Sunset Over Wanaque - Cropping

I was looking back at my photos of the sunset the other night and I realized that I had been to much in a rush. I got some decent photos but I didn't get what I really wanted. I really like this first picture. The colors in the clouds mixed with the silhouettes of the trees works well but there is too much bland sky at the top of the photo and the silhouette on the left side is too tight. I decided to play around with the picture to see if I could make it look a little better. I only cropped the photo - didn't play with anything else.

The Original:
The first time I croppped the photo I used the the two trees on the sides to frame the clouds while reducing the emptiness over the clouds. They act like a great frame and focus the eye on the center. The second time I cropped the photo I decided to focus on the tree on the right. There is enough detail in the tree and the eye gets drawn to that tree. At the same time it brings the color of the sky out. Which one do you like best?

Sunset Over Wanaque

I have been working pretty late this week but on Thursday - despite all the rain we were having I figured I would put the camera in the car and see if I could sneak out during lunch. I didn't leave work until 7:45 and it was non-stop all day. On the way home I watched the sunset start to develop and right before I got home I went up the side of the mountain to try and get a decent vantage point over the reservoir.

These are untouched out of the camera except for some slight cropping.

D300, 70-300mm VR, 70mm, f/4.5, 1/500s, ISO 400
Click image for a larger view

I really like this photo due to the outline of the trees and the detail. It was taken at 8:19.

D300, 70-300mm VR, 95mm, f/4.5, 1/500s, ISO 400
Click image for a larger view

The sky was much better on this photo especially with the juxtaposition of the water and the dark mountains separating the two. This was taken at 8:23

D300, 70-300mm VR, 200mm, f/5.3, 1/200s, ISO 400
Click image for a larger view

The colors in the sky here were great but it needs a little more detail in the mountains. It was taken at 8:37.

Sunrise - Sunset

So- you are a photographer or an aspiring photographer and you want to plan your day around some pictures of the magic hour - right as the sun is setting or as it is rising. Guess what, the internet is full of tools to help you out.

I figured I would get out at least once this vacation to take some sunrise photos and the only way to do that is to know when that is going to happen.

This tool is great. If you go to this website and click the link for custom sunrise and sunset calendar you can get a month's worth of information for your town or one near you. It also allows you to choose 3 different twilight settings based upon , civil, nautical, and astronomical which is great when taking photos.

I decided to take a look at Kittery Point Maine where I took my Fort Foster Photos last December and this is what I got:

Ducks at Sunset

I was going through my photos from yesterday (didn't really get a chance to shoot today because of the rain) and found this shot that I took right after the sunset skies that I posted yesterday. I like this picture because I captured so much of the scene. The ducks, the sky, the water - I just like the way it all fits.

D300, 18-200mm VR, 48mm, f/4.5, 1/30s, ISO 320

Sunset over Sunset Lake

I went to Sunset Lake in Bridgewater to take some pictures of the birds who have a tendency to hang out together. Of, course, I had to stay for awhile and before I knew it the sun was setting over the trees and it made for some great shots.

D300, 12-24mm, 12mm, f/4.5, 1/50s, ISO 500
D300, 12-24mm, 24mm, f/4.5, 1/50s, ISO 400

Moon over sunset clouds

On my way home tonight I had to pull over in Bridgewater and grab a few shots of the moon over the sunset colored clouds.

D300, 70-300mm, 98mm, f/6.3, ISO 200, 1/160s

Sunday Sunset

Sunday was football day. First we had the Patriots playing the Chargers and the marquee game (if you are a New Yorker) of the Giants vs the Packers.I was enjoying the 1st game into the late third quarter when it became pretty clear that the Patriots were going to win again (18 in a row - can't argue with that success rate). I looked out the window and the sky was turning red.

I figured I could miss the end of the game and grab some sunset pictures. I asked Kimmy if she wanted to go for a few minutes (it's never really a few) and she actually agreed. We drove a few blocks away up the mountain where we had a great view of the sunset and parts of the reservoir.

I took a few practice shots and realized that I had left my gloves at home (pretty stupid when it is 15 degrees out and you are holding a camera). Once I had what I thought was some good framing Kimmy jumped out of the car while I grabbed my flash. I had intended on getting Kimmy to present the sunset (an idea for a photo contest) holding a hand out right at the mountain level.

Got some great pictures and we headed home. It went very quickly because of the lack of gloves. When I looked at the photos I realized that I didn't have enough depth of field so the background was out of focus (there went the contest entry). Well today I cleaned the photo up a little and merged one of my shots without Kimmy with a shot of Kimmy replacing only the sunset behind her with that from the setup photo. It looks much better...(click on the photo for a larger version)

D300, 18-200mm lens, 60mm, iso 800, f4.8 (for sunset) 1/500, (1/250 for Kimmy)