I'm not skilled in the art of sunsets, so with that caveat allow me to present a shot I took of a sunset over Utah Lake recently, more as a cautionary example than a work of art:
The location (near Lindon Marina) is usually benign but most unpleasant at this time of year, as the small ponds behind the lake drain and become stagnant and result in millions of swarming insects buzzing around the hapless photographer. As a result I could not get into a location with an interesting foreground, but I think this composition works well enough.
I've never been successful in capturing those 'starburst' moments when the sun goes behind an object, and this is no different, but I've managed not to get the flare that usually affects most of my shots shooting into the sun. There's some streaks of light on the right-hand side, but none on the left, which ruins the symmetry IMHO.
I used a 10-stop ND filter to lessen the brightness of the sun, but I think it's still too bright (I wish I had a reverse grad for this occasion, but alas). My photoshop fu is weak, but I'm guessing there's a way to select the 'fuzzy' boundaries of the sun and reduce the highlights with realistic blending?
Hi. This is a good location for shooting into the sun as it provides water and eliminates man made objects. Hard to find around here. Squaw Peak is pretty nice but includes all of Provo in the foreground.
You did good with flare, something I fight and lose almost all the time. I went to a seminar and was told that waiting until about 1/16 of the sun was visible was the secret.
I don't know if it's a work of art, but it looks good to me. You can't always have the perfect perspective or perfect foreground. You did well with what Mother Nature gave you.
