Gold of sunset

Really great render, i don't think i can add anything else that has not been said.

Another outstanding render of yours. Nothing important for me to add. The black on the left - it does look photorealistic but not human perception realistic because we can adapt to bright and dark parts, a film or sensor cannot. However, an artificially made picture expresses what the artist had in mind and discussion about realism are vain. If the very dark parts were made a bit brighter, tghis would also make the sun appear less bright. I like your choices. Full marks.

I agree with you 100 %, David, concerning rules. And in this picture so it has turned out. And I decided, so be it. :))

That is true, true of photographs, however I would suggest we do not have to be bound by the same rules. It, as I said, the choice of the artist, if you want such contrast then it is yours to have.

Rashad, except volume clouds here there is a coastal foam (2D Face) with material Blend Transparency and the cloned tree xFrog with the same material of foliage. HDR map is external that too increases render time. David, really, the left part too dark. But such big contrast turns out at shooting by the usual camera against light. Here only the sun and HDR map. I didn't want to apply additional light sources. Thanks for comments.

Beautifully balanced piece, the gradient of colours seen the sky is very good. My only criticism is the large area's of blackness or almost blackness on the left. While I normally like such contrast, they are a little "heavy" for a "light" piece like this. Again, though this is not really a technical criticism, more an artistic one, and in that case, the desires of the artist are more important than that of the observer.

This looks amazing. Looks almost more like Vue than Bryce. I think you might have afforded a slightly greater haze but otherwise, perfect render. 40 hours seems tad long, but such is the price for volumetric clouds. if you used soft shadows as well, it would explain the long render time.