Shades of Sunset
Jun, 2015Views
810
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Awards
Zenith Award
Top Shot Award 22
Featured
Contest Finalist in 500 Cool Shades Photo Contest
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
Superior Skill
Love it
Magnificent Capture
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at the Montage Resort and Spa in Laguna Beach, CA.Time
This was quite a spontaneous photo because I was just watching the sunset with my friend, snapping a few photos here and there and then had a really great idea to set my sunglasses down on the rock and then get down low enough to show the cliff through the lenses. Sunset is one of my absolute favorite time of day to shoot because each day there can be a different aesthetic to the sky, one day it could be a gold color and the next day there could be shades of pink and purple all over the sky. Each sunset shoot has always yielded unique results for me.Lighting
I didn't have any special lighting techniques for this specific photo more so that I had to be in position and take the photo at the correct time because I was losing my lighting as the sun was rapidly setting.Equipment
I used my Samsung Galaxy S5 and my sunglasses to take this photo. It was a very spontaneous decision I made to take this particular photo and I didn't have my other equipment with me.Inspiration
I tend to do a lot of sunset shoots at the beach and this particular day I was with a friend and we were just sitting on a rock watching the sunset, snapping a few photos and chatting away when I saw the position the rock was in and the angle at which the sun was setting. Taking note of all of this, I scrambled down the rock to a better position so I could set my sunglasses down and essentially lay on the rock to perfectly capture the sun setting in one lens and the cliff face in the other.Editing
For this photo there was a bit of post-processing involved to truly get the colors to pop. I wanted to get the photo just right to where the forefront was a bit blurry so the eye was immediately drawn to look through the sunglasses. Also, just a little bit of smoothing out the clouds to give them the detail as seen in the photo.In my camera bag
-The first thing that is in my bag is my Nikon D3200 DSLR. The next items are my 18-55 mm lens and my 55-200 lens. As of now these are the equipment that I have but I also carry a battery charger in my bag as well as an extra SD card in the case that I need extra memory. I am still learning photography so I don't deal with much equipment, but the stuff that I do use really helps me to capture what I want to capture.Feedback
Sunset is always a little tricky for shots like these because you have to be at the right place at the right time. If you want the full experience, arrive at the spot you want to shoot at before sunset and scout out the area a little bit to figure out where you want to shoot from. Stay through the entire sunset and snap photos throughout, don't be afraid to get down on your knees and get a little sandy in the process. If you are too low, climb up on rocks to get a better vantage point of the area. However, don't forget to enjoy the beauty unfolding before your eyes, take a few photos but then stop and watch it for yourself because every sunset is a different experience. Also, don't forget your sunglasses!
