Shutterbug: The Tip Off

This scene was the last of a very long and exciting photography workshop that I conducted in North Carolina. We were all pretty tired and a bit anxious to get home. We found the sky interesting at Table Rock and decided to work this as our final scene. Image #1 was made as the sun was setting, but not below the horizon. I added a 10cc magenta filter to pump up the blue sky and add some color to the clouds. I figured that was about the best we would get. After sundown, things looked pretty much gone and it began to get dark. As a few others and I began to pack up, one of the students (John) remained set up and was patiently waiting. I felt he was being optimistic, but didn't say anything. As darkness moved in, John said, "Here it comes!" I turned and saw the afterglow beginning. Needless to say, those of us who packed up made a mad dash to reset up tripods and cameras. These afterglows only last a few minutes at best. On #2, the scene began to become reddish, so I added a Tiffen 812 filter, which is a slight red intensifier. On #3, with the color at its most intense, right before it started to fade, the red became vibrant, accentuating the purple color band in the middle. At this time, I switched to a Singh Ray red intensifier, which rendered the final image in the set as the most dramatic. The scene went dark in just a minute or less.

With the above in mind, here are some basic guidelines for sunrise/sunset situations:

You will have to get to the scene about 45 minutes before the event, because the good light begins about 30 minutes before sunrise and several minutes after sunset.

Since you will be setting up in the dark during dawn/sunrise situations, have a small light with you, or better yet, have your equipment placement in your camera bag and filter location in your filter pouch memorized.

Consider trying several colored gels for different effects. These scenes are subjective, therefore altering tonality is a matter of personal interpretation. Filters to try are 81 series (A, B, C, and EF) to punch up amber. If the scene is of a red tonality, try the Tiffen 812 (red enhancer) and the Singh Ray Red Color Intensifier, which is a bit heavier. If you wind up with a bright, colorless scene, try using a 10cc magenta as I did for the first image for adding subtle purple, and an FLW, which is a fluorescent correction filter for indoor shooting with non-tungsten film, for a bit more dramatic purple.

There are two sunrises and two sunsets:
Sunrise #1: The first is at dawn, before the fireball, when the horizon can become blood red and then begins to brighten, illuminating clouds.
Sunrise #2: The second sunrise is the fireball. Depending on how fast the sun begins to flare your lens, you can photograph the fireball as it comes up over water or behind a silhouetted subject, then turn around to see how the sun is lighting things. It should be a warm, golden tone for a minute or two, although the absolute best quality of light will occur in the first 30 sec or less.
Sunset #1: As the sun sets, it will get more diffused as it enters into the horizon. This is also when flare will begin to disappear. At this time, one can safely place a subject in front of the fireball.
Sunset #2: An example is #3. The sun sets behind the mountain and things go dark for a few minutes; then, if there are clouds they pick up the color of the afterglow and color changes like on a bell curve, from nothing to blazing red to nothing.

Remember that dawn and dusk are the coolest times of the day. In order to work effectively and quickly, hands, head, and feet must be warm. I always have gloves and a fleece hat in my car.

All images shot with the Nikon F4 and 80-200mm f/2.8 lens and scanned for submission using the Nikon Super CoolScan 4000 ED.

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