The Last Light
Jul, 2016Views
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Action Award
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Contender in the Visual Poetry Project
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Achievement in Originality
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Curator's Selection
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Top Shot Award 21
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Summer 2020
2020 Choice Award
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Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
Peer Award
All Star
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
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Discover more photos See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
At Natural Bridges State Park, Santa Cruz, California.Time
On a winter evening. About 20 minutes after sunset.Lighting
This image was shot in what is known as the Golden hour or Blue hour. It's usually 20 minutes before sunrise and 20 minutes after sunset. The colors are most vibrant at this time, and this lasts no more than a few minutes. Any outdoor scenery, even an urban one, looks beautiful at this hour. I had seen beautiful white clouds that afternoon and knew the sunset would be vibrant. But even I was not prepared for the spectacular show. :) I started at the actual sunset and shot many images. When the colors started to get deeper, I waited for the light to be just right on the sky. I was so focused on the sky, that I forgot all about that rock structure. Luckily for me, when I got home and opened the image in my Lightroom, I noticed that there was a golden hue on one side of the rock making the whole scene look dreamy. A couple of minutes before this shot, that golden area looked washed out. A couple of minutes later, there was no light on the rock at all. I was lucky to get a shot when the light was just right.Equipment
I used a Canon 550D camera with the 18-55 kit lens, on a tripod set to a 2 second timer to avoid handshakes. This was quite a bit after the actual sunset, so I did not need a ND filter, which I otherwise use profusely. My kit lens always has a polarizing filter and I used it to get a reflection on the water. Without the polarizing effect, the bottom half of the image would have been bland. No flash was used.Inspiration
Californian sky in winters is an inspiration unto itself. I had gone to Santa cruz to see the migrating Monarch Butterflies with my kids. Unfortunately for us, were a bit late and the butterflies were almost gone. We did manage to capture a few clusters though. When we started back home, I noticed white clouds. I knew the next day's weather had rain prediction, so knew that the sunset would be vibrant. So I turned around from half way through and returned to Natural Bridges to capture the sunset. As I had guessed, the sunset was beyond spectacular. One of my first sunsets in USA. :) As the sun set, I walked along the beach to compose my shot. Then I took pictures of the actual sunset and waited around after for the colors to get more vibrant. They did. That is when I got this shot. Turning around and heading back to witness the sunset, was worth it.Editing
Yes. I use Light room for post processing. This was done in LR 6.1.1. To help with post processing, I always shoot raw. That retains much more information and is easier to bring out the details in pp. For post processing, I brought out the shadows and worked on the highlights to bring out the details on both. I usually don't touch the vibrance or saturation sliders, so there was absolutely no color enhancement even on this one. I did play around with clarity and white balance to get the colors as close to what I had seen with naked eyes. Since I had placed my tripod on the beach, as close to the water as I could go, the tripod kept sinking whenever a wave pulled the sand beneath. So my image was slightly tilted to one side. I corrected that in PP to make sure the horizon is straight.In my camera bag
A Canon 550D camera body, a Canon 10-22, a Canon 18-55 kit lens, a Canon 50mm, 1.4, a Rokinon 14 mm 2.8 lens for night photography, a Big stopper, GND filters, a basic tripod, a shutter release, and last but not the least... batteries and extra memory cards. I also have a glass crystal ball which I use often to capture the scene a bit differently.Feedback
The golden hour is called a golden hour, but it actually lasts only a couple of minutes. So you won't get enough time to be in the right place and shoot. So plan ahead. Yes, if you have time, compose your image before hand. At least plan. But at the same time, don't be wedded to your initial idea. Go with the flow. If you are still learning, like I was when I shot this image, don't be afraid to experiment with the captures. Try different shutter-speeds, different angles, compositions. You never know what you'd end up liking and what would go on to be your style. And shoot raw. That way, you have more freedom during post-processing and can present the image the way you envisioned it.
