Sunrises and Sunsets - Avoiding the Cliches

My condo has a western exposure. I was looking out the window a few days ago, and forgot how pretty fall sunsets are - nice and pink. Aside from the falling leaves, it's one of the only things I like about fall. The cold and dry air are not my friends!

But never mind my weather issues. Sunrises and sunsets are among the most photographed scenes. I also think they're among the most overused. Here's what I mean: they don't always look special. At worst, they can look so generic. Admittedly, I'm really guilty of this myself:



This was taken in 2007, in an area by the Turkish border. While I don't deny that this is pretty, I could have made it so much more interesting. Here are some examples of my work that I think are better:



To me, this is more interesting because of a few areas of interest: water, clouds, and people. On their own, not so interesting, but together - really cool looking.

Here's a sunrise example:



It's hard to see this, but there's a little bird in the middle. It's an added touch (in my view) that makes this a bit more interesting. The footprints on the left also add a nice touch.

Here's one last one:



I like this one because it was taken in Key West - famous for its sunsets. I put the sunset in the background (with the ship in the distance), and focused on the geometry of where I was - straight lines. To me, it's a good mix of the natural and man-made.

Some other tips to consider:

1) Shoot in RAW, if you can - you can easily correct exposure mistakes in Aperture or Lightroom

2) Try different angles. My Destin and Kessab sets were all about moving around and seeing which shapes I could create. You never know what could crop up.

3) The horizon tool in most post-processing tools is your friend. Don't worry so much about making the picture straight - if you're only a few degrees off, it's not hard to fix - and you won't lose much.

Till tomorrow!