Layers of sunset: how I made this photo


This photo had little to do with the model of camera I used, or the lens, or anything very technical.

It had everything to do with the calendar and the weather forecast.

November, 2009 saw a small hurricane called Ida wander across the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricanes leave a trail of clouds. A quick consultation of a good calendar told me when the sunset would take place. A few minutes with the Weather Channel told me where the worst of the storm had gone.

All I needed was a camera and a wristwatch. And a boardwalk to shoot from.

The camera was a Canon Powershot A630, one of the great underrated Canons that uses AA batteries and lets you manually adjust shutter speed, aperture, and other settings. The current A-series Canons don't offer this level of control. (The camera itself is no longer made, but used models may be found at online auction, or maybe www.KEH.com.)

Exposure details: handheld, 1/1000-second exposure at f4.0, with a -0.67 underexposure to deepen the clouds a bit.

Tip: lens flare can be a problem when shooting into the sun, so make plenty of exposures. You may have to edit out lens flares in an editing program.

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