One of the best sunsets ever

Image: A sunset on a lake in northern israel

Description: I went on a three day trip in Israel to try to find good pictures with water. I stayed over our only real like hoping for a nice sunset but the second night the sunset was unbelivable - the fluffly clouds that filled the sky and the range of colors was just spectular.

Specific Feedback Requested: Any and all but in particular if there are any more post processing I can do to improve it. I mostly used two masks - one for the tree area and the other for the bottom left but am not sure if there is anything else.

Pertinent technical details or techniques: Sony 7c 17-28 tamaron lense, 17mm, f/18, 1/5 second, iso 100.

3 Likes

Very lovely composition!!! The colors are subtle and feel very appropriate for the scene. The delicate clouds are gorgeous as are the reflections on the water.

I like the brighter area in the LL but it feels isolated from the darker rocks adjacent. I wonder if it is possible to lighten the darker area at the bottom, both rocks and water, just a little.

This is a very pretty sunset, Tamar. The clouds are the biggest attraction for me. As for the dark rocks and trees on the left, I don’t think using layers to brighten them was the right tool. I don’t know what software you’re using to convert from raw and for processing but almost all the software out there has shadow sliders or curves adjustment functions that simply raise the luminance level at the darker end without affecting the brighter part of the image. That would give you the detail you want in the darker trees and rocks (plus the overly dark water at the bottom) without blowing out your sunset. The difference being that it would affect all of the darker areas and it would be a smooth transition so you wouldn’t get the washed out look on the brightened portions.

Thank you both very much. It was helpful and I will try to do some more editing according to your suggestions.

What an amazing sunset, and the clouds are just marvellous. But I also think that the grass in the water adds to the quality of the image. You could try to brighten a tad the dark water at the bottom of the image as well as the adjacent rocks. You could also try to get a little bit more structure in the left part of the tree.

Tamar, this is a lovely, restful sunset, with it’s subtle colors and great set of clouds. As others have said the light to dark transition along the left side doesn’t look real. I think your idea about lightening the shoreline is good as that adds a nice touch of eye movement into the distance. I think that somewhat less brightening of the rocks and a smoother transition (some brightening) of the shoreline and near the bottom would look good. Here’s a version showing my thinking. I’ve burned-in slightly the brighter parts in the sky and reflection since that adds just a bit more color. Finally, I’ve circled what look like dust spots. A fixed version of this view would look good on a wall, letting you relive this time again and again.

Thank you. Did you use a brush in lightroom to burn the brighter parts or used a luminosity mask? With the dust spots I thought I removed all of them but I missed some. Sony mirror less cameras are a real pain. I need to send my sensor for another thorough cleaning.

Here is my attempt to implement what you guys suggested. I am still using masks in lightroom - mostly radial masks. I also cleaned up the dust spots (hopefully I got all of them).
Thanks