0
Autoexposure Bracketing +2
ISO Speed 100
Lens EF-S17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Focal Length 17.0 mm
Image Quality RAW
Flash Off
White Balance Mode Custom
AF Mode Manual focusing
Picture Style Landscape
Long exposure noise reduction 1:Auto
High ISO speed noise reduction 1:Enable
Drive Mode Self-Timer Operation

Attachment 73997
Camera Model Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XSi
Shooting Date/Time 11/7/2009 5:15:50 PM
Shooting Mode Aperture-Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/15
Av( Aperture Value ) 4.0
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation 0
ISO Speed 800
Lens EF-S17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Focal Length 17.0 mm
Image Quality RAW
Flash On
Flash Type Built-In Flash
Flash Exposure Compensation +2
Shutter curtain sync 2nd-curtain sync
White Balance Mode Custom
AF Mode Manual focusing
Picture Style Landscape
Long exposure noise reduction 1:Auto
High ISO speed noise reduction 1:Enable
Drive Mode Self-Timer Operation

Attachment 73998
Camera Model Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XSi
Shooting Date/Time 11/7/2009 5:21:05 PM
Shooting Mode Aperture-Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/13
Av( Aperture Value ) 4.0
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation 0
ISO Speed 800
Lens EF-S17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Focal Length 17.0 mm
Image Quality RAW
Flash On
Flash Type Built-In Flash
Flash Exposure Compensation 0
Shutter curtain sync 2nd-curtain sync
White Balance Mode Custom
AF Mode Manual focusing
Picture Style Landscape
Long exposure noise reduction 1:Auto
High ISO speed noise reduction 1:Enable
Drive Mode Self-Timer Operation

Attachment 73999

Camera Model Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XSi
Shooting Date/Time 11/5/2009 5:39:23 AM
Shooting Mode Aperture-Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/20
Av( Aperture Value ) 22.0
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation 0
Autoexposure Bracketing 0
ISO Speed 400
Lens EF-S17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Focal Length 17.0 mm
Image Size 4272x2848
Image Quality RAW
Flash Off
White Balance Mode Custom
AF Mode Manual focusing
Picture Style Landscape
Long exposure noise reduction 1:Auto
High ISO speed noise reduction 1:Enable
Drive Mode Self-Timer Operation

Darin

I like the first two Darin as they show the risks some people will take just to leave their mark
in the world.

I think the first and last. The foregrounds in the second and third don't blend well with the backgrounds imo

Thanks for the input guys. One of these days I might get it right. Practice, practice,practice!!

Darin

I have never found HDR to be convincing in sunset shots because the lighting always looks wrong to me.

Nice try thoough and I would like to see the shot of the bridge with just the lighting from the sunset.

Roger R.

The first one is my favorite. I actually like the effect of the smoke.