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Archive 2022 · Sunset at the Refuge

  
 
kapsnb01
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Sunset at the Refuge


It's lupine season over at the wildlife refuge so I made a quick trip over. Didn't look like we'd get much of a sunset, but the clouds parted just enough to provide some stunning light. Nest on the left is a big draw due to the usually present eagles (with the exception of this night, of course).







Jun 09, 2022 at 06:44 PM
EverLearning
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Sunset at the Refuge


Very nice. I like the composition and the limited but present details in the f/g shadows. Great sky!

One nit. I keep having my eyes pulled to the right edge bright spot in the sky. As I said, I do like the comp so I would hate to see any of the sky cropped to crop off the right (if you want to maintain the ratio, which I think is most worthwhile maintaining). Perhaps you can burn it a bit?

Just curious, was this shot handheld or from a tripod. I ask because the ss is low but the ISO is 200 (not that there is anything wrong with that on the R5!). Unless the wind will alter the appearance of the image, a lot of folks shoot ISO 100 if on a tripod. Like I said, just curious what you did and what lead you to the ISO/ss combo.

Don



Jun 09, 2022 at 07:52 PM
Camperjim
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Sunset at the Refuge


None of us can pass up sunset colors. I do agree with Don about the bright area on the right. It pulls hard on our attention but then disappoints because it pulls our attention outside of the image. I would consider cropping it off entirely.

As with many sunset/sunrise images this is all about the color. The sticks in the water do add some texture but little of interest. I do like the horitzonal bands. They help with the feeling of depth and also help to pull the viewer's attention into the image. I also like the amount and darkness you provided with the bottom reeds and grasses. They form a nice frame to the image.




Jun 09, 2022 at 08:53 PM
Camperjim
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Sunset at the Refuge


I have included a couple of crops for your consideration.

The first removes the strong bright areas on the right side.

The second is designed to feature the dead tree/shrub as a secondary area of interest.












Jun 09, 2022 at 09:08 PM
kapsnb01
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Sunset at the Refuge


EverLearning wrote:
Very nice. I like the composition and the limited but present details in the f/g shadows. Great sky!

One nit. I keep having my eyes pulled to the right edge bright spot in the sky. As I said, I do like the comp so I would hate to see any of the sky cropped to crop off the right (if you want to maintain the ratio, which I think is most worthwhile maintaining). Perhaps you can burn it a bit?

Just curious, was this shot handheld or from a tripod. I ask because the ss is low but the ISO is 200
...Show more

Don - appreciate the comments. As you and Jim both point out, the bright spot on the right has been problematic for me as well. I like the contrasting sky color that it provides, but also find it to be distracting. This will be one that I probably play with crops for quite a while before settling on one.

As per the ISO, quite honestly, that was user laziness/error/ignorance. I'd been shooting wildflowers previously, with a bit of a breeze, and had adjusted settings a few times. I thought that I'd gotten it back down to 100 (was on the tripod), so mostly ignored it in favor of other adjustments. As you caught...I didn't get it back to 100. If nothing else, I'll probably be more careful next time.

Brian



Jun 09, 2022 at 09:21 PM
kapsnb01
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Sunset at the Refuge


Camperjim wrote:
I have included a couple of crops for your consideration.

The first removes the strong bright areas on the right side.

The second is designed to feature the dead tree/shrub as a secondary area of interest.


Jim - Thanks for the crop ideas. Removing the distraction does clear up the comp quite a bit.

Mostly because I find it interesting, even though you didn't ask, the wood within the swamp/pond/slough area is actually root systems from long ago fallen trees. There's a spot a bit before this one where the woods must've been fairly thick at one time as there are a large number of upturned roots. Someday, maybe I'll figure out a good/interesting comp for that...

Brian



Jun 09, 2022 at 09:27 PM
Camperjim
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Sunset at the Refuge


Brian, sounds like a good idea. I do like that larger root system on the left side of your image. Perhaps you can get a bit closer so it becomes more prominent. Sunsets are great but you have an interesting foreground to work with. What you got is pretty nice but I think you are close to something exceptional.


Jun 09, 2022 at 09:53 PM
lylejk
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Sunset at the Refuge


Peaceful and serene. I like it. Perfect setting for my last day of my vaca. lollol




Jun 09, 2022 at 10:01 PM
EverLearning
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Sunset at the Refuge


Burning and cropping are two options but i missed another one - cloning. You have lots of options for how you deal with that bright area, including the good crop options given above.


Jun 09, 2022 at 10:22 PM
Shasoc
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Sunset at the Refuge


I agree with Don's and Jim's considerations. It is a beautiful, colorful sunset. You did very good capturing the beauty of those colors.

As far as the bright spot is concerned, my suggestion would be, rater then cropping, to extend the sky to cover the bright spot. I see you are using Lightroom Classic and you need to use layers for that adjustment.
However, if you own PS as well, all you need to do is put a duplicate of the image on a layer on top (or below) of the original image and drag it to the right to cover the bright spot using a mask.

Here is what I got. I also brightened the image a bit and open some shadows on the FG. But that is just my personal preference.

Again, very nice job on this beautiful image.

Socrate







Jun 09, 2022 at 10:23 PM
kapsnb01
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Sunset at the Refuge


Camperjim wrote:
Brian, sounds like a good idea. I do like that larger root system on the left side of your image. Perhaps you can get a bit closer so it becomes more prominent. Sunsets are great but you have an interesting foreground to work with. What you got is pretty nice but I think you are close to something exceptional.


Thanks Jim, appreciate the thoughts. It is a spot that I visit frequently, so will definitely give it a shot. One of these days I may get lucky and get a bit of wildlife in the shot as well, since swans often frequent that spot (along with the eagles).
---------------------------------------------

Shasoc wrote:
I agree with Don's and Jim's considerations. It is a beautiful, colorful sunset. You did very good capturing the beauty of those colors.

As far as the bright spot is concerned, my suggestion would be, rater then cropping, to extend the sky to cover the bright spot. I see you are using Lightroom Classic and you need to use layers for that adjustment.
However, if you own PS as well, all you need to do is put a duplicate of the image on a layer on top (or below) of the original image and drag it to the right to cover the
...Show more

Thanks Socrate - I do have both Lightroom and Photoshop (need to use it more often than I do), so will do some fiddling with it and see how it comes out.



Jun 10, 2022 at 07:55 AM
sbeme
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Sunset at the Refuge


last is my pic
but I differ with the others:
the bright area far right does pull the eye, but adds interest/a break from some of the beautiful uniformity of color palette. The last one preserves just enough of those blues to add interest without too much dominance

Scott



Jun 15, 2022 at 08:11 PM





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