Refreshing with the Clark Lake Sunset 3.8.12

In anticipation of the last nice day for a while, I decided to rearrange my work load a bit in order to be able to squeeze in some time in the sun with my camera in between the end of my work day and an evening activity at my school. Last month was a very difficult month for me and I just couldn't seem to break free of the constant expectations and obligations. This month I am determined to get a better balance of work, home and photography. So far, so good :o)! It is something I have to work at and I am by no means a master, but I do feel proud of my self for trying. This excursion was a successful attempt at refreshing my soul with one of my favorite things in the world...photographing the sunset.

I went back to Clark Lake Park which is very close to my work and fit perfectly with my tight timeline. It was a glorious hour spent reflecting, photographing and enjoying the sun. The lake looked like glass most the time we were there and it made for the most amazing reflections of the sun and the exquisite colors of the sunset. During my shoot, I took some time to think about the things I learned from my experience with Critique Me. I tried to focus on being conscious of the rule of thirds and of my intention. Below are a few of my favorite SOOC shots. More to come this week. I would love to know how you think I did. Thank you for taking a look!

Settings: ISO 200, 18mm, ss1/160, f/22 (full manual, sunlight wb, SOOC)

Intention: The sunbursts in the sky and the water

Settings: ISO 200, 18mm, ss1/100, f/22 (full manual, sunlight wb, SOOC)

Intention: The stunning reflections

Settings: ISO 200, 18mm, ss1/200, f/11 (full manual, sunlight wb, SOOC)

Intention: The lines of the dock pointing to the sunset

"Rest when you're weary. Refresh and renew yourself, your body, your mind, your spirit. Then get back to work." - Ralph Marston

    

Tones on Tuesday #24 2.28.12

"Failure happens all the time. It happens every day in practice. What makes you better is how you react to it." - Mia Hamm

Do you ever have those months when you just can't get out from under everything? That has been February for me. But I have decided that instead of getting down about all of things I didn't do, I am going to start anew and continue my work toward my goals in the month of March. Therefore, I am not going to share any showcases this week. We will start fresh with the regular Tones on Tuesday format next week. For this week, I am going to share a picture and anxiously await your photos :o). Then I will get to do my favorite thing...visit your blogs and Flickr sites and be inspired by your talent! I hope you understand and stick with Tones on Tuesday.

Now it's your turn to share your photo with altered tones. Here are the guidelines for Tones on Tuesday:

• The basic idea is to share one photo where you have altered the tones. Such as a black and white, sepia toned, selective coloring or colored photo. Feel free to share the original and edit, or just the edit.
• Please share a photo that you have taken and edited yourself.
• One photo per photographer please. If you have more than one photo in your post please indicate which one if for Tones on Tuesday.
• Please link up with your permalink and not your blog address.
• Attach the Tones on Tuesday button to your post
• Leave comments for the other participants, share the love :o)!
• Have fun!

<center> <a href="http://scatteredhorizons.blogspot.com" target="_self"><img border="0" alt="Scattered Horizons" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH_U2oqLh1UmXZMxfX_WPVaPVWJYh_HuiqvmOJi2frJOmTvsFe8rQPCPuzZfqD9Rm5Lz1E9ijR7i5_09GjPNDZeIcGNOwpU1VlkboGqGPGHxc0q-s28fzb99utdKzU6TvONWyodJtseQ/s1600/tonesontuesday2.jpg"></a> </center>

Disclaimer - By participating you give Scattered Horizons permission to share your photo on this blog. Photographers will be given credit for their work.

My photo is of a recent trip I took to try and de-stress a bit. On the way back from the coast we stopped in Portland, Oregon to take a picture of the city lights. This photo was taken at the end of the Eastbank Esplanade near OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry). My goal was to capture the color and the lines. I competed with wind, cold and water that was anything but calm. I am happy with the result though and would love to go back in better conditions. In Lightroom, I cropped, straightened, adjusted many of the basic settings and used the tone curve a bit. What do you think?

Settings: ISO 400, 18mm, ss3.2sec, f/7.1 (full manual, on tripod, tungsten wb)

"Colors answer feeling in man; shapes answer thought; and motion answers will." - John Sterling

Joining the link ups below. Be sure to check out the beautiful shots and join the Tones on Tuesday link up found further down!