Some one said you have to get lucky to take the really good photo you want and I believe it. I am lucky because I live in a location where lots of photographic opportunities are at my doorstep. But you have to be ready and take the opportunity when it comes up.
In the last 2 weeks I have taken a couple of shots I am proud of. They may not be the best photos but I had to work for them and that is what makes them special to me.
The Venus transition was along shot as I had no special filters and no way of knowing where the planet was, as I could not see it.
I did know when it was passing the sun at my location and guessed it would be low in the sky and the atmosphere could offer me my filter. I got lucky.
There is a photo I took from the same location of the partial eclipse of the moon, on this site, 5/20/2012.

Being 1000 miles south of the annular eclipse line, I was not sure I would get anything worth shooting.

I gave up shooting the moon alone as it is a rather boring chunk of rock and you can only shoot one side of it!
But if you can get some foreground into it, that is a different picture.

On April 6 th I managed to get a reasonable shot of a 'Green Flash".

In certain weather conditions you see a green flash as the sun disappears below the horizon. It does not make a great shot but it is nice to have one as some people don't believe there is such a thing.

The lantern is in fact a hummingbird feeder and I agree a fore ground is good. As I intend to use the same position and mostly use a long lens, there will not be many of those. I am 100 feet up and 50 feet from the tide line. On the April 6th I managed to catch a 'Green Flash'. I have not posted it yet but will add it to this posting. It is not a great photo but the color is hard to get.
Thanks for your interest.

Love your avatar -- Mr Natural lives !

OK, I give up, I have no idea what that means?

Your wish is my command. I posted the previous shot before finalizing it.

Thank you for your comments. I know I am very lucky to have a great location and I am very thankful for it. The daily sunset plan may allow others to enjoy it.
If anyone wants to follow my photoblog, e-mail me at
<maximweather@gmail.com>

I am surprised that cropping is controversial. Every shot I take, I shoot 'large', as the saying goes. To me it is the way to go You can always crop but never enlarge later. Too many shooters are worried about using the wonderful tools now available to us. Making the shot is just the beginning, the end shot is when you make it what you want it to be.

I have a PhotoBlog and decide to publish a sunset photo every evening, from my deck. Few of us have not tried sunset shots. They mostly look great and everyone loves them. Once you have got the setting right, it is pretty hard to screw them up. The one I have included was taken tonight and is typical of the many I have taken from the same location. I am lucky to be in a place where a sunset is almost always there for me. Perhaps I should add another shot after sunset at twilight, when the effects are most spectacular. Anyone have input on sunset shots?

Welcome. I was born just around the corner from Folkestone, in Sheerness, Isle of Sheppey. Now living in Mexico.

Well you are a little ray of sunshine! If you read the previous comments you would know your advice has already been covered, by members less rude than yourself.

Well I guess that would get round the rules, but I am not sure I care enough about the photo to do that.
Thanks to the poster who commented on it, I agreed with him.

Did anyone think it was a good photo?

Thank you for the info. I don't know who owns the image, so I cannot ask for permission. My intention was to gather information on how people judge a photo.