Lake Michigan Sunset

[heronwheels]

I'm a little nervous posting this as I'm quite new to the world of manual/dSLR photography and this is my very first post here...but how else am I going to learn!! Is there anything I could have done differently to improve the shot (composition, technical, etc.)? I'm still not sensational on more than just basic photo editing functions and noticed the darkness near the horizon (just started shooting RAW, using Aperture and PE9).



Link to larger version

EXIF data

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T1i
Exposure: 1/200
Aperture: f13
ISO: 200
Focal length: 50mm
WB: Shade

Thanks for any advice or gentle criticism!!

[dlambert]

Very nice. One of the things you'll find about sunsets, I believe, is that you can change the effect of the photo quite a bit by varying exposure --ie, there's not one "perfect" exposure. In this shot, you've got a nice silhouette effect along the dock, which I like. I'm not as crazy about that darkness in the shoreline, though -- at first glance, it looked like a letterbox because the shoreline is so straight. If you want to play with cropping, in fact, I'd bet this photo would look nice cropped as a panorama -- just cut a bit off the top & bottom.

[Krusty79]

Good job! The darkness on the horizon doesn't bother me. I'm glad to see you're shooting at the right time of day and keeping your horizon level. You might crop some of the featureless foreground out.

To go up to the next level, you could try to include some foreground interest. This is more difficult because you will have to expose the sky and the foreground correctly. It usually requires a graduated ND filter and/or exposure blending to even out the exposure since the sky is usually much brighter than the ground.

[terry pratt]

I like the photo. But with the black at the bottom, to me it puts the Horizon right in the middle.
I would crop the bottom, some kind of 1/3 2/3 rule exist.

[unatratnag]

Originally Posted by Krusty79

To go up to the next level, you could try to include some foreground interest. This is more difficult because you will have to expose the sky and the foreground correctly. It usually requires a graduated ND filter and/or exposure blending to even out the exposure since the sky is usually much brighter than the ground.

Great comments! A quick thought about the foreground interest and I wonder if you cropped off some of the bottom and even the left and have the dock lead off to the sun that might help make the dock the subject more so than the sun. Everyone's got an opinion, play with it till you're as happy, it looks great. Great job!

[heronwheels]

Thank you all so much for the comments and suggestions, this is such a great tool for a new photographer to learn!! I see what you all mean by the foreground, I tried several different exposures and thought the sandy beach was a bit lacking and looked noisy - cropping out the bottom looks much better.

[caine22]

i agree the bit of beach foreground is a little lacking. very nice colors though. was this taken in st joseph by any chance?

[wal]

I am imagining some lights from the light house and walkway all lighted up and just before total darkness.

[heronwheels]

Originally Posted by caine22

i agree the bit of beach foreground is a little lacking. very nice colors though. was this taken in st joseph by any chance?

Caine that's the Grand Haven light.

[caine22]

Originally Posted by heronwheels

Caine that's the Grand Haven light.

ah. grand haven, south haven, and st joe all tend to look alike in the dark! it has been a while since i have been to any of them. brings back good memories, a good picture.