So its been a while since I have gone out to shoot- I really, apologize. I desperately want to get out and shoot more, production and training the new assistants has had me tied down, but I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Wait…that sounds like I am dying or something. Im not dying…well…I guess in a really broad perspective we are all dying, but no, nothing immediate is planned.

I decided to try to catch the sunset tonight on Maui. This is what I ended up with:So its been a while since I have gone out to shoot- I really, apologize. I desperately want to get out and shoot more, production and training the new assistants has had me tied down, but I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Wait…that sounds like I am dying or something. Im not dying…well…I guess in a really broad perspective we are all dying, but no, nothing immediate is planned.

I decided to try to catch the sunset tonight on Maui. This is what I ended up with:For those of you who are interested in how I arrived to this, the thought process went something like this: (all but the last 2 shots are SOOC = Straight Out of the Camera)Show up at the Beach “Dang” I think “The sun is going to be hiding behind a bunch of clouds. Looks like I may be wasting my time. Hmm…well, lets focus on making a nice texture of the waves and we can have the sun in the background behind a cloud or something, try to salvage this.”“Ok, this is good, and I like the texture of the waves, but I want it more misty, more flowing type feeling. Let’s play with slower shutter speeds from .5-1.5 seconds.” Camera goes on tripod. “That sky looks super boring….lets try a Red Cokin Filter to liven things up a little. It will probably look fake. Why do I hate cats?”“Dang, I forgot on a full frame sensor that stupid filter holder gets into the shot. Its going to need to come off. I will also need an addition .6 grad filter to bring the exposure of the sky down. Can probably hand hold them as long as I dont move the camera.” (Filter gradient edges were aimed at the horizon).“Ok, this is looking a little better, lets play with some different compositions of rocks. Dang that sky looks so stupid and fake. Lets move the tripod around a few inches 30 different times.”“Ok, I think I really do like this original set up. Sky still looks fake. Lets see what happens if we tweak the foreground with Michael Andrew Paintballer Pro Presets
“Now we are talking….a little. Need to straighten the horizon out, remove the surfers with the clone tool.”Final Image:

Canon 5DII , Canon 16-35mm 2.8 L @16 mm, Hand holding Cokin Red and .6 grad filters, f13, Shutter Speed 1.3″, ISO 50 , Processed with Michael Andrew Paintballer Pro Presets