F300EXR – Review Part 15 – Pretty Sunset Tonight

Ok … this isn’t a review in any real sense. I just caught a pretty nice sunset this evening and thought it worthy of displaying as testament to the Fuji’s ability to capture some kick-ass color …

Remember that I generally recommend that you shoot DR400 on Provia so that the tone curve is as forgiving as possible. That lets you do anything you want later. If you choose to shoot Velvia when the sun is around or there is high contrast for another reason, you may very well regret it as your shadows go black and your highlights blow out. You really want to get all the tones and then spread them around yourself.

So this means that I am arguing for post processing. This is the necessary second have of the creation process. If you prefer to let the cam do everything, then experiment with tone curves like Velvia and Astia, but be aware of the risks.

I picked the youngest up at the bus station this evening and stopped in the parking lot to grab this image of a sunset. The 360mm lens certainly makes it a big disc.

Here is that shot straight from the camera:

That’s not half bad … but it is a tad weak and the trees need straightening. Might as well saturate it a bit more while I am in there … oh yeah, darken the silhouette as well …

Your call … but I’m picking the second one.

We made our way to the post office where I had to send something to my favorite federal government department (the tax man) and something to my son in the UK. When we left the building I became enamored with the beautiful cloud patterns and colors. Wow …

Again … pretty. Because I shoot DR400, there is detail in the shadows and the bright spot where the sun is just below the horizon is not blown out. This leaves us an opportunity to crank things up to 11 … (reference: This is Spinal Tap.)

Yes … that’s more like it.

Being color deficient means that I need a rather strong dose to be satisfied with naturally colorful events like sunsets. This output suits me …