[/caption] Haystack Rock is just a few feet from the beach at Cannon Beach, OR with it’s western side holding flanks against the crashing waves. This photo was taken from the stairwell about 50 feet above the beach. This was actually my last shot of the evening and I was hoping to get a silhouette of Haystack Rock with the deep cobalt blue colors along with the last remaining colors from the sun. I was amazed that I was able to get exactly what I was hoping for. The cobalt blue color is attained by waiting at least an hour after the sunset and waiting for the sky to turn blue but before the night sky darkens too much. However, if you take it at the right moment you can get some of the last remaining red, orange and yellow colors from the sun. To get this shot I made sure to use my tripod, bubble level and remote switch in order to avoid any camera shake or blur. I was using my Sigma 17-70mm lens and set the focal length at 38mm since I was quite a ways from the rock. I removed the ND4 and CIR-PL filters since the light was way too low. However, I did keep the warming filter and UV filter attached. Since I had the ISO at 100 and the white balance at -1.3, the aperture was automatically set at F-8 since it was in Shutter Priority. I did set the shutter speed at 20 seconds and because of the long exposure there was plenty of light entering the camera sensor. Sunset was at about 8:40pm and this photo was taken at 9:42pm and the light was very low with only the horizon putting out any light.
Tag Archives: Oregon sunsets
Sunset at Cannon Beach, OR
[/caption] There is no greater way to end the Labor Day Holiday than having the ability to catch a sunset like this along the Oregon Coast. Cannon Beach is by far the best place to catch the sunset and I’m always impressed with the quality of the sunset as well as the color of the rocks and sand. On this particular sunset the tide was starting to go out so you could see all of the contours of the sand in the foreground. This is always a great opportunity in order to create some terrific personality in the photo. As you can see, the fog in the distance was very thick and you pretty much have to assume that the sun is going to set 15-20 minutes before sunset since it sets behind the fog. Sometimes this gives you even better sunsets but you really have to be prepared for the changes in color since the fog will reflect the sun. I was also lucky that I was able to get this type of panoramic shot without having any people in it since I wanted to get a panoramic landscape shot. Since the sun was still fairly high I wasn’t able to set the shutter priority so I ended up setting the camera mode to Normal/Program and set the ISO to 100 and the white balance at -0.7. I also attached my CIR-PL and warming filter in order to avoid sun glare and sun spots. I was using my Sigma 17-70mm lens and set the focal length at 17mm. The aperture was set at F-5 and the shutter speed at 1/125 second. I was able to get some descent shots while setting the shutter speed to between 10 and 20 seconds but the sun had already set and the colors weren’t nearly as awesome.