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Chasing a Sunset Share This on LinkedIn   Tweet This   Forward This

12 January 2022

We've been watching some stunning sunsets (there is no other kind) this year and had the bright idea to bring the camera up to the viewing room before we regretted not having the camera with us as we watched the sky light up.

So for once we were prepared for what happened. And it was hard not to like what we saw. So much so, we kept shooting away, unable to put the camera down for even a minute.

We've chosen three images from that sequence to show you how we suffered.

The first was taken at 5:21 p.m, the second at 5:26 p.m and the third at 5:30 p.m (at which point the water in the pot on the stove was boiling and it was time to drop in the pasta). About five minutes apart, in short.

We take these handheld to dodge the bird droppings on the picture window that have suddenly begun to plague us. A week of rain didn't completely wash them away and a day of sunshine brings them right back.

It didn't used to be like this. We suspect fowl play. Some species moving north or south to a more familiar climate as world weather gets wonkier and wonkier.

And because we're usually shooting with the Nikon D300 and an 18-200mm Nikkor zoom, the focal length shifts. Well, we shift it, yes. To crop in a cloud that has drifted, say.

So the first one was shot at 48mm (72mm equivalent), the second at 58mm (87mm) and the third at 46mm (69mm). Aperture stayed at f8 with ISO at 200 but the shutter speed slipped from 1/125 second on the first two to 1/30 on the last in Aperture Priority mode.

So these are not equivalents, which is why we're showing them separately rather than in one panel.

But what they do show is how dramatically the color palette changes in just 10 minutes.

That's why it's so hard to turn away from the scene or put the camera down. You just know you'll miss something.

As these shots prove.


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