Thursday, April 16, 2009

Skywatch Friday: Tucson Night

Tucson Sunset 4-14-09 6:57 PM MST

I pull into the parking lot at the restaurant where Gus asked me to meet him after a long day of birding in Coolidge and at Picacho Peak. With winds gusting into the 40 MPH catagory the birding and driving were both exhausting. As I step out of my car I turn to see this gorgeous sky behind me. In spite of my fatigue, I grab my camera and capture one more shot before heading inside.


This is the restaurant where I met Gus to have dinner. I tweaked this photo to show how it all looked to me after hours of birding and driving. We had a nice dinner together, then it was still a half hour ride home.



Click on the button to skywatch somemore!

Photographers Note Update 11:45 AM: Bobbie asked me in the comments section below about how much I tweaked the restaurant photo. Well, here's the deal. I took several shots of the restaurant at different settings. This image came out blurry and I was going to discard it when I thought of all the blurry images the TR Ryan uses on his blog, The Faraway, Nearby to express how he feels after a long trip. So, intsead of throwing this photo out I boosted the color as far as it would go in picture project. I liked the effect and decided to keep the photo and use it instead.

Here is the shooting data: Focal Length: 70mm; Digital Vari-Program: Landscape; Metering Mode: Multi-Pattern; 1/10 sec - F/4.5

20 comments:

bobbie said...

Gorgeous sunset! And the restaurant is almost as bright and colorful. Just how much did you tweak it? It's really pretty - but I definitely prefer the sky.

Arija said...

Lovely sunset Kathie. Hope you had arelaxing dinner after your strenuous day.

Deborah Godin said...

I love photos of dusk with the streetlights and other lights coming on as the day fades. This is beautiful - and so is the restaurant photo!!

DeniseinVA said...

A gorgeous sky and that restaurant looks inviting also. A very pleasant end to the day.

Kathie Brown said...

Hello Bobbie, Arija, Deborah, and Denise! Thanks for stopping by!

To answer your question Bobbie, I took several shots of the restaurant at different settings. This photo came out blurry and I was going to discard it but then I bumped the color enhancement all the way up as far as it would go and I liked the effect. So, I decided to use it instead of one of the focused ones. I must admit that I took a hint from TR Ryan in "The Farway, Nearby" blog who does this all the time!

duopastorale said...

Beautiful velvet clouds!
My Skywatch

Anonymous said...

:) Nice way to go about an image that otherwise would be discarded!
Cheers, Klaus

bobbie said...

Thanks for your answer, Kathie.

In answer to you re my Sky Watch - It is a plane tree. We had them in front of my house when I was a child, and I loved both the big seed balls, and the fact that the bark peels off in sheets.

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

Oooh! I know it's not a picture of the sky, but I love the restaurant photo...it's blurry, but bright, vivid and fun!

Your sunset photo is pretty too.

Happy Skywatch Friday!
~Lisa
New Mexico, USA

ms426d said...

Beautiful sky, hope you enjoyed your meal after a tiring day.

Photo Cache said...

I hear that's a good place to eat; especially after a long day of having fun birding.

Quiet Paths said...

Impressive sky photo! I would run for cover I think. Love the colors - natural and tweaked.

Celeste said...

That really is a magical sky! :)

Amy said...

Love what you did with the restaurant shot! Wishing you good birding from a Skywatcher in Illinois.

Dawn Fine said...

Wonderful sunset and loved the tweaked restaurant.

Loran said...

I love the juxtaposition of the sky and city lights. The effects on the tweaked picture are great as well. Isn't it just fun to play with the picture sometimes?

Mary said...

Wonderful and so typical of a photographer to get that "one last shot" :-)

Anonymous said...

love the neon lights...and the sunset was beautiful. have a good weekend.

storyteller said...

Beautiful sunset!!! Thanks for explaining how you tweaked the second photo.
Hugs and blessings,

Elisabeth's bright side said...

I really like your restaurant photo. The idea I think, is to find the borderlines of what you can do, then you get the results you wouldn't expect. I must try to remember that before I hit the 'delete' key.