I’ve said it before, sunrise and sunset photography is always a gamble. A sky full of clouds can go clear right at sunset – it’s crazy!

I was watching the sky, off and on, most of the day. I finally decided to go ahead and go out to see what I could get. I left the house late (about 7:30 PM) so I wasn’t able to go very far. Algiers point is about a half-hour drive and looking at my sun position app, the sun would be setting right behind the French Quarter.

I arrived at the ferry landings little parking area, grabbed my equipment and hiked the short distance up the levee. I’m always surprised by the amount of people who hang out here watching the river and waiting for sunset. I spoke to one guy who was telling me that the sunset the previous night was really spectacular.  I missed that one of course.

Still, I made the drive, I may as well see what comes of it.

I decided to meter for the sky and let the buildings just be a silhouette – that’s different my usual technique, so why not?

Even at sunset, it was fairly hot out and, once the sun sank below the horizon, it was clear that the show was over. Still, I’m pleased with this image, so it was worth the trip.

A lot of people comment that the Mississippi river isn’t blue. They’re right, it isn’t. However, at this time of day and at a certain angle, the water reflects the sky, which above the orange glow IS blue. That’s not to say that this photo wasn’t ‘edited’. Anyone who has seen the French Quarter from this location knows that there are SEVERAL power lines running across this image. Well, those HAD to go!  That’s the only change that I made however.

For the people interested in the technical information;  Focal length; 200mm

1/640 of a second. f/2.8  ISO 100  Metering;  Pattern     This particular shot was in aperture priority – I’m not sure how my camera got in that mode, but it was changed to manual when I realized it.  This shot was also handheld.

I hope you like it!