As the World Turns..and the Sun Sets
Fill in the Blank: Sunset pictures on vacation are to me what ___________ is to babies.
It all started in Turks and Caicos last February, when we discovered that our villa overlooked the western horizon. We would spend every evening, tropical drinks always nearby, taking photo after photo of the sunset.
This year, in St. Martin, it was an unspoken agreement that we would meet up every evening to capture the sunset.
Unfortunately, we had to work for it a little more this year. The colors weren't as dramatic and there were some overcast evenings. I was still pretty excited though, because instead of my little point and shoot I had my DSLR to use.
Observe.
Here are two of the best ones I got last year:
Aaaaand these are from this year:
My biggest obstacle this year was keeping the camera straight so the horizon was level. I appear to suffer from something I like to call the "Amateur Photographer Shakes" (Copyright Pending). Despite trying to be vigilant about keeping the horizon level (including using an actual built in level in the camera that TOLD ME if it was off) many of my photos, not just sunset pictures but water pictures in general, were off. Some by only a little, and most are fixable with some photoshop magic, but some were so crooked I had to wonder whether I'm lopsided.
See for yourself:
Super embarrassing. I can only assume that I must give it a little shake right before the photo, causing the horizon to shift in the picture. (If you didn't already notice, I tilted the horizons in the Turks and Caicos pictures too. Ack!) Time to start using the tripod more often and practice holding the camera steady!
It all started in Turks and Caicos last February, when we discovered that our villa overlooked the western horizon. We would spend every evening, tropical drinks always nearby, taking photo after photo of the sunset.
This year, in St. Martin, it was an unspoken agreement that we would meet up every evening to capture the sunset.
Unfortunately, we had to work for it a little more this year. The colors weren't as dramatic and there were some overcast evenings. I was still pretty excited though, because instead of my little point and shoot I had my DSLR to use.
Observe.
Here are two of the best ones I got last year:
 |
| Look at those clouds! This photo needed no underexposing to get those deep oranges and delightfully dark clouds. |
 |
| I am kinda proud at what I could do with a point and shoot. It is pretty awesome in its own right. |
Aaaaand these are from this year:
 |
| f/25, 1/4000th, ISO 800, -3 exposure, 70mm I love the sepia tones that came out when I underexposed this photo |
 |
| f/36, 1/25th, ISO 100, -2 exposure, 35 mm |
 |
| f/8, 1/800th, ISO 100, -2 exposure, 22 mm View from downtown Marigot. Gotta love them boats. |
My biggest obstacle this year was keeping the camera straight so the horizon was level. I appear to suffer from something I like to call the "Amateur Photographer Shakes" (Copyright Pending). Despite trying to be vigilant about keeping the horizon level (including using an actual built in level in the camera that TOLD ME if it was off) many of my photos, not just sunset pictures but water pictures in general, were off. Some by only a little, and most are fixable with some photoshop magic, but some were so crooked I had to wonder whether I'm lopsided.
See for yourself:
 |
| f/36, 1/25th, ISO 100, -2 exposure, 35 mm |
 |
| f/5.6, 1/1250th, ISO 200, -2 exposure, 60mm I love the movement of the waves. This one wasn't horrible but you can definitely see the tilt. Don't worry, I fixed all my tilted shots :) |
Super embarrassing. I can only assume that I must give it a little shake right before the photo, causing the horizon to shift in the picture. (If you didn't already notice, I tilted the horizons in the Turks and Caicos pictures too. Ack!) Time to start using the tripod more often and practice holding the camera steady!
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