So after leaving Castle Rock a bit disappointed in missing the best light, I drove further up the Neck, around Chandler Hovey and parked near Cove Lane.  I took advantage of the public way and walked down to the beach to see if the sunset might hold some promise.  I found this scene before me and a smile crept onto my face…maybe this would make up for having struck out a bit at Castle Rock.

I set about choosing my composition and made sure all the elements were where I wanted them. I then closed down the aperture to f/22 so that the sun’s light would form a sun star or sunburst effect.  The trick with sun stars is to try to get them when the sun’s light is partially obstructed.  In this frame, the effect was perfect – subtle enough to not overpower the scene but large enough to be noticed quickly.

After capturing this image, I switched lenses and went to work on tomorrow’s composition…stay tuned…