Sunset On The Course
Aug, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I was fortunate enough to be vacationing at a family member's house in Montrose, Colorado at the time. My sister's back yard overlooks a golf course and also offers a great view of the Peach Valley Adobes in the distance.Time
After a long day exploring Montrose, CO (Black Canyon, Western Museum, antique shops, and parks), we made it back to my sister's house and had a moment to just chill on the back porch. It had been hot most of the day, so the breeze that the passing storm brought us was greatly appreciated. Even though I had been taking photos all day and my arms were starting to weaken, I had a good feeling that the storm clouds, along with a soon to be setting sun, would provide me with some beautiful colors, and luckily, the clouds were just far enough away that I didn't get wet during this evening stroll down the golf course fairway. I forgot to spray myself with mosquito repellent and decided to tough it out instead of making my way back to the house and risk missing any shots. So, while the mosquitoes enjoyed an evening meal and the sprinklers continued to water the grass on the course, I was able to grab this shot at 8:39pm (August 17, 2015).Lighting
As the sun set directly behind the passing by storm clouds, the colors produced were so beautiful. They almost appeared as a wild fire in the sky, with the dark clouds being very reminiscent of thick smoke. It grew dark fairly quickly, so I increased my exposure to +0.7.Equipment
To grab this shot, I used a Nikon D5100, Nikon lens set at 48mm, f5.6, 100 ISO, and 1/25sec exposure.Inspiration
Clouds and sunsets. What a great combo. I wish I would have seen the beauty in sunsets and sunrises when I was younger, but I'm happy to love them all now as an adult. With all of the sunsets that I've had the privilege to witness, I can honestly say that I've never seen one quite like this. The location was a huge part of the inspiration for this shot too. Colorado is a definite must for any landscape photographer and offers such a wide array of shots.Editing
There was a bit of post-processing done to the image. When I had taken the original shot, I had forgotten to capture the shot in RAW, so I tried to preserve as much of the quality as possible since I only had a JPEG to work with. I removed a bit of noise, a touch of saturation, bit of contrast, and darkened the image slightly to set the mood. There was also a small amount of burning done to the clouds.In my camera bag
There really isn't anything too special in my bag. I only have the one camera, a Nikon D5100, kit lens (18-55mm), Nikkor 55-200mm telephoto lens, Nikon shutter button, a few lens filters, and a tripod. I'm hoping to increase my lens count in the near future, though. Or perhaps invest in another body/kit combo.Feedback
Use bug spray! When that sun goes down, the grass is being watered by sprinklers, and there's an impending storm, those little vampires can be vicious! Other than that, watch for an evening storm after a hot summer's day. Great color and mood can be captured before, during, and after these summer storms happen. Have patience, set up to get your shot early, and experiment with settings. Try to keep the ISO low and increase the exposure to compensate. A tripod is a must and I'd recommend a shutter button so that you don't have to touch the camera once it's set. But, most of all, push yourself to just get out there. Pick up your camera and tripod, put away all of the distractions, experiment with camera settings, and just go and take some pictures!
