Costa Rica Tamarindo

This is a sunset photo of the coastal town Tamarindo located in the South American country Costa Rica. It was taken in early March of 2020 (dry season). This spot is located on top of a hill at the end of Calle Cerritos (see Travel Information section). It's a large empty undeveloped lot that a few people typically attend to view the sunset.

You'll be shooting directly into the sun, so dynamic range is going to be a big challenge. I'd recommend a tripod and CPL minimally. If possible, I'd recommend a graduated ND filter system as well to balance out the light.

If you don't have a graduated ND system (I didn't) you'll have two options:
1. Take bracketed shots for HDR processing
2. Have faith in your camera's dynamic range so you can pull out the shadows and suppress the highlights. If you choose #2 make sure to continue checking the histogram on your camera and confirm it is not clipping.

I do not have an ND filter system, so I took bracketed shots. However, the HDR processing didn't look so great. Therefore I simply used Lightroom to recover the highlights and shadows because the nominally exposed photo was not over/under-exposed in any area. The specs of the photo are shown below.

Camera: Nikon D7200
Lens: Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8
Shutter Speed: 1/13sec
Aperture: f/8
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 24mm on a Nikon crop sensor. So about 36mm full frame.
Accessories: Tripod, B&W CPL

This location is pretty easy to access if you're staying in the town of Tamarindo. Just follow Central Ave to the east, then turn left onto Calle Cerritos. Walk up the long hill until you find a swing gate at the top on the left. Just walk past it up to the flat area. There is room for parking if you don't want to walk up the hill. I'll add a Behind the Scenes photo to help you find the spot.