Using TPE to plan shots

DrPips

DrPips

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Name
Dom
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Hi All,

I had the bright idea recently to get The Photographers Ephemeris to help me plan locations for photos. I thought I'd found the idea one, sun setting over Cat Bells when standing by the fence that goes into the water on Derwent Water (you all know THE shot). However, it just didn't look right. When the sun was above the mountains, it was too bright, light didn't look good.

Need some help and advice if anyone can.

Thanks,

Dom
 
Right well, Im no expert but Id say you've only found one tool in your arsenal i.e. the TPE.

Your problem now is the light, ie you say too bright, there will indeed be others more experienced in landscape than I along soon Im sure but my initial thoughts, if it was me faced with that problem would be to have the camera on a tripod with remote release, then bracket your shot so that you could later merge / use layer masks in photoshop?

I would imagine maybe a graduated ND filter of some form would be the way forward to get it right in camera? but I don't have any grads I have to admit so would await someone who does to agree / disagree or add to what you could have done differently.
 
DrPips said:
When the sun was above the mountains, it was too bright
Click to expand...
This is an intrinsic part of the problem.

If you're shooting a sunrise or sunset over the sea, when the sun is on the horizon its light is having to filter through an awful lot of atmosphere, which means it is typically (a) dimmed, and (b) reddened.

However, in the mountains, the sun doesn't rise above the "visible horizon" (i.e. above the mountains) until it's quite a way above the "true horizon" (i.e where the horizon would be if there weren't any mountains). So you don't get any atmospheric effects.

Result: At best you need to work harder with filters to equalise the brightness of the sun/sky and foreground. At worst you might not be able to get the shot you envisaged.
 
I just wanted to add that TPE is now available for android phones on android market at £3.15, I bought and downloaded mine today :)
 
With tpe you can work out how high the mountains are & exactly what time the sun will rise above them.you can then work out if the sun will be to bright then.perhaps shoot from a different angle & use the side lighting.
 
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