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I'm trying to get more intense contrast and color in my outdoor photos. This was taken at Ocean Beach, CA (west side of San Diego) at sunset. f8, 1/100, iso200 (camera set on full automatic) with my Canon XSi and 75-300 lens. I recently pulled out an old polarizing filter, which I was using at the time. So how do I make the sky more interesting? Darken it in Paint shop pro? (don't have photoshop yet). I don't think I've included a direct link before, will see if it works.
thanks, Diana

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Diana,

I agree with what has been said by other here that a polarizing filter will not help here. The problem here is that the scene is exceeding the dynamic range of the sensor in your camera. The only way to compensate for this at capture would be to use a graduated neutral density filter. This usually works well for sunsets because of the sharp line of the horizon. I use a 2 stop filter that usually works pretty well for most sunsets.

The other solution for this problem is in post processing. HDR is one way to go and it can be done with the Paint Shop Pro program. Personally, I use the Nikon program Capture NX2 which using control point technology to locally control color, brightness and contrast. I have taken the liberty of working a little on the image you posted to give you an idea of what can be done in PP. I am including two images that have been manipulated in NX2. The first is a fairly subtle version while the second one is more juiced up for more drama. These same effects could also be done in PaintShop Pro.

Hope this helps.

Geo