Sherry Icardi  

Captiva Sunset 2019 by Sherry Icardi

April 2026 - Captiva Sunset 2019

About the Image(s)

The most spectacular sunset one evening in July 2022. This was 2 months prior to Hurricane Ian making Landfall and devastating Sanibel, Captiva, and parts of Fort Myers. And yes, it was really named Ian. The beauty of that sky was remarkable and to this day I wonder if it was a an omen of things to come. In 2024 Hurricane Milton struck again and in both cases severe flooding caused so much damage. In fact the access to the islands was cut off, and it took a full year before things improved, then the second hit created massive flooding all over again. Those colors were not enhanced except to lighten them just a tad to better see the colors.

Taken With a Nikon 850 and a 24-120 mm lens at 24 mm on a tripod


ISO 100
F/4.0
1/40 sec
Post processed in LR and Photoshop. Cropped ,straightened, and removed a few small pieces of a house peeking through the tree cover. Increased lighting in sky only a small amount to enhance the colors.

5 comments posted

Butch Mazzuca   Butch Mazzuca
Sherry - The sky is unquestionably the hero-dramatic color, nice cloud structure, and strong emotional pull. But the rest of the frame doesn't rise to meet it. The trees read mostly as a dark, somewhat undifferentiated band, and the foreground sand becomes a large, low-interest area that doesn't add to the story. So, the image ends up feeling top-heavy-all wow! in the upper third, very little support below.

In my VF I eliminated the sand to tighten the composition and brightened the trees to shift the image towards a sky-driven study with a discernible foreground that adds to the story
  Posted: 04/01/2026 19:32:43
Comment Image
Ian Cambourne   Ian Cambourne
This is a great image Sherry and I both agree and disagree with Butch. The colours in the sky are magical and command our attention. Your inclusion of the trees also works well. Now, the sandy foreground. Yes some of it could be removed without weakening the image in any way, maybe half way above your name and the grass. But not all of it, as in Butch's vf. In my mind, an image needs a base to sit on, in this case that's the sand. Without the sand I'm asking myself "What's there, below this scene?" "Why is it chopped there?" In my mind, the sand "completes" this scene and image.   Posted: 04/06/2026 08:55:10
Raymond Tice   Raymond Tice
Sherry - a gorgeous sky added to by the shapes of the trees. I also think having some sand but not as much as you have in the foreground also helps to help the viewer to understand where the photo was taken. I have been told that Florida has spectacular sunsets and here is a great example. Ray   Posted: 04/08/2026 00:27:32
Gary Jones   Gary Jones
Sherry, a beautiful image and memory of what was there. If this were my image, I would crop a bit on the right and reduce the water on the bottom with a crop or use a linear gradient to darken it and allow my eye to stay on the sky and trees. The water doesn't add much interest for me. However, by doing some cropping, again from the right and bottom, I think the "V" shape left in the trees would highlight the sky even more and really pull the eye in and keep it there for a bit to appreciate all of that sky.   Posted: 04/15/2026 18:27:24
Larry Conly   Larry Conly
What an amazing sky! The contrast with the trees and the overall composition is great. The mass of the clouds balances out the mass of the trees just right.

I wouldn't change a thing!   Posted: 04/17/2026 14:43:30

 

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