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This was an experiment that turned out fairly well. I wanted to see if I could capture a full 360
degree panorama showing both the setting sun AND its effect on the landscape. This bouldery knob in
Dolly Sods North proved to be the ideal location. The large rock outcropping towered about 20 feet
above me, and served as both favorable collector of sunlight and also broke up the flat horizon. I was
surrounded by talus of various sizes from boulders to small slabs, each of which caught the sunlight a
little differently, depending on its angle to the setting sun. Finally, this is the rim of Dolly Sods
North, looking west over the Canaan Valley. The valley provides a little relief from the rocky
foreground and a bit of distance and depth to the scene.
The sinusoidal transition between light and dark in the sky is natural -- the sky really IS darker
at 90 degree angles to the sun, and the effect is greatest at sunset. However, I chose to use a
polarizer to bring out the color of the rocks and plants, which also exacerbated the relationships
of light and dark in the sky. In retrospect that might not have been a good choice, but it's a matter of taste, I guess.