Don’t point your camera at the sun; Don’t use a long lens on scenic shots; Don’t shoot backlit objects. Well…all good advice. What happens, however, when you don’t follow the rules?

Well, you might burn out the sensor on your expensive camera or you might just get a washed out shot. On the other hand, shooting directly into the sun can on occasion result in stunning images like this one. I shot this one at 1/4000 of a second with a 500mm telephoto lens. The high shutter speed froze the flight of the pelican and the depth of the lens compressed the foreground and background, making the sun nice and large. Also, this was shot just before the sun dipped into a heavy cloud bank below, creating an incredible orange glow.

Sunset Pelican has been one of my better selling images, probably because it is a reminder of warm summer nights along the coast following a day of fun. My favorite finish is a print on metal set into a modern white float frame. It takes a special location to show so much orange, but when you have the right spot, this image is guaranteed to bring back those summer memories!