Revisiting Myrtle Beach, Part II: Sunrises ... and a sundown

My few attempts at photographing sunrises have all come while on trips to North Carolina (before I actually moved there) or in the Myrtle Beach area of South Carolina. I had mixed results with my efforts.

The most challenging thing with sunrises is trying to maintain perfect exposure -- specifically, not overexposing -- as a portion of the sun inches above the horizon and ascends.

I was pretty happy with my sunrise at Wrightsville Beach in 2014, but I hadn't had much luck with sunrises since then ... until the return trip to Myrtle Beach in late October and early November. I was pleased with what I photographed for two sunrises, Oct. 30 and Nov. 1, and sundown on Oct. 29. The second sunrise gifted me with rich and various colors as well as a cloud pattern (see lead-off photo) that I probably wouldn't run into for a long time.

As always, to view a larger, sharper version of an image, simply click on the photo. This is particularly helpful when accessing the blog while using a mobile device.

Oct. 30 sunrise

On our first morning there, we had a relatively wide open sky for the sunrise. I grabbed the sequence of shots you see below, using my Canon 6D and Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD lens. The aperture for each was around f/9; the shutters (my exposure setting variable in the HDR processing) and ISO were 1/2000 and 400, 1/4167 and 640, 1/4000 and 1250, 1/250 and 100, 1/4000 and 1000, 1/1031 and 1000 and 1/4000 and 1000, respectively, top to bottom.

To view a gallery of images taken from my shoots on Oct. 30, follow the link in this sentence.

Nov. 1 sunrise

I don't recall whether I simply missed the sunrise on Oct. 31 or it was blocked by thick clouds. I just know I didn't attempt to track it that morning. On Nov. 1, however, I awoke to look out the window
and see a patchwork of clouds, and I was initially dispirited. But as the seconds ticked by, I could see that as the unseen sun inched closer to the horizon, that tapestry of clouds was dispersing sunlight in all sorts of patterns and directions, creating gorgeous horizontal color streaks in the sky and vertical ones on the ocean.

I started recording things furiously, alternating back and forth between my iPhone and Canon 6D. With the 6D, I had quick access to adjust the exposure settings; I didn't have the same luxury with the iPhone, but I stuck with it during the early going -- before the sun started showing.

The first shot below is the very first photo I took with the 6D; the second photo below was the first I took with the iPhone. You can tell the difference (better shadow and color detail) that the high-dynamic range (HDR) treatment affords the 6D shot.

From this point on, the 6D multi-exposure compilations clearly outshone the iPhone pictures. Pictures 3 through 7 below are presented in chronological order, with apertures fluctuating between f/5 and 7.1 for images 1, 3 and 4; f/22 for 5 and 6; and f/25 for the full sun shot in 7. Shutter speeds ranged from 1/100 to 1/125 most of the way until No. 7, when it jumped to 1/320. The ISOs were 320 early on, then dropped to 100, 250, 160 and 125 for the last four, respectively. For the one iPhone shot (second image below), the settings were f/1.8, 1/120 and ISO 160.

To view a gallery of images taken from my shoots on Nov. 1, follow the link in this sentence.

Sundown, Oct. 29

We arrived in Myrtle Beach late in the afternoon of Oct. 29, and when I looked out from the balcony after settling in our room, I was treated to an unusual bronze haze in the sky to the north -- and a golden hue to the south -- as the sun was setting. I captured the early portions of the sundown from the balcony of the hotel room with my 6D. The first four shots below are from that short session. A half-hour to an hour later, when it got darker, and the colors in the sky -- especially the oranges -- became more brilliant and created spectacular silhouettes, we headed to the beach for a closer look. I didn't feel I'd get much with the 6D without a tripod (which I'd left home), so all of the sundown shots with dark skies were with the iPhone.

To view a gallery of images taken from my shoots on Oct. 29, follow the link in this sentence.

The first four shots below represent "before and after shots" of two scenes taken with the iPhone. The first image of the two pairs is how the scene looked straight out of the camera. Notice the total silhouette, which I actually kind of like. The second shot below each original represents a bit of detail restored with the shadows slider in post-processing.

Next up: The rest of Myrtle Beach

Previously in the series: 

Part I: Sculpture museum at Brookgreen Gardens