At this time of year, the sun sets so far to the south that it's difficult to get a clear view from downtown or Stanley Park, so I often find myself either going to West Vancouver or UBC for an uninterrupted view.
I photographed this sunset on a beach in West Vancouver. Some clouds provided a wonderful golden glow on the horizon, and a very high tide meant that the water level was right up to the driftwood and rocks. Only a few feet out of shot to my right was one of the oceanfront houses that line this long stretch of coastline.
The large waves meant that the top of the driftwood was quite wet, reflecting the rays of the sun and the golden light on the horizon. I waited until a wave swirled around the logs to take this shot, which with a half-second exposure captured the motion in the water.
A three-stop graduated ND filter allowed me to control the light in the sky and on the horizon, while a circular polariser emphasised the reflections in the rocks and wood on the beach.
I'm a British software developer and photographer living in Vancouver, BC. I mainly photograph landscapes, cityscapes, night scenes, and water.
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@beatnikphoto Thank you! In this case, the graduated ND filter is doing the hard work of darkening the sky, allowing both the logs and the sky to be captured at the correct exposure in a single shot, without needing to brighten or darken the top or bottom of the photo significantly.
Because the graduated filter has a straight edge, but there is a section of ground on the far right that protrudes above the horizon level, I did need to use the adjustment brush on that small triangle, to recover the detail from the darkening effect of the filter.
Because the graduated filter has a straight edge, but there is a section of ground on the far right that protrudes above the horizon level, I did need to use the adjustment brush on that small triangle, to recover the detail from the darkening effect of the filter.