Siesta Key Sunset

[Akira]

Ethan's edit looks nice.  The 9:16 cropping works well to me, too.

[CS]

I prefer this version. I wonder how our community feels

+1

[ArthurDent]

This is how much I would keep of your latest image.
But that's just me, I prefer taking images of sunsets with long lenses (300mm or longer if possible) when the sun is the size of a basket ball

I appreciate your thoughts. I wasn't posting the image to elicit any criticism, although I always encourage it, but to show why I had the 70-200 attached to the camera.  As it turned out, no bird was willing to fly within a thousand yards of me that day, so I was unable to capture any of the shots I had in mind.  I won't say it was a wasted evening because, despite the complete lack of cooperation of the avian population, I still had a nice couple of hours on the beach and got to watch a great sunset.

[ArthurDent]

My feeling is that the original image is too static because there is no detail in the lower dark half and the image is divided into that 50-50 mode. Cropping at the bottom does to seem to help much although the bottom crops are marginally better than the 50-50. I don't think there's anything can be done for that image except to reshoot although I do think Ethan's rework nicely brought out what could be brought out and I like his 16:9 idea.

Sometimes a photo just does not work out. (I have about one million of those myself.  Gradually I delete them. But why is that always so hard to do. <lol>)

The second image you posted of sunset and bird is much more interesting!! Some nice light in the water there and the interest of the bird.

It is a 5 exposure HDR shot, which I ran through Photomatix 6, so I had lots of options as to how much detail I could show.  Some of the renditions show a lot of detail and color indeed.  However, I chose this rendition precisely because it did not reveal much of the foreground, so the eye would go right to the sky which is the central theme of the shot.  But you could very well be right. When I get home tonight I'll redo the shot with a lighter foreground, and perhaps some color and see if that doesn't improve it some.

[Andrea B.]

You've also got a piece of sea grass running right through the sun which makes it less easy to see the sun area of that sky.

I still had a nice couple of hours on the beach and got to watch a great sunset.
One of the joys of photography is just "being there", don't you think? The scene and the seeing always makes me happy even when I don't get a good shoot.

[David H. Hartman]

Photography brings out the "Cave Person" in us. The camera is our bludgeon. Nothing gets hurt except a few photons that slam into our image sensors. When we make a kill the prey lives on. The Hunt is important even when our quarry slips away. I think I need a new knife: one made of flint instead of bone.

Dave

I fear the copper dagger won't be invented for another 100,000 years. When it is invented I'll be too poor to own one.

[ArthurDent]

You've also got a piece of sea grass running right through the sun which makes it less easy to see the sun area of that sky.

I still had a nice couple of hours on the beach and got to watch a great sunset.
One of the joys of photography is just "being there", don't you think? The scene and the seeing always makes me happy even when I don't get a good shoot.

I'd agree with you entirely,  having the camera with me serves to increase my sensitivity and awareness to everything around me, increases my immersion in the scene and thus leads to greater satisfaction and happiness. Capturing a good image is an added bonus.