Hi Chilliman
.By jings you jumped in at the deep end here 'cause sunsets are not the easiest of photos to take.First off,I am not familiar with HDR and have to say that if not done carefully can leave a picture looking 'not quite right'.Charlottes' pimp is nearer the mark for me and I may have darkened the sky even more.Personally I expect to see shadows and even blacks in a sunset shot.I try to use a gray graduated filter for this type of shot and,if possible,like some kind of distinctive sillouhette [how do you spell that anyway
] breaking the skyline.
You have done really well here and the thing to do now is not to think it's too difficult [this type of shot is difficult as I said] but get out and take more of the same and study the results.I may get slated for this but I would say,for the time being,forget the HDR and get a square graduated filter and tripod and experiment with single exposures to understand, and see,what effect different exposures have.I fell into the trap myself of thinking that digital and Photoshop could cover for
sloppy exposures [ it can to an extent].But with
accurate exposures in the first place,and subtle use of Photoshop,that is the way forward on the technical side.The artistic/composition bit is up to the individuals own 'taste'
.
If you live locally and are interested I can recommend Musselburgh Camera Club,a friendly bunch of people of all abilities.
