After a total blast of an evening last night, I decided to toss the family into the truck and head to Double Ditch, where we spent the waning hours skipping stones and getting our feet muddy.  One goal was that elusive sunset photo, something I used to take a couple times a week back when the kids were so little and schedules were more flexible. I got it tonight…sorta.

One frustrating part about chasing sunsets is that you can be in the right place at the right time, and then watch the clouds either vanish or obscure the western horizon completely.  Good sunset photos typically require dramatic clouds to play off the refracted sunlight.  In this case, clouds far to the west robbed us at the last minute of the “Golden Hour” light I was anticipating.

So, in full disclosure, I augmented the orange sunset light just a bit in Photoshop.  I don’t think I got too heavy-handed, and I left the clouds alone instead of faking the brilliant colors I was hoping they’d reflect.  I got a satisfactory shot, even if I didn’t get the au naturel shot I was seeking. That’s okay, though; I guess we’ll just have to spend more evenings out on the sand, skipping stones, waiting for things to develop our way.  As I see it, that’s a win-win.