Hesperides :Greek Goddesses of Sunset

The Hesperides were the Greek Goddesses of evening and the golden light of sunset.  They tended the tree of golden apples that bestowed immortality.

Sunsets are just as fascinating as the full moon and sunrises.  There are probably many more sunsets in personal photo albums than sunrises. The reason being there is little need to change your normal daily waking schedule.  The same planning is needed to find good sunset locations.  Scout locations near sunset very close to the date you expect to photograph.  The track of the sun is different from season to season.  The images below were taken in January near 40º N Lat.  The sun will not be in the same place in June.  It will be hidden by the trees from that same vantage point.  You need to do your research and plan in advance.  Weather has the final say.  Clouds, they can make or break a sunset.

Below are three images captured within seconds of each other all at 1/20 sec, hand held.  I use shutter speeds slower than 1/30 sec because red light travels at a slower speed and that longer shutter opening allows more red light on the sensor or film.  

There were aperture differences and post production changes in color temp, exposure and tint.

I wanted to have this greeting card have the look of a painting.  Like the one that hung over my parents sofa all the days I lived with them.  In Photoshop, I used the an artistic filter to change the look to pastels on canvas.  Below is the result.

www.greetingcarduniverse.com/dativer