For this image it was my first time trying out a "day to night" image. The kind that Stephen Wilkes is famous for. However, I only shot for a couple of hours, from just before golden hour up until dark. Mr. Wilkes shoots all through out the entire day to create his master pieces. I didn't feel like investing that kind of time and not sure it would have worked on the beach anyway without having a high vantage point.

Anyway, as I mentioned I shot from right around golden hour all the way through until dark taking bracketed photos every 5 minutes or so. I then picked out the ones I thought would make a good smooth transition from golden/daylight sun to dark night. In the end I think I only used 5-7 photos to create the final image. I used a brush on a low opacity to softly and subtly paint in the transitioning frames trying not to have a harsh line anywhere. This was harder then you would think. I also really liked both the golden sand and shadow and the longer exposure water from the later exposures. I tried to have the best of both and blend them in as seamlessly as I could.

One thing I wish I would have done is wait until some more stars were visible. I think that would have helped the night transition a little better. But alas, the wife was ready to leave. All in all I was pretty happy with this result and this is something I would definitely like to try more of.