Ending on a High Note

Another sunset in Athens

Another day is about to come to an end in Athens. Just some hundred meters out of the city borders, nature is still alive. The sun sets behind the mountains painting the weeds on the foreground red with its last rays. Deliberately underexposed to create the interesting shadows.  

Photo by George J. Reclos

Shooting Data:

Camera: Nikon D70
Lens: Tamron SP AF 180mm f/3.5 Di Macro 1:1
Sensitivity: ISO200
Shutter speed: 1/400 sec, f/11, Aperture priority mode
Flash: no flash used
Image: RAW, converted in Photoshop CS, sharpening and contrast adjusted, saved in JPEG, levels adjusted, cropped + USM added.

Sunset in Athens I

Sunset and dawn are the times of a day which create a colorful palette in the sky. Since waking up early in the morning is not really my style, I prefer sunsets. The sky was full of small clouds but not cloudy, which promised an interesting sunset so I got my lenses and a tripod and walked to the nearby hill to take some shots. The light conditions, the shape and location of the clouds and the colors in the sky changed continuously so I decided to take one shot every 5 minutes during the last hour before sunset and 1 shot every 2 minutes when the sun was about to set. I chose minimum apertures for maximum depth of field since I wanted both the sky and the foreground to be in focus and ultra wide angle lenses. The camera was set to "mirror-lock-up" to reduce vibration while the exposure times ranged from 1/125 to a full 20 seconds. Two of these shots are presented here,. This one just before the sun sets.

Photos by George J. Reclos

Shooting Data:

Camera: Nikon D2X
Lens: Sigma 12-24 mm D, 1:4.5-5.6, DG HSM @ 12mm
Sensitivity: ISO 100
Shutter speed - aperture: 1/25 sec - f/16, Aperture priority mode
Flash: None
Image: JPEG edited in Photoshop CS2, levels adjusted, smart sharpening added and resized.

Sunset in Athens II 

This is the second shot, taken about 15 minutes later. The sun is not visible any longer; the sky has gone slightly darker and the clouds are more defined, giving the overall impression that the whole horizon is on fire.

Photo by George J. Reclos

Shooting Data:

Camera: Nikon D2X
Lens: AF Fisheye Nikkor 10.5 mm f/2.8 G ED
Sensitivity: ISO 100
Shutter speed - aperture: 10 sec - f/22, Aperture priority mode
Flash: None
Image: JPEG edited in Photoshop CS2, levels adjusted, smart sharpening added and resized.

Sunset at Harris Bay

A view west from a dock of Harris Bay Yacht Club on Lake George. The sailboat is returning to dock.

Photo by Roy Stevens

Shooting data:

Camera: Nikon Coolpix 5700
Lens: 8.9 mm
Sensitivity: ISO400
Shutter speed: 1/67.4 sec @ f/3.2
Flash: none
© copyright 2005 Roy W. Stevens