Trailer Park Sunset

We’ve not had many sunsets lately that live up to New Mexico’s billing in this space. The last few weeks have either been clear as a bell or completely overcast… there’s been no middle ground… which doesn’t make for photogenic sunsets. This past evening was a different story, though… and we were treated to the sort of sunset that made me grab my camera and step outdoors for 15 minutes or so.

I took 65 photos, beginning at 1732 hrs and ending at 1746 hrs. I can be that precise about the time because digital cameras tell you these things, ya know.

And, apropos of not much… can you imagine shooting 65 pictures on film, rather than on a digital camera? That would be over two and a half 24-exposure rolls of film… and I dunno about you, Gentle Reader… but I wasn’t in the habit of blowing that much money on a single sunset, no matter how beautiful. And then there was the wait for the finished product... even with one-hour (heh) processing... not to mention the expense of said processing. All that by way of saying “I (heart) technology”… especially when it comes to photography.

And now the pics… which have been re-sized and cropped... but NOT Photoshopped in any way. As always, click for larger.

We begin at 1732 hrs (above). The next two images are interesting, given they were taken a minute and a half apart and yielded significantly different results… which is ALL a function of the camera settings, as noted (selected meta-data below each image).

Image description Image 032
Datetime 2009:02:12 18:39:10
Exposure time 1/200 s
F-number 8
Exposure program Shutter priority
ISO speed ratings 1600

Image description Image 033
Datetime 2009:02:12 18:40:57
Exposure time 1/200 s
F-number 3.5
Exposure program Shutter priority
ISO speed ratings 200

And finally… 1746 hrs (above).