Sunset in Bali
Aug, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
The photo was taken in Bali, near the Kuta beachTime
This was taken in the evening at around 6 PM - I had been walking around the beach for a while, waiting to see the perfect sunset. The beach is facing the west so it provided a perfect scene with the deep orange and pink hues.Lighting
I wanted a silhouette effect, which is ideally shot when the sun if either directly behind the subject, or post the sunset when the foreground is darker than the background. The latter would require post-processing to complete darken the silhouette, while the former would rarely require post processing. However, seeing that my camera was of relatively poor specs, I preferred to shoot it after the sunset and post-process to avoid solar flares.Equipment
I used a Sony Cybershop DSC W270. This camera was great in terms of picture quality, on-par with a basic DSLR, but unfortunately was nearing the end of its life. I remember having to take out the batteries after every single shot, then give the camera a whack to its bottom before putting back the batteries in and shooting again! This photo was a product of such a shot!Inspiration
Honestly, I just wanted to shoot a sunset! I wasn't quite yet into photography back then (this was taken about 4 years ago), and I was just clicking some memories. I found this lonely dead tree and was immediately captivated by its well-preserved symmetry, and its theatric effect.Editing
Yes, and this was the crucial bit. 3 years later when I was going through these photographs, I found this particular one and decide to give it a whizz with my newfound photoshop skills. I darkened the foreground, and colour-balanced the orange hue in the background. Adding a vignette to the bottom created a circular curve which blended in with the natural shape of the canopy of trees. I didn't have to centre or crop the picture as the original was perfect in itself. I then brought out the details in the branches of the subject tree by playing with the sharpness and adding masks. Finally, by playing with the colour balance, I landed on an almost pastel effect for the entire picture, which was something I'd never seen before!In my camera bag
I have upgraded to a (very) basic DSLR, the canon EOS 1100D. I have three lenses - the 18-55mm kit lens, 55-250mm f/3 zoom lens, and the nifty 50mm f/1.8. Of these, I usually carry the nifty 50 always with me, and depending on the location I'm visiting, either the kit lens or the zoom lens. I do not use an external flash, and use a hood only on the nifty 50.Feedback
To capture a dramatic sunset on a beach, you first need to make sure that the beach faces the west. Google the time of the sunset for the day and get there 20 minutes before that time. The colour of the sky will grow deeper with different hues over the course of the sunset, and you can shoot depending on what you find more appealing. The period of 10 minutes before and 10 minutes after the sunset tends to provide the 'picture-perfect' photo opportunity, but a lot can also be brought out through post-processing. I personally find that using a low ISO (I love shooting at ISO 100, not more than 200), a longer focal length (I usually use my 18-55mm kit lens for these), preferably a slower shutter speed (I tend to lower the aperture to force a lower shutter speed), and shooting in RAW (for better post-processing) provide me with good results. I'm yet to come across a sunset with dramatic clouds - this takes the beauty of the picture and complexity of the shoot to a whole new level, and I look froward to the day I get to shoot something like that!
