Canon 30D, tripod Canon 17-85 at 30mm, f11 1/250 second at ISO 250

Colorful foam

Another North Topsail Beach shot, but can you blame me? The foam consired to make a dynamic foreground, and the colors just popped. Part of this was due to under-exposing by 2/3 stop, and part was due to having higher contrast and saturation settings – nothing extravagant, but a little extra oomph.

Clear skies can often make sunrises and sunsets a bit bland, while certain kinds of clouds can add a lot – receding storms seem to be the best conditions, in my experience. Still, you can get opportunities from a lot of different conditions, and things can change quickly at sunrise and sunset, so don't rule anythihng out.