Colorful sunset from Waikoloa Beach
Colorful sunset from Waikoloa Beach
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Behind The Lens
Location
Sunset on Waikoloa Beach on the Big Island of Hawaii. I took this picture from the ruins of an ancient lava stone house overlooking the Kuualii Fishpond.Time
My wife and I walked down to the beach to watch the evening sunset. On the way, we spotted the black lava rock walls of an ancient house where Hawaiian families fished the salt pond for hundreds of years. As we explored the ruins, I noticed the sun was on a path to set between the palm trees so that I could capture this picture from the front room of the house.Lighting
The sun was too bright initially, so I waited for it to get closer to the horizon as colors began to form in clouds. The sun dipped behind a light band of clouds in the distance, cutting the brightness and providing an amazing orange and red glow across the evening sky.Equipment
Being new to photography, this was my first trip with a camera other than my iPhone. I used my Panasonic DC-LX100M2 with a 24-75mm f1.7-2.8 telephoto lens. Having no tri-pod, I balanced the camera on the black lava rock of the ruins. I used the wider angle 25mm setting, f5.6 with 1/500 shutter speed and ISO 200.Inspiration
This was our second week in Hawaii and I had spent several evenings taking sunset shots. Unfortunately, my early shots were mostly ocean with the sun on the horizon and not much composition. For this picture, I was looking to use the palm trees and salt pond to add foreground interest in addition to the sunset. I started with some portrait photos framed by the palm trees. I then expanded the view with a nice landscape pic that included the dark red clouds on the right. I enjoyed capturing the people watching the sunset under the distant palm tree and the girl walking the trail on the left edge of this scene.Editing
I used Lightroom Classic to edit this photo. My original picture came out much brighter with deep foreground greens from the ground cover and palm trees. I experimented with the exposures and highlights in Lightroom to dim the lighting and capture the foreground as a silhouette, matching the distant palm trees and beach scene from across the pond.In my camera bag
This sunset was taken before I had a bag... Upon returning from vacation I invested in new equipment going with a Panasonic Lumix G9 mirrorless camera and a travel tri-pod. Currently I carry a few lenses in my bag. My main lens is a Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 12-60mm telephoto lens for great landscapes. I also have a Leica 45mm macro lens that works great for insects and flowers, as well as a Leica 100-400mm telephoto lens that provides great closeups on wildlife shots.Feedback
Hawaii is a great location for sunsets with colorful scenery in every direction. The beautiful landscapes and seascapes are very forgiving for the amateur photographer, providing unlimited composition options. Can't wait to go back with a full set of camera gear to enhance the quality of photos from my last vacation.