As a distraction from the near-constant rain in Vancouver at the moment, here’s a photograph of a stunning sunset at the end of last month. This was one of those days that had been overcast for almost the entire day, with the clouds starting to clear just before sunset.

For this photo I headed to Dundarave Park in West Vancouver. This is a location I’ve photographed at many times before, but I’ve never really got the shot I’ve been hoping for, usually because the tide was too high to reveal these smooth, shiny rocks. On this day, sunset coincided with a very low tide, so I took my chances and tried again.

As usual I ended up right down at the water’s edge, with the tripod low down and half-submerged, to take this shot. The best light came as the sun dipped below the horizon, lighting up the clouds with a bright orange glow. The distant rocks were wet and reflecting this light, but the foreground rocks were dry on the top, so I splashed some water on them for this photo.

A three-stop graduated ND filter controlled the brightness in the sky, and a circular polariser enhanced the reflections. I used an aperture of f/16 to get the depth of field, and a one second exposure to capture the movement of water, releasing the shutter just as a wave came in.