• Photos

  • Level

  • Score

Sunset on California Coast

© Kerry Drager

Sunset on California Coast

Uploaded: May 24, 2004

Description



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 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

    To discuss, first log in or sign up (buttons are at top center of page).

    Get Constructive Critiques

    Sign up for an interactive online photography course to get critiques on your photos.


     

    Did You Know?

    Discussions by Category: You can view photo discussions on various themes in the Community > Photo Discussions section of the site.

    BetterPhoto Websites: If you see an orange website link directly under the photographer's name, it's totally okay. It's not spam. The reason: BetterPhoto is the one that offers these personal photography websites. We are supporting our clients with those links.

    Unavailable EXIF: If there is no other information but 'Unavailable' in the EXIF (meaning no EXIF data exists with the photo), the 'Unavailable' blurb is not displayed. If there is any info, it shows. Many photos have the EXIF stripped out when people modify the image and resave it, before uploading.


     

    The following truth is one of the core philosophies of BetterPhoto:

    I hear, I forget.
    I see, I remember.
    I do, I understand.

    You learn by doing. Take your next online photography class.

    1

    You & 1

    Love It!


    Copyright for this photo belongs solely to Kerry Drager.
    Images may not be copied, downloaded, or used in any way without the expressed, written permission of the photographer.
    Log in to follow or message this photographer or report this photo.