By Peter Liu

Camera: Nikon D2X
Exposure: 30
Aperture: f/16.0
Focal Length: 46 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash

How I got this shot:

The key to a shot like this is a long exposure—in this case, 30 seconds. This is one of those rare sunsets that didn’t fizzle out after the sun disappeared below the horizon. Instead, the sky just kept getting more and more fiery and red.

While the colors were developing, the overall light levels were diminishing over time, which enabled me to make longer and longer exposures, until I could capture the ethereal feel of the waves crashing over the lava rocks and expose the reflection of the red sky on the wet sand in the foreground (which would otherwise have been obscured by the waves).

I used a 3-stop ND grad (neutral density graduated filter) lined up with the horizon, which allowed me to meter the whole scene as if there was less light than there actually was, thereby achieving even slower shutter speeds.

I did the post processing in Lightroom, but there wasn’t really much to do. I basically just used Fill Light to open up the shadows in the lava rocks, then sharpened them slightly. I had used an ExpoDisc to set the white balance, so there wasn’t any correction to be done there.

I always shoot RAW, so I can manipulate the white balance in post if I need to, and so that I can maximize the color and detail captured by the sensor. As a general rule, I try to do as much in-camera as possible, to minimize the need for post processing.

In terms of composition, I purposely placed Molokini in the upper left quadrant of the frame (Rule of Thirds), and was lucky enough to have a rock in the lower left that I could use as an anchor for the eye.

View Peter Liu’s Flickr Photostream