Sunset Outing

I went out last night with the goal of finding a great location to shoot a sunset.  I think I found one!  It's about 15-20 minutes from my home, so a little planning is involved, but not too much.

My checklist for the evening:
* Camera - battery already charged and the memory card in place
* Tripod
* Bug Spray!!  (evening is the time for mosquitoes and chiggers!)
* Water bottle
* Sunglasses (I spent a LOT of time staring straight into the sun....)
* Diet Dr. Pepper (never leave home without it!)
* Know what time sunset will happen (8:53 last night) - plan to arrive 30 minutes before.

I didn't take along anything to sit on.  Lesson learned!  I'm adding one of the camping chairs to my photography checklist.

Anyway, on to the photos.

Before the sun actually set, it gave everything a golden tone - especially refective things like water.

The marina also had such a great golden quality to it.

I was playing with the idea of having the sun "off-camera" but still have the sun's rays in the shot.

I love how there are "rays" (actually shadows) in the sunset.  I wish I had a greater zoom to capture it.  One of these days!  Of course, I could force zoom to get it.

Another lesson I learned is that the color in the clouds doesn't start until nearly 15-20 minutes AFTER the sun goes down.  (PS - don't you love those ducks?!?)

I was actually somewhat disappointed last night.  There weren't really enough clouds in the sky to get a ton of color.  Because of that, I spend most of the evening working on the reflections.

Then I decided to try a self-portrait.  I had the camera on a tripod already, so I just used the time delay and walked over into the shot.

Except my face was at the level of the horizon.  SO - I snapped up the legs of my tripod and set it at half the height.

After I got home, I thought that some of these would look nice if they were Black and White.

I left this one slightly colorized.

All in all, I was at the lake for about an hour and 20 minutes.  I definitely need to remember to take a chair next time!

I encourage you to explore your "backyard".  There are so many beautiful places that are close to home!  You just have to open your eyes and see them.

Much Love,
Tiffany