Project 52 - Week 21: Sunset

Maybe we should have called the theme for this week "Searching for Sunsets."

Forecast:  Cloudy, Showers, Rain, Rain, Cloudy, Partly Cloudy, Showers, Rinse, Repeat.  No one checks Weatherbug like I do.  It's the best and most used app on my cell phone.

So, what is one to do when capturing a sunset means moving to another state?

Here's what I did.

Meet Corey.  He is a rescue from One Life To Live Pet Rescue in my area.  I had made arrangements with his Mom to meet and do a photo shoot on an evening when the sky was less than spectacular this past week.  It actually looked like a plain, white bed sheet that had been washed about 6,000 times until it turned that color between off-white and gray. 

Corey had been surrendered to a high-kill shelter in South Carolina by his owners, before coming to Pennsylvania and the rescue.   He is about 2 years old, a Shepherd/Black Mouth Cur mix.  His new Mom has spent much love and patience retraining him and he is a fantastic poser, not to mention those expressive ears and eyes!

The key here was to go back through sunset photos I have taken (as my own stash of backgrounds) and some overlays to find what I thought could mesh well.  Some of the things that are helpful to keep in the mix when I have a notion in my head to use a background or overlay are:

• shoot with the thought of the overlay or background in mind
• make sure the horizon (whatever it is made up of--in this case trees and brush--is flat and even, or easy to work with in terms of placing an overlay/background)
  
• choose the overlay or background to blend well with the color of the subject
  
• remember that "blur" is your friend.
  

Truth be told, you can't just plop an overlay or background into a photo and hope it all works.  Dodge and burn are helpful tools to give you shadows where needed, or to brighten up areas as well.  Even adding a little bit of brush on color can help get a reflection to mesh with the color of the sunset.

I thought this choice and the color of this sunset blended well with Corey's coat color.  I wasn't looking for direct opposites here, but wanted to stay in the same palette.

The photo was taken at 7:30 p.m. with a Nikon D800, using a 24-70mm Sigma lens.  The settings were f/3.2, 1/200, ISO 100, reflector camera left.

Here is one more taken at a different angle.  In this photo I broke my rule about a flat/even skyline.  It takes much more work to get an overlay between those tree branches, but challenges are fun, too.

I think Corey is a charmer, and one lucky dog to have found the perfect spot to land.

For more of what I am sure will be real, and beautiful, sunsets, take a stroll through the blog circle, starting with Kim Hollis of BARKography based in Charlotte NC.  Happy and restful Memorial Day weekend to all!  I hope you have many and great sunsets!