Melbourne Beach Pier

As I work to plan another couple of trips to Florida I found myself looking through the images from March.  I definitely will be going back to Melbourne Beach to capture more images like this one.  There is a lot about this image that I like but when I go back I will be re-shooting this to correct what I do not like.

I’m sure current followers will be aware of my recent fascination with the piers in Florida.  I love exploring the coastline in search of a new pier and the chance for a beautiful sunrise/sunset image.  This pier is in the Indian River and faces West which allows me to grab those sunset images even on the East coast of Florida.

Looking at this image I just love the color that was developing as the sun passed the horizon.  The brilliant orange glow in the sky against the darkening blue of the clouds and water just works for me.  I am happy with the location of the sunset as it is right behind the pavilion at the end of the pier.  Even the lines in the image help focus the eye on that pavilion.

What I want to change is the horizon location itself.  I should have tried for either a higher viewpoint to bring separation between the top of the pier and the skyline, or gone lower and bury the skyline in the pier.  To me, the hint of the buildings in the skyline above the top rail along with the mast from the sailboat are distracting.  Hopefully on the next attempt I will be lucky enough to get a few more people on the pier.  I am enjoying the addition of the human element in my images.  It is a challenge I still need to work on.

Almost
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 2.5s, 21mm, f/16, ISO 200