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Sunset on California Coast

© Kerry Drager

Sunset on California Coast

Uploaded: May 24, 2004

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Comments

Frank P. Luongo August 16, 2004

Great Shot!
Another beautiful sunset silhouetting ... an interesting foreground.
Love the silhouetted linear patterns. #158922

Kerry Drager August 22, 2004

Hi Frank: Thanks so much for your message ... I really appreciate it!
Kerry
P.S. For anyone interested in the "story" behind the making of this photograph:

On Sunsets, Sunstars, and Silhouettes
Like many of my sunset shots, this image was "planned" during the flat, overhead, uninteresting sunlight of midday. That's when I found this scene and imagined what it might look like in the beautiful light of late day. As for the "special effects":

  • Sunstar (sunburst):
    • To achieve a sunstar, I carefully composed the scene so just a piece of the sun peeked out, and I set my lens for a small aperture (high f/stop number). More thoughts: No filter was used, since the extra glass can cause extra sun spots on the final image. Incidentally, there was an important side benefit of the small aperture: A deep depth of field (sharpness from the close foreground frame to the distant background).
  • Silhouette:
    • To ensure that the shadowed railing came out black and the distant scene turned out nice and colorful, I took a substitute meter reading on a middle part of the sky (not the brightest area, not the darkest). I then re-composed and fired away using those settings. More thoughts: Since the sunburst/deep DOF was a priority, I set the f/stop first (which can be done in either in Aperture Priority or Manual mode) before taking the alternate reading. #727997

    Davy Davis February 02, 2006

    Looks like Morro Rock to me.
    Davy #2368151

    Kerry Drager February 02, 2006

    Hi Davy,
    Hey, nice hearing from you outside of class!! :-) Thanks for your guess! I'll be checking back here in a few days to see how things are going ... then, in a few days after that, I'll let everyone know who's right ... and, hmmmm, who's wrong :-)
    Thanks again, Davy ...
    Kerry #2368416

    February 02, 2006

    I knew instantly it was Morro Bay. My daughter lives there!

    Very nice sunset. It seems I am always there the wrong time of the year to get good sunsets.
    Marcia #2368788

    Betty A. Wisse level-classic February 02, 2006

    I thought it was Maiu, Hawaii, I have a picture of what I thought was that rock.
    Betty #2369272

    jean ray February 02, 2006

    I instantly recognized Morro Rock and knew this was Morro Bay, a favorite place I have visited many times in my life. #2370639

    Kerry Drager February 28, 2006

    Hi everyone,
    Yes, indeed, it's Morro Rock (Morro Bay along the central California Coast). Thanks for your responses!
    Kerry #2480480

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