Tips needed on Sunrise Photography...

TheTimeChamber

TheTimeChamber

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So, I am due to be photographing a Drum and Bass night on Friday, and with the trains inconveniently not running until 6am, I have a few hours to kill afterwards...

So, what are your best tips?
 
Know exactly where the sun will rise (degrees North ath this time of year) and look on the relevant OS maps to see where you'll be able to see the sunrise and maybe get a headland in shot as well.

Be up a while before sunrise and keep warm. Can be a good idea to avoid coffee too - cold and caffeine can both make you shake (but then again, you'll be using a tripod, won't you? And a remote release and mirror up [if available on your body]). Turn any Long Exposure Noise Reduction off to keep any delay between shots as short as possible. Shoot as much as you want - keep checking the shots to see if you're getting the exposures right (you may need to dial in a little underexposure to get the colours you want) and the results you're hoping for.

Once you've got the shot(s) in the bag, get warm again! At least travelling by train means you haven't got to worry too much about blood alcohol levels the morning after, unless you're driving at the far end.
 
Have a look at this http://stephentrainor.com/tools. It shows the direction and time of sunrise/sunset, and moon rise and set for any day of the year and anywhere on earth and plots the directions on a map - very handy.

I'd suggest getting to a good place well before sunrise - say 45 mins or so - as things change very quickly.

Dave
 
Hi Sectionate,

I'm assuming if by train you can't travel, and you'll be awake anyway. I often use cctv/webcam links on Highways Agency, local council etc sites to see if it's worth going out.

Valleys might have mist for an hour either side of sunrise, if you're above it you can isolate objects poking out, if you're in the fog you can get sun rays shining through trees etc.

Shoot RAW as white balance gets confused by sunrise/set colours (AWB will trash the colours, "shade" will intensify reds, etc).

Cross fingers it's not cloudy.

QS
 
kimaldis said:
1. Bracket, bracket and bracket.
2. Bracket.
Click to expand...

I'll echo that.... you might be surprised how short a shutter time you can use, I've done quite a lot of hand held sunrise and sunset shots.

Oh and maybe try and include interesting reflections in stuff.... water, windows etc.
 
I may not have gone out in the end, ended up a bit more drunk that I expected and managed to find a train at 4am :lol:
 
i have a sunrise sunset calculator that you can print out laminate and keep in your bag. use it with a compass
i tried to upload it to my gallery for anyone who wants it, but it wont let me upload saying its too wide
anyone want one pm your email and ill email it to you (if i can )
 
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