Long exposure

I'm having trouble with long exposure shots coming out good.
During night time particularly sunsets, how do you take pictures without the sky becoming very bright? I have a rebel xt

Think about how your aperture, shutter and ISO work together.
You'll find the less light you take in the longer your exposure will work.
Try Av mode with maximum setting, ISO 100 and use tripod and remote to expose the photo for half a minute or longer. It's a really nice effect, I'm doing it too frequently now.
Get out and experiment!

fubarhouse wrote in post #5973364
Try Av mode with maximum setting, ISO 100 and use tripod and remote to expose the photo for half a minute or longer

What's maximum setting?

Tripod and shutter release are a must. ISO 100 preferable for good clean photos. Use Manual and set your aperture to between f8-f16 and then meter from the sky and then from below the horizon and set your shutter speed accordingly. Somewhere between these readings will get a decent balance but experiment with the shutter speeds to get a shot that looks good to you.

If you can, get some graduated neutral density filters as they will help you to balance the exposure between the sky and the foreground.

Some good info here and check out the other links at the bottom of that article:

http://www.ephotozine.​com/article/Early-rise-landscapes

Thanks very much