Interesting that these two pictures were taken 31 minutes apart and almost 180 deg opposite of each other. The sunset is almost at the exact sunset time. The moon is almost full - will be in two days. There are only a couple of days in the month when the sunset and moonrise are close enough together so that you can get the moon, sky, and foreground with a good exposure. The moon came up about an hour before the sunset so it was higher in the sky than I would have liked. In two days they will be closer together so that the moon will be lower in the sky for a better composition.
Of course, that is weather willing. Around here we have very few good sunsets. At about 7:00 the sky was total overcast - no a glimmer of the sun. At 7:40 I noticed the sun starting to light up near the horizon. I went to this location where I photograph a lot, Mackinaw Valley Vineyare (Illinois). Got there a little before eight. Looked OK but not great. Set up camera and by 8:10 magic started happening. Got pictures. The sky behind me was heavy overcast when I arrived so I had no hope of getting a moon picture or so I thought. After I finished the sunset, I looked over my shoulder and the sky was starting to clear and I could see the moon. I raced around to the other side of the pond and got the moon pic. Still a little haze in the sky but was OK.
You never can tell what the light is going to be when you set out for your location. It can change radically in 10 minutes. Yesterday the sky looked promising at 7:30, good clouds with clear patches. Went to the vineyard and by 8:00 the sky was completely overcast - nothing. Today was the exact opposite, I almost did not go because is did not look promising.
Tech data: 5-7 exposure HDR in Oloneo for a flat low constrast image. To PS where I use Lee Varis's 10 channel techniques (good stuff!) to bring out contrast and color. Tried to keep a natural non-HDR look as much as possible. But on my first go round with an image I tend to go overboard. In a couple of days I often decide that I went too far and back off or reprocess. We shall see how I feel about these images in a couple of days.
Larry
