Another Sunset - Post Processing Critique

[KevinCollins]

Here's the shot:



And the EXIF Data:
Camera Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi
Lens EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS (Kit Lens)
Exposure 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture f/11.0
Focal Length 27 mm
ISO Speed 100
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire

I took this shot with very poor lighting. I thought there was enough light when I took it, but ater I got the image downloaded and opened in Lightroom, I was dismayed to find that everything in the forground, from the treeline down, was basically black.

So I applied a gradient filter to the image to increase the exposure from the treeline down. I tried not to over do it so it would look natural.

I'm wondering what you guys think of the results.

[Sterling]

IMO, still way too dark. I guess my thinking is, if the everything below the horizon is unrecognizable, why include it? Even the sky seems too dark to me. I'd recommend a do-over.

[KevinCollins]

Originally Posted by Sterling

IMO, still way too dark. I guess my thinking is, if the everything below the horizon is unrecognizable, why include it? Even the sky seems too dark to me. I'd recommend a do-over.

Thanks Sterling. After I was futz with it, I also noticed all the noise the lightening produced. So yeah I'll try to grab another sunset really soon.