Late December Sunset in Phoenix
![Late December Sunset in Phoenix](/content/images/size/w2000/wordpress/2018/12/CamelbackSunset281of129-2.jpg)
Phoenix sunsets are incredible. I’ve read that pollution is partly responsible for the dramatic colors. I don’t doubt that, but I’m not also sure how accurate that is. I could tell that the sunset on Christmas was going to be impressive, so I hopped in the car and drove along Camelback looking for a place to get a good shot.
I had to drive further than I thought. I ended up stopping in the parking lot of Rosie McCaffrey’s and at Xavier. The shot at Xavier is an HDR combination of two photos. I usually avoid HDR images because they don’t appeal to me all that much, but I couldn’t figure out how to get a decent exposure on the building without using HDR.
![Phoenix Sunset, Christmas Day. Fujifilm XH1. 400 | f/4 | 1/2500th.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a71229df9a61eb777aa9262/1545983500148-29FHWT0D3VK5MGZ1V76D/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kA_SSaoz4elkj-HsZd8gX3Z7gQa3H78H3Y0txjaiv_0fDoOvxcdMmMKkDsyUqMSsMWxHk725yiiHCCLfrh8O1z5QPOohDIaIeljMHgDF5CVlOqpeNLcJ80NK65_fV7S1UWPwZyNcweDIvdeL5kotwkIXjs9g0WibSO_cU-Ijy4Pwg6poS-6WGGnXqDacZer4yQ/Camelback+Sunset+%281+of+1%29.jpg)
Phoenix Sunset, Christmas Day. Fujifilm XH1. 400 | f/4 | 1/2500th.
![Phoenix Sunset, Christmas Day. Fujifilm XH1. Fujifilm XH1. HDR image.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a71229df9a61eb777aa9262/1545983713434-LAR4VS7HUHWGR8VXB084/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kA_SSaoz4elkj-HsZd8gX3Z7gQa3H78H3Y0txjaiv_0fDoOvxcdMmMKkDsyUqMSsMWxHk725yiiHCCLfrh8O1z5QPOohDIaIeljMHgDF5CVlOqpeNLcJ80NK65_fV7S1UWPwZyNcweDIvdeL5kotwkIXjs9g0WibSO_cU-Ijy4Pwg6poS-6WGGnXqDacZer4yQ/Camelback+Sunset+%281+of+1%29-2.jpg)
Phoenix Sunset, Christmas Day. Fujifilm XH1. Fujifilm XH1. HDR image.
Initially I tried to combine 3 photos for the HDR, but I didn’t like how they were combining in Lightroom. One of the photos had, as you’d expect, a decent exposure on the building with the sky and highlights overexposed. But every time I combined the images, the building ended up being dark. I thought maybe by using two images I could better force Lightroom’s hand. Still no luck. I’m probably doing something wrong. In the end I had to push up the exposure and the shadows.