SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

It's time to do another installment on Composition!
So lets have a meaningful and productive discussion about what makes a good Sunset/Sunrise image. We see a lot of these here every day, and rightfully so, as we have an opportunity for one of each, each and every day.
But first, if you have not already done so, DO go back and read my previous posts on Composition. This discussion will feed off of those and may help explain where I and possibly some of the others in this discussion are coming from! For me the goal is always not just photography but making the best images we can possibly make with the skill-set we poses and improving that skill-set. As with my previous posts, for me, juxtaposition always plays an important element in my images. My personal feeling is that strong color alone is just not enough. My goal is to create a stronger image by incorporating other elements into the composition that help to strengthen a story that colors alone can't tell and assembling those into a more complex composition. That's not to say that a simple strong graphic image can't work just as well. Again, there are no rights or wrongs here.
The hope as always is that we share what we feel are good strong elements and images so that one can takeaway ideas from another's compositional talents that will help them to take better and more impactful images of their own.
Feel free to post an image and explain why you feel it is a strong sunset/sunrise image.
I will post one of each in an adjacent post so that this won't be moved to the gallery.
This is meant to be a learning discussion for all of us that participate.
Blue Hour may also be appropriate in this discussion as well
Thanks, ;-)
SS

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

In these two images, a Sunset from Big Sur, CA and a Sunrise from Ensenada, Baja, I use foreground elements to help carry and add interest to the already vibrant colors.
Is this necessary or are the colors enough on their own??
Are we adding or taking away from the image??
Thanks for your participation! ;-)
SS

Big Sur sunset

(Download)

Ensenada sunrise

(Download)

Erv Loc: Medina Ohio

I thing most times the colors are enough. But, if you are trying to save a memory, then the first one is perfect. In the second one the things down in the corner drag my eyes away from the beauty of the shot trying to figure out what they are. Some times I like to see a picture that makes me think. But for this one it draws me away from the Sunrise.

nanaval Loc: Cornwall

This is my sunset, before and after.... I used a filter to give a paint effect.

Before

(Download)

After

(Download)

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I think that having something in the foreground helps tremendously. Your second shot is a good example. The equipment on the right balances the clouds on the left.

On the other hand, that rock formation in the first shot doesn't do much more than block a beautiful sunset.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

This is a good example of the trouble I have with post processing. Which version looks better? There are unlimited variations, and I have to decide which is the best. In your case, I prefer the top one.

JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore

I think this is the best sunset I've ever captured. I love the red colors reflected on the water. It was taken in Solomons Island, MD on June, 24, 2009. These are straight out of the camera, and one minute later the colors had faded, the second picture.

Solomons' Sunset 8:38 PM


Solomons' Sunset-2 8:39PM

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

Helpful discussion. Compositionally, a few things bother me about the Big Sur silhouette: not enough foreground separation to middle ground. A suggestion would be a lower POV coupled with either high tide or an incoming wave to create wet sand and some break in the black. The colors, in this case are not enough.

Now these are things, I feel, would enhance this image-- not necessarily "right" for another photographer. Generally, "right" & "wrong" are inappropriate when discussing composition….

Revet Loc: Fairview Park, Ohio

I agree, I try to imagine the second shot without the equipment in the lower right and the shot becomes boring to me, Just another beautiful sunset! The equipment also has leading lines which point us towards the clouds. I think the only problem is it moves are eyes against our normal reading left to right mode. You would think nature and the construction people would have taken that into consideration for us viewers!! Great shots. They both have great lighting, composition and interesting subjects.

windshoppe Loc: Arizona

I hope this isn't straying off topic. I've come to the conclusion that I prefer shooting in the opposite direction from the sunset in most instances. What I find most interesting is the lighting effects that sometimes occur just after sunset. My focus is to concentrate on a subject and take multiple shots as the light intensifies or lessens in order to capture an image in which the subject has been enhanced by the unusual lighting conditions.
This image is an example of the oft heard admonishment against putting the camera away after the sun has set. That's exactly what I had done. I had gotten some interesting shots with the subject bathed in an intense red glow during sunset, and then it was over. I put the camera in the car and joined my wife in the visitors' center. After several minutes I looked out the window to see this light beginning to intensify. I raced back to the car, grabbed the camera and started shooting. This turned out to be my favorite of the series.

(Download)

lighthouse Loc: No Fixed Abode

The sunset did not fade like that, that quickly.
The first shot is underexposed compared to the second one.
This has happened because the flash has fired in the first shot but not the second.
Straight out of camera does not mean "as it was".
Using different exposure levels is a common technique used to saturate or change sunset colours.

Mr. B Loc: eastern Connecticut

In this 2005 photo I always liked the combination of color, water sheen and reflection on the sand and silhouette of the surfer.

Morro Bay, California

(Download)

Rongnongno Loc: FL

Ever lived in Alaska or god forbid in the UK???

Joking aside, you address the limits here. A sunset/rise is also about minute differences in light and rarely about over saturated colors. Details can be had a few minutes before and can be brought out using PP or multiple exposure staking masking per image (after aligning) instead of blending.

I find more interest in Mr. B posting than any other, simply because the color are not overwhelming. I regret that the image is flat however. A minimal PP would have taken it to the next level.

lighthouse Loc: No Fixed Abode

My thoughts are in line with yours SS.
It is the very rare image that has a strong enough sunset to make it on its own.
The sunset is just colour and other compositional techniques should be employed.
A so-so sunset with good composition will virtually always be preferably to a shot solely of the sunset, even if the clouds in the second one has heaps going on in the clouds.

Here are three examples from my reject pile.
Please note that UHH upload has taken a fraction of saturation/colour/contrast/vibrancy from the images.

Strong foreground and lead-in compositional elements, Average sunset with negligible sky structure


Weak composition, Strongly structured sunset.


Only Cloud, but strong structure and subtly strong composition.

Mr. B Loc: eastern Connecticut

Thanks Rongomongo. This photo was taken in 2005 when I was starting my digital journey. It was taken with a Canon G5 bridge camera as a jpeg. If I only knew then what I know now. Still, it is one of my favorite "old" photos.