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IN THE FIELD: Coming Home
In the area where I live a cold front has come through and it has been quite breezy for about a week or so. With the cooler temperatures it feels more like autumn rather than August. The dry winds stir up a lot of dust from the local farms during the daytime which typically will lead to a good sunset.
While photographing the sunset the other night, a small airplane flew into view as it was making it’s approach to land at the grass airfield nearby.
The sun had just dipped below the distant tree line when I took this shot. By underexposing the shot by 1.5 stops, I was able to intensify the color slightly, and turn the tree line into a silhouette.
f 11
1/200th
ISO 200
cloudy WB
David Heilman 
Lovely sunset. Isn’t it fascinating and yet paradoxical-seeming how dust or other pollutants in the air can really enhance the vividness of sunsets? Enjoy your early taste of Autumn.
It was pretty vibrant that night. And you are right how paradoxical dust and pollutants can bring such visual pleasure. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
You’re welcome. 🙂
Great tip and very cool shot!
Thanks Teri, just a little underexposure can really intensify the color of a sunset. Sometimes half a stop will do it and other times 1.5 stops is just the right amount.
Beautiful work David and cool is right it got down in the upper 40’s here last night I am loving it !!
Thanks Bernie, it was 47 here this morning…with highs in the upper 70’s forecasted. What a great August it’s been!
what a great shot … the sunset is lovely, of course, but the plane and your title, just make the photo!
Thanks LB, just as I was composing the shot and had all my settings where I wanted them, the plane came into view. I fired off the shot and then it was gone behind the trees. Glad you stopped by and thanks for commenting!
it’s quite autumnal over here as well, with pretty cool temperatures during the night and in the early morning hours, not quite like August is supposed to be… but that aside, the shot is quite spectacular. the colors are really dramatic!
Thanks Eva, it has been unusually cool this summer…except for the nine day heat wave we had. I’ll take this weather every summer!
That’s superb! What a glorious sky, and so thoughtful of the plane to come in at that moment! There’s a feeling of autumn here too, we’ve had some cool mornings and the nights are certainly getting darker.
Thank Jo, I thought it was mighty considerate of the pilot to bring his plane into view that evening…folks just don’t do those kinds of things anymore. Long sleeves in the morning, short sleeves all day, and then back to long sleeves at night. My kind of weather!
Very pretty shot! The plane is perfect in the sunset.
Thanks Montucky, it was very unusual to see an aircraft on landing approach that late. The field is pretty quite after dinner time. But I’ll take it!
Love it!
Thanks Jane, right place at the right time I suppose! I have never seen the runway lights on so this was highly unusual.
Great photograph… Thank you, love, nia
Thanks Nia, it was a gorgeous night…as was last night’s sunset. I didn’t have the camera out last night. I just sat and watched.
Wonderful sunset. Some of the best I ever saw was when dust storms in Africa sent particles all the way to the east coast of our country. The sunsets were spectacular for about a week.
I can only imagine what that must have been like! We’ve been having some beautiful ones here lately but I’ve enjoyed just sitting on the deck and taking it all in. No camera…just us and our two Cairns.
Love your underexposure of this shot!
Thanks Cornel, it was quite dramatic even before I underexposed the photo!
That’s a nice job you did with this sunset; the silhouette works well as an irregular lower border, and there are no details to detract from the colors of the clouds.
Thanks Steve, oddly…every night, the sky will be clear and just as the sun is setting, clouds reappear out of nowhere. The sunsets certainly have been colorful!
Lovely sunset and the plane appeared right on time! 🙂 We had some strong winds here too, might have come from your side! 🙂 living in England we get all sorts of weather coming from different directions 🙂
This is only the second airplane I have seen land at dusk. Guess I got pretty lucky this time. We sure have been having some wacky weather this year also. It feels like Autumn out there now!
Wow – it looks almost unreal. Like a scene from a movie.
The sunsets have been quite spectacular this summer!
Wow, just wow. Sigh.
😀
There have been some pretty vibrant sunsets this summer…of course it’s ben breezy almost everyday so that helps!
What a wonderful, fiery sunset! Great timing with capturing the airplane in front of the sunset!
I was happily clicking away when I heard the airplane…I then thought “I wonder if it’s going to land at the airport.” It turned to make the approach, I clicked the shutter and it was out of sight. Totally got lucky with this one!