"My FAVORITE SUNSET of ALL Time"

This Sunset came to me by accident / surprise really. I was set up around this lake taking reflection shots during the MAGIC LIGHT hour on a semi-cloudy day. When all of a sudden the sun popped out from behind the clouds and started heading for the horizon above the mountains.

"SETTING UP THE SHOT" - I rushed to my bag and started setting up my Cokin "P" filter system grabbing a 2 Stop Graduated Neutral Density filter first then stacked a Cokin Sunset Yellow filter in front of it then installed a Circular Polarizer on the lens to kill the glare off the lake. Prior to installing all the filters I took a meter reading exposing for the sky, added 1-2/3 Exposure Compensation to adjust up for the filters and then focused for the far tree line. You must take a meter reading and focus to set the shot up BEFORE the filters go on because with all the filtering the exposure in your view finder will be quite dark and you won't be able to properly see what your shooting at this point. I locked my D300 on a tri-pod and started cranking frames off using a cable release.

I couldn't believe the bold sky colors I was able to get using this filter set up and how well the bold black tree line silhouette set those colors off while still being able to capture the reflections of the clouds & sun in the lake with no glare and very little water ripple. Not more the 2 minutes later this scene was completely gone and darkness starting setting in. So it pays to be ready with your equipment for scenes like this, they come & go in the blink of an eye and being prepared for a sudden once of a life time shot is very gratifying to say the least. Had I missed this one I would have been one angry camper, but I was the victor this day and for that I'm very grateful.

~Bill Pador~

* I hope you enjoyed this image as much as I did taking it, mother nature gave up one of her most beautiful gifts to me and now I can enjoy it for the rest of my life along with the story of how I captured it !

"My FAVORITE SUNSET of ALL Time"

This Sunset came to me by accident / surprise really. I was set up around this lake taking reflection shots during the MAGIC LIGHT hour on a semi-cloudy day. When all of a sudden the sun popped out from behind the clouds and started heading for the horizon above the mountains.

"SETTING UP THE SHOT" - I rushed to my bag and started setting up my Cokin "P" filter system grabbing a 2 Stop Graduated Neutral Density filter first then stacked a Cokin Sunset Yellow filter in front of it then installed a Circular Polarizer on the lens to kill the glare off the lake. Prior to installing all the filters I took a meter reading exposing for the sky, added 1-2/3 Exposure Compensation to adjust up for the filters and then focused for the far tree line. You must take a meter reading and focus to set the shot up BEFORE the filters go on because with all the filtering the exposure in your view finder will be quite dark and you won't be able to properly see what your shooting at this point. I locked my D300 on a tri-pod and started cranking frames off using a cable release.

I couldn't believe the bold sky colors I was able to get using this filter set up and how well the bold black tree line silhouette set those colors off while still being able to capture the reflections of the clouds & sun in the lake with no glare and very little water ripple. Not more the 2 minutes later this scene was completely gone and darkness starting setting in. So it pays to be ready with your equipment for scenes like this, they come & go in the blink of an eye and being prepared for a sudden once of a life time shot is very gratifying to say the least. Had I missed this one I would have been one angry camper, but I was the victor this day and for that I'm very grateful.

~Bill Pador~

* I hope you enjoyed this image as much as I did taking it, mother nature gave up one of her most beautiful gifts to me and now I can enjoy it for the rest of my life along with the story of how I captured it !