Abstract Weird sun at sunset

bogwalker · 07-24-2021, 04:59 PM - **3 Likes**

There's a lot of smoke in the air from wildfires out west. I was taking some pictures of a very red sun near sunset, but they weren't coming out right. The red of the sun itself was stronger than what I saw in real life, and sometimes the top half would look very different. I'm wondering if somebody else has run into this kind of thing?

**UncleVanya** · 07-24-2021, 09:22 PM - **1 Like**

Since smoke particles (and dust) drastically alter the look of a sunset to the naked eye, it likely that the camera’s auto white balance had difficulty matching the color correctly. This assumes it was shot in auto WB.

If you shot this in raw you might try adjusting the white balance. Even with jpg you can possibly adjust tint but not as easily as with raw.

reynb · 07-24-2021, 11:23 PM - **1 Like**

Are you sure it`s not one of those UFO`s they are all talking about?

**PJ1** · 07-25-2021, 12:56 AM

Difficult shot but I like it.

**MikeNArk** · 07-25-2021, 06:23 AM

The sun looks artificial. Very interesting capture. Thanks for sharing.

bogwalker · 07-25-2021, 09:08 AM

Originally posted by UncleVanya

Since smoke particles (and dust) drastically alter the look of a sunset to the naked eye, it likely that the camera’s auto white balance had difficulty matching the color correctly. This assumes it was shot in auto WB.

If you shot this in raw you might try adjusting the white balance. Even with jpg you can possibly adjust tint but not as easily as with raw.

Sounds good. I was using auto-WB. I do have one of these in raw.

**Photos-by-Chas** · 07-26-2021, 07:19 PM

Interesting photo. Maybe the smoke and other material in the air was creating sufficient diffraction or refraction to give you the colors. As another said, you could attempt to correct some of the color with pp the RAW file.

07-24-2021, 04:59 PM - 3 Likes	#1
bogwalker Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2021 Location: Chicagoland Photos: Albums Posts: 145	Weird sun at sunset Camera: K-70 Photo Location: Red Lake, Minnesota There's a lot of smoke in the air from wildfires out west. I was taking some pictures of a very red sun near sunset, but they weren't coming out right. The red of the sun itself was stronger than what I saw in real life, and sometimes the top half would look very different. I'm wondering if somebody else has run into this kind of thing?

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07-24-2021, 09:22 PM - 1 Like	#2
UncleVanya Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2014 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 28,403	Since smoke particles (and dust) drastically alter the look of a sunset to the naked eye, it likely that the camera’s auto white balance had difficulty matching the color correctly. This assumes it was shot in auto WB. If you shot this in raw you might try adjusting the white balance. Even with jpg you can possibly adjust tint but not as easily as with raw.

07-24-2021, 11:23 PM - 1 Like	#3
reynb Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bundaberg, Australia. Posts: 1,267	Are you sure it`s not one of those UFO`s they are all talking about?

07-25-2021, 12:56 AM	#4
PJ1 Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Toowoomba, Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,484	Difficult shot but I like it.

07-25-2021, 06:23 AM	#5
MikeNArk Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: Conway, Arkansas Posts: 15,124	The sun looks artificial. Very interesting capture. Thanks for sharing.

07-25-2021, 09:08 AM	#6
bogwalker Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2021 Location: Chicagoland Photos: Albums Posts: 145 Original Poster	Originally posted by UncleVanya Since smoke particles (and dust) drastically alter the look of a sunset to the naked eye, it likely that the camera’s auto white balance had difficulty matching the color correctly. This assumes it was shot in auto WB. If you shot this in raw you might try adjusting the white balance. Even with jpg you can possibly adjust tint but not as easily as with raw. Sounds good. I was using auto-WB. I do have one of these in raw.

07-26-2021, 07:19 PM	#7
Photos-by-Chas Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Northwest Pennsylvania, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,318	Interesting photo. Maybe the smoke and other material in the air was creating sufficient diffraction or refraction to give you the colors. As another said, you could attempt to correct some of the color with pp the RAW file.