A hazy August sunset

Summer sunsets over water are some of nature's most inspiring offerings. Watching and waiting for a single cloud to partially obscure the sun may allow you to capture what appears to be rays of the sun being cast into the sky. In reality, as in my photo here, the darker rays are shadows against the sky caused by altitude variations of the top of the cloud.

Reflection of the sun on a body of water will add interest and depth of field to a photo. Depth of field is a photography term that simply refers to the illusion of distance from the closest identifiable thing in a photo to the most distant identifiable thing.

Sharp focus on objects both near and far is often best in landscape photography. But not always. I intended this photo to record the haze of a waning hot summer evening. Too much sharp focus would have lost that information and changed the mood of the photo.

Through the Woods is a weekly nature photo column by Aaron Horrell. Find this column at semissourian.com to order a reprint of the photo. Find more work by Aaron at The Painted Wren Gallery.