Red Sky At Alamitos Bay Marina
Jan, 2018Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at the Los Alamitos Marina, near Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach, CaliforniaTime
I shot this right at sunset. I enjoy taking sunset photos, but this one was taken in January so the sun set quite early. I was running late and almost didn't get the shot.Lighting
Sunsets always offer interesting lighting, especially near the coast in winter. The marine layer sometimes rolls in and creates an interesting ceiling for the colors of the sunset to bounce off of.Equipment
I shoot with a Nikon D7200. My standard lens is the Nikon 18-140 zoom, which provides me with a good range without having to change lenses frequently. Sometimes I use a tripod, but this one was taken without a lot of warning so it was shot hand held.Inspiration
This one was simply a matter of being at the right place at the right time. I was on my may to shoot sunset in downtown Long Beach, and I was running late. I was stuck in evening rush hour traffic, and realized there was no way I was getting to my planned destination before sunset. But when I looked up in the sky I could see the bold colors starting to shine through and knew I had to get some shots of it. I pulled off the road on the next street, which happened to be a marina that I had shot at before but generally found to be not that interesting. But when I got there, the bright red sunset created the perfect scene.Editing
I always clean up my photos in Lightroom. I usually boost the saturation a touch to bring out the sunset colors. Because this one was shot handheld as the sun was going down, it required a little tweaking of the exposure to keep the image from being too dark.In my camera bag
My standard on-camera lens is the 18-140, but I always carry my 70-300 in my bag, along with my 8mm fisheye which I really love but don't use nearly enough. I usually bring along my tripod, shutter release, and extra batteries unless I'm trying to travel light.Feedback
Sometimes on the way to the shot you want, you find the unexpected. Always be ready, and be flexible. We often have an idea of what kind of shot we're looking to capture, but if an interesting scene presents itself, take a few shots. Sometimes those random shots are better than anything you could have planned.
