Old Sacramento at Sunset

What I enjoy most about photography is that I never really know what beauty awaits, but I do know when it arrives, I’ll be there to take it all in.

My day was done early and I had been having a little bit of an itch to capture the sunset with a time lapse. I also hadn’t taken my 7D out since I got the 5D Mark III. So I decided to head down to Old Sacramento to explore a nice vantage point to take in the view, lights and changing colors of the sunset. This was the main reason why I bought a second body, so I can pull double duty on my photo outings. During the last few years I’ve found myself having to make several trips to the same location just to capture my stills and time lapses. Add to that unpredictable weather and it becomes quite expensive to get the shot I want.

I set the 7D up for the time lapse and let it run, while I took my time soaking up the view and trying various takes on the scene with the 5D Mark III.

Here is a shot from the 5D Mark-III. I used the in-camera HDR which works quite well actually.

Here is the composed time lapse from the 7D. I probably should have let it go 20-30 minutes longer to soak-in the night lights, but not bad for a random evening. You can view full screen and full HD at 1080p for full detail and effect. Enjoy.