Ugly Hedgehog - Photography Forum
Home Active Topics Newest Pictures Search Login Register
Main Photography Discussion
Sunrise/Sunset
Page <<first <prev 3 of 4 next>
Jan 13, 2021 11:03:35   #
Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)
 
Mark Williams wrote:
Anyone know any secret agent ways to predict firey sunrise/sunsets? Would have loved to have been ready for Manhattan from Jersey yesterday... Magnificent!!!


Pollution, tail end of storms, etc are always great opportunities. What you want to avoid is heavy overcast, clear blue cloudless skies, and obviously ongoing storms. ND filters will do absolutely nothing to enhance a sunset/sunrise.

Sunrise after a storm:

_DSC2139-NIKON D800-3064517-(01-11-17)-Pano-Edit by Gene Lugo, on Flickr

Sunset, cold front coming:

_DSC4912-Edit by Gene Lugo, on Flickr

Sunset after a storm:

_DSC1508And8more_tonemapped - sm by Gene Lugo, on Flickr

Reply
Jan 13, 2021 11:18:39   #
coolhanduke Loc: Redondo Beach, CA
 
Mark Williams wrote:
Anyone know any secret agent ways to predict firey sunrise/sunsets? Would have loved to have been ready for Manhattan from Jersey yesterday... Magnificent!!!


Here are two sunset samples. The one with the Lifeguard tower has high clouds which lite up minutes after the sun went down.

The beach scene got some reflection before the sun went down but the clouds were high enough to reflect.





Reply
Jan 13, 2021 12:29:39   #
Mark Williams
 
Nice Bear Mtn.. excellent!

Reply
 
 
Jan 13, 2021 12:49:01   #
E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada
 
Mark Williams wrote:
Anyone knows any secret agent ways to predict firey sunrise/sunsets? Would have loved to have been ready for Manhattan from Jersey yesterday... Magnificent!!!


The reason sunrises and sunsets are dramatic and colourful is a matter of the angle of incidents and the position of the sun at those times of day as well as relative colour temperatures. At sunrise and sunset, the sunlight is filtering through more atmospheric moisture and other particles in the air.

On a clear day at noontime, the Kelvin temperature can be as high as 12.000 degrees. At sunset and sunrise, it can drop as low as 3100K- below the temperature of a tungsten flood lamp. So if the camera's white balance is set for daylight the dominant colours will be reds, yellows and orange shades. If there are some clearing or gathering stormclouds, they will provide dramatic dark elements. If there's significant air pollution, the airborne particles' spectral properties can yield some crazy colours.

When I lived in New York City, the best sunsets were captured from the Williamsburg Bridge facing the Upper Manhatta Skyline due to the exhaust from the sugar refining factory on the Brooklyn side of the East River- kind azure blue and chartreuse/greenish. The Kosciuszko Bridge was a great place for wild skyscapes. There was a factory on the Long Island City side that rendered down fat to make explosives. Also the Con-Ed power station at the end of 14ths street- you could look into the sun at high noon and not hurt your eyes. And a trip to Secaucus, New Jersey, back in the day was GANGBUSTERS- I don't know what was manufacturing there but if you could stand the smell, you could get some great sunsets. Possibly, nowadays, the Environmental Protection Agency may have put an end to this artform.

Good sunset/sunrise skyscapes are not hard to do if you follow a few basic concepts. It might be difficult to predict the exact weather conditions that will provide the aesthetics you want but changing weather like oncoming or clearing storms will provide interesting clouds. Steam, smoke, fog, or rising moisture will provide visible rays of light coming through clouds. Foreground elements silhouetted or providing framing add compositional impact.

Exposure is important. Since the sun may be in the frame and can greatly influence meter readings it is important to bracket exposures. At the beginning of sunrises and toward the end of sunsets, the light level changes rapidly. Apertures such as f/22 or f/32 may introduce some interesting star effects.

White balance setting will influence colours and saturation as well. If you use auto-white balance or compensate for the low colour temperature your results will be less dramatic or possibly "colder".

If you are planning a shot from a certain vantage point, get there earlier, make a progression of exposures, and hang in there till twilight- you may get somethg very special and have a wide variety of choices.

Murphy's law of sunsets, etc. The best opportunities arise as you are speeding along a turnpike and expressway and can not safely stop to shoot. Or. you get the most outstanding sunset on this side of heaven and the only thing in the foreground is a garbage dump or a junkyard. Worse- all things are perfect but you have no camera- not even a cellphone!

Reply
Jan 13, 2021 12:52:35   #
via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP
 
Mark Williams wrote:
Anyone know any secret agent ways to predict firey sunrise/sunsets? Would have loved to have been ready for Manhattan from Jersey yesterday... Magnificent!!!


Study up on clouds and weather to learn what affects color in the sky.

Reply
Jan 13, 2021 13:00:48   #
DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area
 
Mark Williams wrote:
Anyone know any secret agent ways to predict firey sunrise/sunsets? Would have loved to have been ready for Manhattan from Jersey yesterday... Magnificent!!!


There's an app for that - check out Skycandy.

Reply
Jan 13, 2021 13:02:30   #
Mark Williams
 
That was what happened to me Monday morning speeding down RT 17 near Rutherford!!!! LOL

Reply
 
 
Jan 13, 2021 13:04:32   #
Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)
 
Mark Williams wrote:
Nice Bear Mtn.. excellent!


Thanks!

Reply
Jan 13, 2021 13:24:14   #
pshane
 
Mark Williams wrote:
Anyone know any secret agent ways to predict firey sunrise/sunsets? Would have loved to have been ready for Manhattan from Jersey yesterday... Magnificent!!!


I use an App called 'Sunsurveyor' - It gives you the Times for Sunrise & Sunset, and exactly WHERE it's going to Set or Rise, and the Moon info as well. - (Depends on the time of year)
It has a built-in calendar so you can look up future dates and times for Sunsets, etc, which is very handy if you have a 'Favorite Spot' with a Sunset in mind, and when to catch it.
Next, check the weather for incoming 'Fronts' & Clouds which may make for more dramatic photos!
Best of Luck! - (Send Photos!)

Reply
Jan 13, 2021 14:30:00   #
jayluber Loc: Phoenix, AZ
 
dsmeltz wrote:
There are a lot of apps that help predict conditions. Some have been mentioned already. Photographers Ephemeris is the one I use most.


To predict red skies???

Reply
Jan 13, 2021 14:33:33   #
pshane
 
No, will Not predict 'Red Skies'. - (That's why you need to check the Weather before Shooting for Red Skies!)

Reply
 
 
Jan 13, 2021 17:27:11   #
fotogk Loc: Tuftonboro, NH
 
The real secret is to get out there every day and shoot. If you are not there and ready you will miss it.

Reply
Jan 13, 2021 19:16:12   #
Bubbaeml Loc: Port Jefferson, NY
 
The wild fires in California last summer gave me some wild color moons and sky's from all the smoke. I'm on Long Island in NY





Reply
Jan 13, 2021 19:28:33   #
dar_clicks Loc: Utah
 
Mark Williams wrote:
Anyone know any secret agent ways to predict firey sunrise/sunsets? Would have loved to have been ready for Manhattan from Jersey yesterday... Magnificent!!!


I don't know how specific they are able to be, but there are several web sites devoted to prediction of good times for (sunrise?/sunset?) photography. Do a web search for "sunset prediction internet site" or some such search phrase. I was told of a really good one many years ago but can't remember it after all this time. Good luck!

Reply
Jan 13, 2021 19:42:13   #
Hal81 Loc: Bucks County, Pa.
 
Sunrise.. Get up early in the morning.. Sunsets.. Go out after dinner. Wow! Im so bright my mother called me sun.

Reply
Page <<first <prev 3 of 4 next>
If you want to reply, then register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.
Main Photography Discussion
UglyHedgehog.com - Forum
Copyright 2011-2024 Ugly Hedgehog, Inc.