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8/6/2019 DCW03 11 Sunsets
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Whether you're an early bird a night owl, photographing sunrise and sunset is a sure-fireway of adding some scorching images to your collection, says Steve Bavister
COVER FEATURE SHOOTING SUNSETS AND SUNRISES
hat’s the main difference between
photographing a sunset and a sunrise? A
good night’s sleep! Joking apart, the fact
that you have to drag yourself from your bed at some
ungodly hour to capture the splendour of the sun
peeping over the horizon is surely part of the reason
why sitting patiently with a drink while you wait for
it to go down is a lot more popular.That said, in practice it’s no big deal getting up for a
sunrise. No worse than when you have an early holiday
flight. All you have to do is turn in at a sensible
time, set your alarm clock, have everything packed,
and know where you’re going. The advantage of
shooting a sunrise in autumn and winter is that you
don’t have to get up quite so early. The disadvantage
is that it’s more likely to be cold and damp. In
summer you may have to rise in the wee, small
hours, but it’s often warm and pleasant. Besides, if
you pick a day when you’re not at work, you can
always go back to bed afterwards.
Of course, you do need to be at your location and
have everything set up before the sun rises. But it’s a
magical time, which few people these days manage toexperience. It goes without saying that it’ll be dark, so
you may need a torch to adjust the settings on your
camera, and then everything happens quickly. And it’s
soon all over. Once the sun is a few degrees above the
horizon, its warmth disappears and it’s time to pack up.
If you’re more of a night owl than an early bird, then
sunsets are for you. There’s no need for an early start,
you’re working in daylight, and you’ve got plenty of
time in which to take your pictures. The colours are
often richer and more dramatic too. And during autumn
and winter the sun sets relatively early, so you can get
your sunsets in the bag and still be home for dinner.
You still need to plan, though, where you’re going to
go to get the best results.
The ideal time to shoot sunsets is when you’rehaving a holiday, because you’ve got time on your
hands and may be in an interesting and photogenic
location. No set of holiday snaps is complete without a
sunset or two. But you don’t need swaying palm trees
to bring your sunset and sunrise images to life. With a
little thought and imagination you’ll be able to produce
some stunning pictures wherever you are.
The sky’s the limit
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022 DIGITAL CAMERAMAGAZINE
he first question is where to find the best
locations to shoot. It goes without saying
that you’ll need to have a clear view of
where the sun is going to rise or set – and that’s
difficult, though not impossible, in many built-up areas,
because of all the clutter in the way.Obvious places to go are the east and west coastlines,
where you’re guaranteed sunrises and sunsets. And
there’s little to beat a blaze of colour over a stretch of
water – not least because you often get double value
thanks to the reflection. Inland, there are lots of lakes
and rivers where you can achieve the same thing.
In general, any vantage point that’s raised off the
ground – whether it’s a hill or a skyscraper – will be
perfect, providing you have a clear view of the horizon.
As with most subjects, there are many ways you can
compose a sunset. If the sun is hanging like a ball of fire
in the sky and you want it to be the focal point of thepicture, you’ll need to use your longest telephoto setting
or lens – and even then you may be disappointed how
small it looks when you bring it up on screen. Do take
care, though, when photographing the sun in this way,
as the optical system of the camera can act like a
magnifying glass and you can blind yourself.
Often you’ll want to show the sun as part of the
overall scene, with plenty of sky and some foreground
interest, so experiment with the full range of focal
lengths at your disposal to find out what works best.
In fact, some of the best sunsets are actually taken
after the sun has slipped below the horizon. In this
‘afterglow’ period, the sky is still illuminated, and the
earth only receives indirect lighting from it.
Another question to ask yourself is what colour
you’d like your sunset to be. If you don’t think about
it, you may get a shock when you check your pictures
later. Many digital cameras have an auto white-balancesystem, which automatically compensates for the
casts caused by different light sources, such as
household lamps Unfortunately, the system can’t tell
the difference between artificial tungsten and natural
sunset – they’re both the same colour temperature –
and if you’re not careful the atmospheric colours
that made you want to take the picture will all be
removed. So override the system if necessary to
ensure the colours are faithfully reproduced.While nature is wonderful most of the time,
sometimes it doesn’t quite deliver. And if a sunrise or
sunset doesn’t live up to your expectations, you can
T
©
L a u r e n c e B o w e n 2 0 0 3
ABOVE It’s essential to choose a
location where you have a clear
view of where the sun will set
BELOW RIGHT The ‘afterglow’
period, once the sun hasslipped below the horizon
Sunsets
The basicsShooting sunsets is easy; shooting excellent sunsets andsunrises demands a little more care and attention…
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EXPERT TIP0STEVE BAVISTER’SPROADVICE
GETOUTYOUR ZOOM!If you want the sun to appear
large in your frame, you’ll need adecent zoom
50mm lens
300mm lens
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always give it a helping hand – either with an orange
warm-up or special Cokin sunset filter over the lens, or
later in the computer.
Since you’re shooting towards the light source,
there’s a serious risk of underexposure. So check one
or two shots as you’re getting set up, and dial in some
compensation if necessary. And if you’re still not sure,
do some ‘brackets’. Shoot at a range of exposures, and
choose the best one later. You can’t always tell from thecamera’s preview screen which is best.
And, finally, don’t just think of sunsets and sunrises
as subjects in themselves. The warm, soft light they
produce is perfect for a wide range or pictures –
everything from buildings to people.
The techie bitHave you ever wondered why sunrises and sunsets
are orange? Or perhaps you know already. It’s a result
of what’s known as Rayleigh Scattering, named after
Lord Rayleigh, no less. When sunlight enters the
atmosphere, it gets scattered by particles. For obscurescientific reasons, the blue wavelengths gets scattered
more than the red wavelengths, which is the reason
the sky is blue most of the time. However, during
sunset and sunrise, the sun’s light has to pass through
a greater thickness of the atmosphere before reaching
the ground, which causes multiple scatterings of blue
light, but little scattering of red light – so the sky glows
orange and red. Why are sunsets generally more vivid
than sunrises? Because there’s more airborne pollution
at the end of the day, which scatters the blue light
even more. And the reasons the sunsets you get
while on holiday in the tropics are so awesome is
thanks to the humidity, which has a similar effect.
That’s all well and good, but saying that light is
slightly orange or rather blue is a rather vague way ofgoing about things. Which is why a more scientific
description has been developed – the Kelvin Scale. This is
based around noon daylight, which has a temperature of
5,500K (Kelvins). Most digital cameras are calibrated for
use in this light, as are the majority of photographic
films. As the red content of the light increases, so the
temperature falls. At sunrise, the colour temperature is
often 3,500K, and around 3,000K at sunset – nearly as
warm as household tungsten lighting
On a bright summer’s day with vivid blue sky, or at
high altitude in mountainous regions, the colour
temperature can be as high as 10,000K. Images taken insuch conditions can exhibit a strong blue cast. One of the
great things about digital photography is that such casts
are quickly and easily removed – or enhanced.
Whatever you do, don’t look directly at the sun through any kind of lens, even whenit’s low in the sky. It can blind you in momentsa
Sunsets give you more
time to experiment. This
silhouette set against
glowing waters was
captured before the sun
reached the horizon
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The warm, soft light produced by a sunset is perfect
for capturing buildings, such as this Greek church
You can experiment using filters with the camera, or
using the computer once the shot is taken
Since you’re shooting towards the light
source, there’s a serious risk of underexposure –dial in some compensation if necessary
Sunsational shots2
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Without these cumulus clouds, this shot would besomewhat ordinary. The fiery clouds contrasted by theindigo sky make it something extra-special
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louds are often thought of as a problem in
photography, especially in landscape work.And while you don’t really want heavy, grey
overcast clouds, a sky that’s nothing but solid blue
can be rather boring. It’s great if you’re looking to
shoot stock images that you’re hoping to sell –
because that’s what buyers usually want – but if your
aim is to produce a range of appealing photographs,
then more variety is essential.
Probably the most valuable cloud type is the
cumulus. Sitting low in the sky, these fluffy, cotton wool
clouds make most subjects instantly photogenic. Crisp,
white, and with sharp outlines, they’re often luminescent
when illuminated by the sun. A great way of makingthe most of them is to fit a polarising filter over the lens
to deepen the blue of the sky, and so increase the
contrast with the clouds. Or you can produce a similar,
though not identical, effect on the computer.
To make the most of cumulus formations, use a
wide-angle lens and tip the camera back. This will
exaggerate the perspective, and make it look as if the
clouds are zooming off into the distance.
As cumulus clouds pass over the sun, they also cast
atmospheric shadows on the ground. This ‘dappling’
effect makes the landscape a lot more interesting than
unfiltered sunlight.
High cloud types, such as cirrus, are more delicate
and less defined. Often there are wispy streamersthreading across the sky. Sometimes these clouds
add mood, but sometimes they’re just a pain in the
neck – especially when they occupy a sizeable
proportion of the sky.
However, they are good news when it comes to the
end of the day, because they’re often still lit up some
30 minutes after the sun has actually gone down. This
makes it easier to shoot silhouettes, because the land
and everything on it is not directly illuminated, but the
sky is still bright. Because they’re so much lower,
cumulus clouds only remain lit for about 10 minutes
after sunset. Clouds that are above cumulus and belowcirrus, such as altostratus and altocumulus, don’t usually
add much to the picture. They tend to clump together,
and can look greyish and uninviting.
AnimationsThe problem with sunsets is that one image can never
begin to capture the sheer majesty of the experience –
so why settle for just one? Why not shoot a sequence
of images, and then stitch them together in your
favourite image-editing program. To make sure they’re
all taken from exactly the same spot, start by mounting
the camera on a solid tripod. Then take a series of shots
at equal intervals – say one minute. On some cameras
you will need to time this manually. On others it may
be possible to set things up so it happens automatically.
All being well, the exposure for each shot will be
identical. If it’s not, tweak any images that need it in
your image-editing program and then stitch them
together to create your animation.
C EXPERT TIP0STEVEBAVISTER’SPROADVICE
THE SKY’S THE LIMITPhotograph interesting skies whenyou see them – you can always
copy them into other images
where the sky’s not so good.
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© S
t e v e B a v i s t e r
A ‘big sky’ landscape is where digital SLRs really score. Being able to fit an ultra-wide-anglezoom enables you to open up the perspective enormouslya
How to shootCloud formationsCloudy skies needn’t spoil a shot – they can provide adramatic touch to a sunset, adding focus and interest
ABOVE Stunning colours together with the birds
wheeling above give this image a feeling of depthBELOW The dipping sun gives a ‘halo’ to these clouds
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f you want to photograph successful
silhouettes – dark subjects, often in profile,
with no detail – you need to start by
finding a scene in which the background is much
brighter than the main subject. Without something
in the foreground, those early and late shots can
easily lack a sense of depth.
What’s essential is to choose the right subject. You
need something with an interesting shape which,
when reduced to pure black, will produce a dramatic
and appealing graphic composition. Don’t wait until
there’s a vivid sunset before looking round for
something to use as a silhouette, however. As you
travel around, keep your eyes peeled for suitable
subjects – a statue, such as the Angel of the North in
Gateshead, a crane on a building site, or the bare
winter branches of a tree. When you notice something
with potential, you’ll need to check which direction it
faces. When the best angle to shoot from has you
looking eastwards, you can put a sunrise behind it.
When you’re pointing to the west it’s clearly a sunset.
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How to shoot
SilhouettesSunrise and sunset are an ideal time to shoot silhouettes –
you get the richness of colour that helps bring them to life
ABOVE People, such as this
fellow photographer, make
ideal subjects for silhouettes
BELOW RIGHT If you’ve got
interesting clouds, you can do
away with the land...
BELOW It may take many shots to capture the perfect
one when your silhouetted object is on the move!
DCMAG.CO.UK
READERTIPS
dcmag.co.uk/sunsets
©
S t e v e B a v i s t e r
EXPERT TIP0STEVE BAVISTER’SPROADVICE
TOP3 ESSENTIALIMAGE-EDITINGTECHNIQUESOnce you’ve taken your sunset shot,follow these tips for the best result:
[1]DYNAMIC RANGETo get the full range of colours in the
image, use AutoLevels for a quick fix.This may dull down the colours,
though, so make sure you...
[2]GETTHE COLOUR RIGHT
If your colours come out a bit wishy-
washy, boost them in Photoshop. Go
to the Channel Mixer tool and boost
the red channel for cool effects.
[3]SHARPER SILHOUETTES
There’s nothing quite so dramatic as a
sharp sillhouette against a colourful
sunset. To sharpen without affecting
the sunset, create a selection around
the sillhouette and sharpen its edges.
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Of course, with a little imagination you can create
your own silhouettes by placing something suitable in
front of the scene. If you can find a willing subject, the
nude human body can make for a great composition,
or you can use a simple object such as household fan.
Generally, you won’t have to adjust your meter. The
camera will expose for the background, and your
subject be recorded without detail – which is what
you’re after. In addition, the colours of the sunriseor sunset will be rich and vivid, which is also what
you want. Small errors can be tweaked in the
computer, but if the exposure is badly out, make
adjustments at the time you take the shot.
When shooting silhouettes, you need to take
good care to avoid flare. Because the light is pointing
directly at the camera, it can bounce around inside
the lens and reduce contrast. To minimise the risk
of this, fit a good lens hood.
While you don’t actually want flare, because it’s
difficult to control, the effect can be appealing. Some
software programs have a ‘flare’ filter, which letsyou, at the click of a mouse, produce the effect
in a controlled way.
Big sky landscapesMaybe it’s the ‘land’ in the name – but most
landscape images seem to concentrate on the
curves and textures of the earth. And while such
pictures are often successful, there’s another way
of thinking about your scenic work – and that’s
by concentrating more on the sky element.
Such ‘big sky’ landscapes often have a senseof expansiveness that better captures the experience
we have when we’re in a place. Because the
panoramic vision of our eyes takes in so much around
us, the results from even a wide-angle lens can
sometimes be disappointing.
Generally, the land element takes up at least half,
and often two-thirds of the composition. But simply
reversing the ratio, so there’s two-thirds sky, changes
the dynamic completely. Of course, you need the
right kind of landscape, and there usually has to
be something interesting happening in the sky for
it to work – a sunset or a strong cloud formation. Flatareas, such as The Fens or The Netherlands, offer
particularly good potential, but it’s an approach you
can use pretty much anywhere.
Obviously you’ll need to use your widest lens
setting, and finding a vantage point where you can
look down on the subject can also help.
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Kelvin Source10,000K Blue Sky
7,500K Shade under blue sky
7,000K Shade under cloudy sky
6,500K Deep shade in daylight
6,000K Overcast weather
5,500K Noon Daylight/Electronic Flash
4,500K Afternoon sunlight
4,000K Fluorescent tube
3,5000k Morning/evening sunlight
3,000K Sunset
2,500K Tungsten lighting
Colour temperature describes the warmth of a scene.Most digital cameras are calibrated at 5,500K, whichis why colours can sometimes appear washed out.
THE LIGHT FANTASTIC2
EXPERT TIP0STEVE BAVISTER’SPROADVICE
SUNRISE & SUNSET TIMESThere are lots of internet sites that
allow you to check the sunrise and
sunset times for a specified location.
Here are a couple worth checking out:
http://www.timeanddate.com/
worldclock/astronomy.html?n=136Nice, straightforward website that
gives you sunrise and sunset times
in the UK.
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/
docs/RS_OneDay.htmlYou can obtain the times of sunrise,
sunset, moonrise, moonset, transits of
the Sun and Moon, and the beginning
and end of civil twilight, along with
information on the Moon’s phase byspecifying the date and location.
http://www.sunrisesunset.com/
custom_srss_calendar.aspDoes just what it says on the tin.
Because the panoramic vision of our eyestakes in so much around us, the results from
even a wide-angle lens can be disappointing
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ABOVE A thoughtful figure, contemplating the scene
adds added focus to a sunset-scape
RIGHT This child running on a sunset-lit beach
makes the perfect, atmospheric silhouette
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Create a magical landscape with theclever use of filters and just a fewtweaks in a photo-editing program