Missing from the Exif: Sometimes the light is perfect
Magic hour, the hour around sunrise and sunset is called that for a reason. The best light can be found when you have a touch of luck and a lot of patience. This shot was taken from what was a fairly average sunset. But instead of putting the camera away and heading home, I stayed out for another 30 minutes, to grab the last touch of light.
In taking this shot, I wanted the whole sky, even with my 11-16mm Tokina, I still didn’t feel I had the whole sky. Thus I went for the panorama. When lining up the shot, the one thing I did notice, standing on the foreshore was the small waves lapping on the shore. When trying to line up a panorama, waves are just a path to heart ache. So I walked out till I was thigh deep in the water, passed the lapping waves.
This is a handheld panorama of about 10 shots, with a lot of overlap. When shooting panorama’s always shoot in manual mode. That way, when the shots merge, you will have consistent levels across each shot. Checking one shot that balances the light and dark will mean that your levels will be averaged out. The final image is 6335 x 4133 ( compared to 4288×2848 from the D90 )
Also this was one of my first sunset walks with the new GPS, but for some reason, my GPS decided I was 10 meters above sea level.
| Camera | Nikon D90 |
|---|---|
| Exposure | 0.004 sec (1/250) |
| Aperture | f/6.3 |
| Focal Length | 16 mm |
| ISO Speed | 250 |
| Exposure Bias | 0 EV |
| Flash | No Flash |
| Date and Time (Modified) | 2010:12:04 21:56:54 |
| Exposure Program | Manual |
| Date and Time (Original) | 2010:12:04 20:44:05.00+11:00 |
| Date and Time (Digitized) | 2010:12:04 20:44:05 |
| Max Aperture Value | 2.8 |
| Custom Rendered | Normal |
| Exposure Mode | Manual |
| White Balance | Auto |
| Focal Length In35mm Format | 24 mm |
| Image Number | 87921 |
| Lens | 11.0-16.0 mm f/2.8 |
| GPS Version ID | 2.2.0.0 |
| GPS Latitude | 37 deg 54′ 57.54″ S |
| GPS Longitude | 144 deg 59′ 8.35″ E |
| GPS Altitude Ref | Above Sea Level |
| GPS Altitude | 10 m |
| GPS Date Time | 2010:12:04 09:44:02Z |
| GPS Satellites | 10 |
| GPS Img Direction Ref | Magnetic North |
| GPS Img Direction | 8.3 |
( Linked image is to lightboxed version as well, which looks much nicer )
And you can buy this as a print from RedBubble as well
