I went out to a park to hike and perhaps catch some photos of fall color reflected in the river. Unfortunately there is not a lot of fall color to catch around here and there is barely any water in the river to reflect any of it. But I did get a nice hike and took a photo of the trail through the trees that I think turned out well.

A few days later I went back to see if there was a sunset opportunity as I saw a view looking down the river on my previous expedition that I wanted to check out. This view didn’t work out but I did notice that even though the river was low, there were lines in the rocks of the river bottom that pointed almost directly at the sunset. I experimented with getting low over these grooves to get a nice stretch of water leading to the horizon.

Unfortunately, the sunset was less that exciting and beautiful, but I did have a chance to experiment with this location and the river bottom. I do think that perhaps I was too far back down the narrow channel of water and there wasn’t much room for the sunset to reflect in the water.
I also came around to the side to see how the large bed of rocks would look with the water in the mid-ground.

A few days later I was leaving the house to go to the store and as I was driving down the street I could see the clouds lining up for a nice sunset. So, I made a u-turn and ran back in to grab my camera backpack and rushed back to this location. I was parking just as the sun was setting and had to hurry down to the river before the show was over. It was worth the last minute change of plans and the rushing around as the sunset was very nice and persisted until deep into twilight.


As you can see I moved up a little closer to the wider part of the river to maximize the reflections. I think that this worked better for the overall composition. I will point out that in the first picture, I had hastily set up and I think that the lens was not completely locked in place as I have no lens data and it appears to have been shot at maximum aperture. I noticed the odd behavior and reseated the lens for the next series of shots. Because it was maximum aperture, I got reasonably good focus even though the autofocus was not working, so it wasn’t a loss. With the second image all my settings were dialed in like I wanted and I got a fiery reflection across the water in the river. I did get a lot of warm color on the stone river bed so I edged the shadows to the blue a bit in LightRoom.
I next made my way around to get more of the water in the shot with the riverbed to the right. I didn’t want to get too close to the water as I thought the rock framed the water shape well.

The sky continued to glow orange almost until dark and I could have stayed there and continued shooting, but I think I had what I came for. I took a parting shot and tried to get the crescent moon in the sky over the trees.

Thanks for reading.
Good for you in making a U turn and capturing the amazing sunset! You have a photographer’s eye for sure. I do like the Fall leaves one too but the sunset wins. 🙂
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Does it make you wonder what is down the trail in the first picture?
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How did you know? LOL! Yes, it may have got my imagination going.
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Well, I can tell you what is down the trail, but I don’t want to spoil your imagination.
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Ooh but you can’t stir my curiosity and then leave it hanging! Hmmm….maybe there is a yellow brick road at the end of it. 🙂
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Maybe, that sounds more interesting that reality.
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Or perhaps a pasture where some crazy cow is!
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I think the crazy cows are all up in Pennsylvania.
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Haha! Maybe most of them are, but one can never be certain where the cow with the magical bell is!.
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So what is down the trail . even if its not as interesting as what I may imagine to be. 🙂
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A campground and parking lot.
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Oh yeah my imagination is better. LOL! I finished the Oz story. May have to do a “trail in the woods” story. 🙂
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I look forward to the trail in the woods story.
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Tomorrow. 🙂
I am glad thaf you provide inspiring pictures!
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Timing can be everything, in photography. I love the fire in the sky, reflecting in the water. Interesting perspective, too, with the lines in the rock pointing toward the setting sun.
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Thanks. I will have to come back when there is more water in the river. We haven’t had much rain this fall.
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But then you’ll lose those interesting lines.
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“Fire in the sky” is the perfect description.
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He caught a nice sunset, that time.
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Indeed he did! It would probably look even more stunning enlarged in a frame. 🙂
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Maybe a flaming frame.
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That might not be so good!
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At an art auction, it would be a hot-selling item.
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Oooh I should have known better than to reply back!
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Thank you for doing my bidding.
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…mmm..!
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You art to know better.
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“Haha!” groaning!
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HOLY SHAMOLEY THEY’RE GORGEOUS!!
Such wonderful photos!! The second photo is just awesome. :))))
stay sticky,
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Beautiful Jason
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Thanks
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Always welcome!
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[…] 23, 2020 / joyroses13 Thanks to Jason, from https://jasonfrels.com/2020/11/21/sunset-by-the-river/ for another inspiring […]
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Beautiful photography!
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re: Sunset at the North Fork San Gabriel River – November 17:looks like a beautiful bird, wings outspread, perched on the tree tops!
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[…] a fine mist Princess Serenity could see a tunnel and a beautiful fall wooded area. She was looking past the cupcake and down a tunnel. In the distance she could hear an ominous […]
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You captured the light wonderfully 🙂
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Thanks
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