Howth silhouettes
The evening the sky exploded into colour in Dublin... I went on a long walk to Howth hoping the sunset would be in my favour and boy did it deliver! This photo ...
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The evening the sky exploded into colour in Dublin... I went on a long walk to Howth hoping the sunset would be in my favour and boy did it deliver! This photo wasn't even the climax and it's already beautiful.
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Canon PowerShot SX540 HS
Aperture f/3.4 ISO 400 Shutter 1/320 Focal Length 4300/1000 
Howth, Dublin, IE
Jan, 2020Views
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2020 Choice Award
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo on the East Pier of Howth facing towards the lighthouse at the end of the pier walk.Time
Sunset that day was 19:34 so would have been around 10-15 minutes later when the colours started to show themselves on the high cloud that the sky was covered with following the beautiful sunny day.Lighting
I underexposed the image to ensure the sky was not blown out. If I overexposed the sky, it would be a worse image than what it is because at the time, I did not use any editing software to allow me to use a graduated filter and do selective exposure fixes. As a result, the shadows were dark but when I did eventually get into using Lightroom, I fixed this. I was happy with it as despite being dark, the image did not turn too noisy and showed good details of the lighthouse and the wall.Equipment
This image was taken with a compact Canon PowerShot SX540 HS that has a built-in 50x zoom lens. Settings used were ISO-400, f/3.4 and 1/320 secs.Inspiration
I wanted to take an image of people silhouettes against the backdrop of a tranquil sky and was unsure where to take this. I decided on going to Howth to enjoy the fine evening in mid-September 2019. I had to walk here and it took me 1 and a half hours. The sun was near setting by the time I reached the East Pier. I walked further to the end of the pier marked by the lighthouse and was impressed with the sky I was greeted with. I saw somebody resting on the wall that I knew I had to take advantage of and it was just my luck that a boat appeared in the scene too. I took a few attempts of the scene and this was the one I was most happy with. It wasn't quite the silhouettes image I envisioned but I loved it nevertheless.Editing
Yes, I removed the shadows a fair bit in Lightroom to make the details of the foreground more visible although still wanted the person and the boat to be silhouetted in the afterglow light. I also added exposure to the image to make it overall brighter. The sky did not need any edits as it was perfect to how I seen it with my own human iris.In my camera bag
At the time of taking this image, I had only a Polaroid tripod and my Canon PowerShot SX540 HS. These days though, I have my Nikon D5300, two tripods and two lenses (18-55mm and 70-300mm) in my bag. My Canon camera is brilliant especially for a compact but it does not replace my Nikon and I'd rather bring the Nikon around with me.Feedback
If coming to Dublin, two of the best spots to capture silhouettes like this are Howth (either the West or East Pier will do) and the Malahide Yacht Club. I'd recommend to underexpose so the sky is blown out but try and compromise to the point that all details for the foreground aren't gone. Getting the right exposure is very important and if the image needs fixes like brightening up the foreground, don't be afraid to do so. Best times of year for both spots generally April to September time due to the angle of the sun. Try and anticipate for the best sunset possible with good planning beforehand including getting to know what weathers are good for sunsets like high cloud such as cirrus are far better than cumulus cloud for sunsets.
