Photographing the perfect sunset

Sunset has been the favorite subject of photography, due to the rich, warm tones cast by the slanting rays. Every sunset we see, stirs something within us, and when we look back at them, we re-live the memories that happened at that particular date/time. However, the viewers of the photo, who was not there with us and who has seen a lot of sunset photos may not find them as interesting as we seem to see it.

I have shot many sunset scenes, but there was only one shoot which I feel have enough substance to justify being a post in my photographic blog. It had all the elements to create a spectacular sunset portfolio.

So what makes a sunset photo interesting. As quoted by some professional photographers, the sunset should be complimented by a interesting backdrop and a perfectly still water in front to create a stunning reflection.

I will post here four images, shot at the catskill mountains. The peaks provide the backdrop, while the Ashokan Reservoir gives that perfectly still water reflections. Do judge them and tell me what you think.

Interestingly, I was without a camera during the shoot, so my friend's wife kindly let me have her Panasonic Lumix "point and shoot" to do my "own stuff". My friend on the other hand was using his Nikon D80 and at my insistance was using RAW mode for the shoot.

Ok ... here goes the first one ... shot by my friend Sumit Mishra with his D80. Converted to JPG and post processing by me.

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The second one was also shot by my friend in his D80. Converted to JPG and post processing by me. I have converted it to Black and White as I feel in a proper sunset shot, BW removes the warm color, and your tonal ranges stand out. Let me know what you think.

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The third and fourth was shot by me with a Panasonic Lumix point-and-shoot. You can see for yourself that the results are comparable to the Nikon D80. This firmly asserts my conviction that great photos depend more on the ambience and the photographer and less on the equipment. By the way, I felt that Panasonic Lumix cameras are the best point-and-shoot I have ever seen, so if you are thinking of buying a point and shoot, do evaluate these as your options.

In both the photos, I have silhouetted my friends in foreground to give another dimention to the photo. Let me know if you like them (or not)

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