Color Contrast At Sunset Makes For A Magical Scene...

9:58 AM


As a photographer, I'm always "chasing the light" and looking for beautiful scenes and lighting to showcase the beauty of nature or the person/subject I'm shooting.  These shots were actually from a few months ago, taken down the road from my home in October.  Though I love photographing people, I prefer shooting landscapes...  There's something so magical about watching the horizon change colors ever so subtly as the sun begins to rise or set.  

On this particular day, I actually wasn't planning on shooting any landscapes.  I had my son and my eldest niece with me and we were going to the park to play and have some fun.  As we were walking home, I couldn't help but notice the beautiful sunset colors beginning to fill the sky.  So we stopped at Maunalua Bay and shot.  This isn't a swimming beach, in fact, the ocean is very slimy and filled with runoff pollution from years ago when a developer created "filled in" land at Portlock in Hawai'i Kai.  The community is actually working really hard at restoring this once beautiful bay.  The slimy soot extends out to the reef which is about 150 feet from where I'm standing taking these photos. After the reef, the water is crystal clear and filled abundantly with fish and sharks.  Hawai'i's ecosystem is very delicate and we are dependent on the ocean so it's really important that we maintain the health of the ocean or work to get it back to an unpolluted balance.  You can learn more about the community's attempt to restore Maunalua Bay here.

There's the base of what was once a sign post laying in the very beginning of the bay by the boat ramp that is easily visible at low tide which is when I was shooting.  This particular day was so perfect because the sun was casting such a vibrant golden hue over the clouds and the ocean.  I love perfect days like this one where the sky is a clear blue and the clouds are sparse.  


I was at Maunalua Bay for about a half hour and I sat with my son and niece and just marveled at nature's bounty and the utter beauty that no words can begin to describe.  My favorite thing about shooting sunset is watching the horizon transition from shades of blue and gold into shades of purple and pink.   It's truly one of the true wonders of nature in this world God so perfectly created for us.


I moved forward and to the left to try to capture as much of the golds and purples as I could.  Watching it live and trying to photograph it isn't as easy as you'd think because these moments pass in the blink of an eye.  You have to be fast and have your shutter speed set up properly for the scene.  After I captured this shot, I was satisfied and was about to put my gear away when....


The slightest sliver of moon began to show from behind the clouds.  So I got my gear, repositioned myself and did a little experimenting with my shots.  In the shot above, I changed my settings to take a longer exposure which causes the motion of the water to look like somewhat of a blur but it also allows for the darker horizon to look brighter because it's letting more light in.  Without doing that, I never would have caught the sliver of the moon and I am so happy I did.  Sometimes, you just have to take chances and experiment a little when you're shooting.  Many of my favorite shots are ones that I made while I was experimenting and taking risks.

I hope you all are having the loveliest of Sundays.  I am just catching up with editing my photos today before church.  If you want to view my gallery online, you can visit What Jean Likes Photography.  I may do a sunset shoot tutorial when the weather starts to balance out a little. It's been intermittently raining and really windy lately.

Love you all!!  Go visit the Aloha Friday Blog Hop and link up if you haven't already!! We're having an awesome giveaway!! I also have some beauty related giveaways coming up later this week so stay tuned!

Aloha,

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