No matter how well you plan a photo shoot sometimes it comes down to nothing more than dumb luck that enables you to get 'The Shot'.  That's what had occurred for me early this week.

My plan was to go to the boardwalk in Asbury Park, NJ for an evening photo shoot.  I've shot there many times before and really was looking at as an opportunity to just get out of the house.

It was about 6:00pm when I got there and as I walked the boardwalk, I really wasn't seeing anything that was really catching my eye to photograph.  I'd previously shot a number of the 'hero shots' there and finally decided to move on and try something different.

it was getting close to sunset and thought I had time to get to a spot in Belmar on the Shark River that would give me a nice sunset shot over the water along with a nice foreground element.

Well  the draw bridge was up and I was cutting my time really close.  As I pulled into the parking lot, I could see the sun very low in the sky.  I parked my car, grabbed my camera and ran to the waters edge.

I quick dialed in my settings and took my first shot.  A little bright.  I dropped the Exposure Compensation by a -1 and took another shot.  Much better!

I was only able to get off 2 more shots before the sun had completely dropped below the horizon.

Fortunately, I was delighted with the shot.  Had I arrived even one minute later, I would have totally missed the shot.  This time luck was on my side!

PS 

If you're interested in the location of the shot, it's the Belmar Marina /  Shark River in Belmar, NJ.