“Sunsets are for looking at, not taking photos of.”  This is what I proudly tell people. If that isn’t annoying enough, I sometimes follow that up with…  “sunsets generally make good backgrounds but not good main subjects.”   By this time, the chances are good that I’ve completely ruined that person’s sunset.

Seriously, instead of taking time to shoot a photo that you’ll never look at again, why not instead just enjoy the moment?     This is what I was thinking, as I admired Monday’s sunset from the vantage point of our sunroom window, next to the Goshen Dam Pond.     As I enjoyed the amazing colors evolve in the evening sky,  I found my focus shifting to the surface of the water.   The evening winds had shaped perfect waves that frolicked in the sky’s light, creating a perfect foreground.   I grabbed my camera, and my non-sunset-photo-mantra quickly went out the window.     To get the most out of the watery foreground, I positioned my camera as close to the surface of the water as possible, without getting wet, and fired off multiple shots.  While each shot had the same basic composition, each also had a unique set of reflections.

Camera Settings:
1/50 sec  ISO 1000  f8.0   -1.2/3 exp comp.    I chose a 1/50 shutter speed for two reasons.  This was slow capture as much light as possible while still allowing me to hand-hold the shot and avoid shutter blur.  The second reason is that I wanted to freeze the awesome looking waves.  A long exposure on a tri-pod would allow for a lower ISO but would have ruined the look of the waves.