Sunset pictures

[Tristan]

Photography is a bit of a hobby for me and I've done pretty well I think with just high end digicams but I recently made the plunge into dSLR which I had been wanting to do for years just never wanted to put that much money into the hobby.

I recently traveled to Northern NY where I grew up and just started going through editing and picking out some of the better pics. This is the first sunset I've tried to shoot with the new camera, and I still have a lot to learn, but thought these are my best so far so I'd share them.

This is all the same sunset but with different settings and zoom levels. They are linked to larger size pics you can click them:

8:27pm

8:28pm
Zoomed out. I like the dark ray cast by the pillar of cloud blocking the sun.

8:29pm
And zoomed in...

8:30pm

8:36pm
The last bit of sun peaks through the trees.

8:49pm
Most enjoy the bright sun but I like magnificent glow thats left after the sun is completely gone from view and I enjoy just sitting there and watching until the sky fades completely away. A great pairing is pinot noir... or actually make that any wine or craft beer.

Hope you all enjoy them as I do!

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Wow, Tristan, those are incredible! You have a great eye for beauty. My mom is a photographer-hobbyist too. I am going to forward her this link. Thanks for sharing here with us!

 

[Bare Lee]

Wow, Tristan, those are incredible! You have a great eye for beauty. My mom is a photographer-hobbyist too. I am going to forward her this link. Thanks for sharing here with us!

Great pics! Can I put in a request for some chipmunk shots?

 

[Tristan]

Thought I'd end 2012 with a collection of the rest of my sunset pics from the year...









And lastly, the sun sets on a frosty end of 2012...

 

[Barefoot TJ]

GORGEOUS!

 

[jldeleon]

Those are all stunningly beautiful!!! Wow! I was right when I listed "creativity" as a trait of barefoot runners.

 

[BFwillie_g]

Wow, some of those are really stunning, thanks for posting them

I'm attaching a picture (per tappatalk so I hope it works) that I snapped with my phone a while ago. It's not a rainbow or a sunset, but a sun halo, something I've been noticing often the past couple years. This was the first complete one I've seen. Usually, the top is missing.

 

[Larry]

I love a good sunset photo, and those are brilliant - thanks for posting!

Here are a couple of mine from my hiking trip a few weeks ago. Not quite in the DSLR league, but when you're carrying all your gear in a backpack you tend to look for a pocket sized camera.

 

[Tristan]

Willie - I don't think I've ever seen something quite like that, thanks for sharing!

Larry - as an avid backpacker I know what you mean. I just got my first dSLR this summer (a bit of a newbie to such complex cameras) and unfortunately didnt get out on the trail except for one daytrip. The extra camera mass was a bit of an annoyance. Not so much the weight but the slapping me in the belly as I walk. I do fully plan on taking the thing with me on trips that I think I'll have some great pics, but I still have my smaller p&s which takes some great pictures too. I'll take that if weight is really a concern, or if its a repeat trip or someplace that I don't think will be as spectacular.

 

[scedastic]

Thanks for sharing. Beautiful indeed.

 

[Larry]

Larry - as an avid backpacker I know what you mean. I just got my first dSLR this summer (a bit of a newbie to such complex cameras) and unfortunately didnt get out on the trail except for one daytrip. The extra camera mass was a bit of an annoyance. Not so much the weight but the slapping me in the belly as I walk. I do fully plan on taking the thing with me on trips that I think I'll have some great pics, but I still have my smaller p&s which takes some great pictures too. I'll take that if weight is really a concern, or if its a repeat trip or someplace that I don't think will be as spectacular.

I've never tried walking with a big heavy camera, but fortunately one of my mates who often joins me on hiking trips does pack a dSLR and a spare lens, and he's happy to carry it. I think he's nuts, but I'm not above asking to steal his photos when we get back home.

Any tips on the settings to use for sunset photography? I tend to be lazy and just use the noob settings on the camera, but I'm sure there's a better way to do it.

 

[Tristan]

Well I'm no pro so I deffer to googling for "how to take sunset pictures" and you'll get articles and tutorials and such. But honestly there are so many variables. Both in the sunset itself, the style of the photo, and the gear, that can all lead to different methods and settings. But to be honest I rely a lot on semi auto mode mostly, usually shoot in Program mode, min ISO (100 on my camera), auto WB and evaluative metering mode set anywhere from dead on to -1 (I'll often shoot multiple ones at different exposures). I try and shoot some in raw but still a newb to raw editing. And to be honest my camera does really well with its auto settings. I'm still experimenting. My wide angle lens is also full manual so another whole layer of challenge there, and none of the cameras auto settings will work when that lens is attached. I think the only sunset in the above group that was shot with my wide angle and in full manual was this one :

from above, its a bit dark but I liked it that way. I had more exposed ones but I picked that one of the group. Maybe I should upload one of the brighter ones though, looking at it here on my screen at work looks dimmer than on my screen at home.

One thing I'll admit for sure is I lack interesting composition. I mean I just shoot the sunset itself and I like that, but most photographers try to include other interesting things in the photo... buildings, sailboat, monument, etc to make it more interesting. I like yours of the beach with the stream leading you off into the photo, and the tree in Willies photo. There isnt much anything interesting around my house, and if I don't want power lines in my photos I have to step across the road and its mostly open farm fields with a woods way in the distance.

 

[NickW]

Here's a few of my sunset pictures from my honeymoon 4 1/2 years a go in Cabo.

 

[theshortwhiteguy]

I was on may back from a run late yesterday afternoon and saw a sunset not too dissimilar to Tristan's 8:49pm pic (a bit more crackled clouds). I thought to myself: 1) This is why I run and 2) Where the heck is my camera when I need one? I should know the answer to #2, because this pro photographer never carries a camera (unless a client is paying him) when he really needs one.

 

[BFwillie_g]

I notice there aren't a lot of sunrise pics in this thread ...

 

[DNEchris]

Anyone living in Northern Scotland or Scandinavia should be able to get some without having to get up too early this time of year!

I don't think we've got any members in Churchill, Manitoba but they'd be able to do it with the same ease!

 

[Tristan]

I notice there aren't a lot of sunrise pics in this thread ...

Those would be off-topic in a sunset picture thread and requested to be removed immediately!
j/k

Though I have taken many sunrises I've never had any nearly as nice. But honestly I don't think I have any from 2012 but I'll try and see what I can dig up.

 

[Larry]

I saw the most amazing sunrise a few days ago - bright colours, rays through the clouds, the works. Unfortunately I was surfing at the time, so no photographic evidence. Still missed quite a few waves staring at it though.

 

[barefootn]

Some Hawaii pictures.

 

[Tristan]

oooh I really like the last one!

I was on may back from a run late yesterday afternoon and saw a sunset not too dissimilar to Tristan's 8:49pm pic (a bit more crackled clouds). I thought to myself: 1) This is why I run and 2) Where the heck is my camera when I need one? I should know the answer to #2, because this pro photographer never carries a camera (unless a client is paying him) when he really needs one.

I often try to plan my run to give me a view of the sunset. Usually doesnt work out that great but sometimes its just fantastic to be running into a great sunset. I don't know why such a daily routine thing can strike up so much inspiration and fascination in my mind. BTW since you mentioned you were a pro you do realize I am going to be bugging you with pesky questions now, right? J/k but you never know. I'll probably never be pro, but I've always loved it as a hobby. Mostly into nature photography.