Forgive me if I indulge myself with a few sunsets and sunrises for a while; as you may remember, it’s been a while since I’ve been able to enjoy them!  This one was taken last night as I took the family out for some relaxing river time.  Then I put the camera away and proceeded to enjoy the little dudes digging in the sand, burying toys and each other’s flip-flops, and trying to remember where they buried it all.  Ah, summer.  Better late than never.

After a total blast of an evening last night, I decided to toss the family into the truck and head to Double Ditch, where we spent the waning hours skipping stones and getting our feet muddy.  One goal was that elusive sunset photo, something I used to take a couple times a week back when the kids were so little and schedules were more flexible. I got it tonight…sorta.

One frustrating part about chasing sunsets is that you can be in the right place at the right time, and then watch the clouds either vanish or obscure the western horizon completely.  Good sunset photos typically require dramatic clouds to play off the refracted sunlight.  In this case, clouds far to the west robbed us at the last minute of the “Golden Hour” light I was anticipating.

So, in full disclosure, I augmented the orange sunset light just a bit in Photoshop.  I don’t think I got too heavy-handed, and I left the clouds alone instead of faking the brilliant colors I was hoping they’d reflect.  I got a satisfactory shot, even if I didn’t get the au naturel shot I was seeking. That’s okay, though; I guess we’ll just have to spend more evenings out on the sand, skipping stones, waiting for things to develop our way.  As I see it, that’s a win-win.

Well, I’ve been wanting to take a sunset photo for MONTHS, it seems.  Either something has come up, there have been no clouds in the sky to make the sunset special, or I’ve simply opted to stay home with my wife and kids.  Tonight was different, as I was on a way to a friend’s house to do some tech support.  Looking south, I could see the light of the impending sunset already affecting a tall cloud formation to the south.  I also liked the convergence of the rolling green hills in the foreground and the darker tree-lined hills in the background, so I stopped to nab a couple of quick shots.  It wasn’t a sunset directly, but it was a fantastic effect and will hold me over until I can get out and capture a picturesque sunset head-on.