We always think in color when it comes to sunsets. The beautiful warm glow of the setting sun and the strong shadows that fall.
But what about black and white at sunset? The two pictures below are the same shot, but have a totally different feeling. You can clearly see the surfer near the middle in each shot. The sun glows around him in the top photo giving the image a sense of warmth. In the B&W image, while the sun still shines on him, the feeling is much cooler more like a winter's evening.
Which shot do you prefer? Really depends on the feeling you want to covey to your viewer. I prefer the way the light reflects off the water in the B&W image. I also like the cool nostalgic mood of the B&W.
Next time you take a sunset photo convert it to B&W and see how the mood changes.
