Thanks for your enquiry. These RAW images are now archieved but I have got the external hard drive out of storage to remind me of how I produced this image.
I normally look at the BBC Weather Website to establish the exact time, by postcode, for either Sunset or Sunrise on the day I plan to shoot. I arrive at least 1 hour before the predicted time and set up the equipment for the shoot. The Camera/Lens is precisely leveled using a Manfrotto Hotshoe Spirit Level (the Canon EOS 5D Mark I does not have an inbuilt electronic levelling device), hence the position of the camera equipment is confirmed long before sunrise or sunset. From years of experience, I know that the Distagon T* 2.8/21 ZE produces its highest resolution corner to corner at an aperture of f/5.6 so this is set in Aperature Priority mode. Focus is then established manually and an appropriate ISO setting made, in this case I used ISO 200. The ISO reflects the balance between adequate Shutter Speed and the potential for Digital Noise. The lower the ISO used, normally the better. As the appointed time nears, I shoot a series of Frames at +1/3 increments up to +2EV using Centre Weighted Average Metering (from experience you will know that with the sun filling the majority of the frame, that the camera will tend to Underexpose the image. hence the + increments). I review each frame looking closely at the Highlight Alert and the shape of the Histogram. In the case of this sunset, +1 1/3 EV was the setting that was optimum in terms of offering the best Histogram and avoiding excessive highlight issues. At an appropriate time, when the disc of the sun was where I wanted it to be, I shot five Bracketed exposures at -2, -1 +1 and +2 EV either side of my theoretical optimum of +1 1/3 EV. From experience I know that I will get a decent final image from a combination of all or some of these Frames, it is trial and error. In the end I used only the - 2/3 EV + 1/3 EV and the the +1 1/3 EV Frames. The final image out of Photomatix Pro was fine tuned for Levels/Curves, Saturation etc. and Sharpened selectively for the foreground detail. I finished the processing in Nik's Color Efex Pro with the White Neutraliser as far as I can remember. Blue was also tweaked in the RGB area. I hope that you can make sense of this. Good luck with your photography. If I had been planning to use just a sinle RAW Frame for PP, then I would have worked only on the + 1 1/3 EV Frame. From experience I know that I will get a superior outcome using multiple frames into Photomatix Pro software. It is just my personal opinion of course and many, many others will cry foul for me using Photomatix Pro. Had I not told you then you would have been no wiser. By the way, for this image, the shutter speeds were good so the images were captured in bursts VS Mirror Lockup. I use Mirror Lockup mostly for architectural images, particularly indoors. If you still own a Nikon D700 or the Canon EOS 5D Mark I then don't get rid of it. Both cameras can still produce superb images if you maximise their strengths. Both cameras are vitually a steal second hand as most people belive that they will produce better images with higher Megapixel camera bodies. In reality this may not be the case as they are very much more technique dependent. Below is a Grab Shot of what the Histogram for the exposure selected to represent my baseline looks like. Bracketing -1EV and +1EV either side should be sufficient.