Sunset Photography

These photos were taken Monday night, and I have been trying to upload them ever since. I am having undiagnosed internet connection problems, and it is frustrating beyond belief.

You know those days, when one notices the clouds are rather spectacular? You know, sort of like this:

And I knew, this is going to be one of those sunset nights. I mean, We have sunsets every night, and from up here, they are all pretty spectacular. But this one? I had a feeling, this one would be more spectacular than usual. Okay, maybe just simply spectacular. But I got my camera ready, kept an eye on the sky, and started shooting.

One of my challenges, in photographing a sunset series, is the changing light. I can barely keep up with it, changing the speed, the aperature, and the exposure compensation.

Until finally, the light has dimmed so sufficiently, that I must increase the ISO. I always do this last, as it increases the grain – err, the “noise” of the photograph, and that is difficult to address in a software program. Of course, one can always shoot into the sun to increase the light, but that presents its own set of problems.

Wretched lens flare! And yes, I have a hood, and a filter, but shooting directly into the sun is tricky! And I clearly haven’t gotten the hang of it. I sometimes use my hand to shade the lens, but did not, this time.
Of course, once the sun dips below the horizon, this is not a problem.

And finally the sun has slipped beneath the Pacific.