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Archive 2009 · Most needed Sunrise/Sunset tech?
  
 
Greene17
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p.1 #1 · Most needed Sunrise/Sunset tech?


I do alot of sunrise/sunset pictures but most dont turn out as well as I would hope. What is some of the must have gear for these types of shots?

Dec 06, 2009 at 02:24 AM
corndog
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p.1 #2 · Most needed Sunrise/Sunset tech?


Graduated neutral density filter maybe?

Dec 06, 2009 at 02:30 AM
EB-1
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p.1 #3 · Most needed Sunrise/Sunset tech?


Yes and Off!

EBH


Dec 06, 2009 at 02:41 AM
chez
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p.1 #4 · Most needed Sunrise/Sunset tech?


Polarizer, a set of GND filters and my trustworthy tripod are always with me when doing sunrise / sunset photos.

Dec 06, 2009 at 02:42 AM
Pondria
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p.1 #5 · Most needed Sunrise/Sunset tech?


Go to "Landscape Photographer" board and study "Hugh"


Dec 06, 2009 at 02:44 AM
Russ Isabella
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p.1 #6 · Most needed Sunrise/Sunset tech?


Tripod, remote and patience.

Dec 06, 2009 at 05:47 AM
Andrew Burnett
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p.1 #7 · Most needed Sunrise/Sunset tech?


Alarm clock for sunrise pictures

Other than that, a remote release, ND filters, a nice and sturdy tripod with a level.


Dec 06, 2009 at 05:59 AM
Grant808
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p.1 #8 · Most needed Sunrise/Sunset tech?


If people are the subject then a flash and CTO or CTS gels would help too.

Maybe you could post an example of the specific problems you are having. Might help us provide the right advice.


Dec 06, 2009 at 07:21 AM
15Bit
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p.1 #9 · Most needed Sunrise/Sunset tech?


Tripod, remote, Grad ND's and a lens that doesn't flare too badly. Gloves and a warm jacket are also helpful.

+1 on Pondria's suggestion - Hugh is a master of sunrises


Dec 06, 2009 at 08:00 AM
ChrisDM
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p.1 #10 · Most needed Sunrise/Sunset tech?


Graduated neutral density filters are number 1, 2 and 3 on the list of things required for good sunrise/sunset photos. Here's a sunrise of mine, where I needed 5 stops to hold the very bright sun back and let the foreground cactus through. I had a 3 stop and 2 stop graduated ND's stacked on top of each other over the horizon:



This image is copyrighted by the owner





And a 2 stop grad ND over a sunset:



This image is copyrighted by the owner






Hope this helps,

Chris Miller
www.imagineimagery.com


Dec 06, 2009 at 01:37 PM
 



cgardner
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p.1 #11 · Most needed Sunrise/Sunset tech?


If you are doing a landscape / seascape and don't have graduated ND you can also use a tripod, expose for the sky, slow the shutter 4 stops and shoot a second photo to capture the foreground detail, blend the two together on separate layers with a mask on the top layer.

If you want to capture the ambience perceived by eye shoot RAW and use daylight WB as your evaluation baseline, then adjust in the RAW editor. Human perception is driven by expectation and in person we perceive color largely based on what our memory tells us things should look like. That's why in any light we perceive a white shirt to look white in any light. In person our eyes also adapt to make the faces look "normal" within the context of the ambient light. So when looking at a person in a front of a sunset we'll perceive the sky as warm in person, then shift perceptual gears when looking at the faces and perceive them more normally than the warm light is actually making them. To capture that same perceptual impression in a photo you need to find a good perceptual balance somewhere between a normal skin tone (i.e. what you'd get if balanced neutral to the flash) and the ambient color temp -- a warm "normal".

Finding the ideal balance will take some experimentation and different sky conditions will affect how the light hits the faces. For example if there are lots of clouds in the sky the reflected light from the sky the person is facing will be warmer than on a clear day where the setting sun isn't bounced off the clouds into the shaded side. If using hot shoe flash get a $1 Rosco sampler from B&H which is just large enough to cover the flash head and has the full line of gels. Experiment with 1/8 to full CTO orange gels on the flash.

Chuck


Dec 06, 2009 at 02:13 PM
gdanmitchell
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p.1 #12 · Most needed Sunrise/Sunset tech?


Greene17 wrote:
I do alot of sunrise/sunset pictures but most dont turn out as well as I would hope. What is some of the must have gear for these types of shots?


That depends on what you mean by sunrise/sunset shots. Are you shooting straight into the bright portion of the sky during these times? Do deal with the huge dynamic range you might want to use a strong graduated neutral density filter or (in my opinion) shoot multiple frames at varying exposures and combine in post.

It would help a lot if you would share some of the images that don't work - we could offer direct and relevant feedback rather than guessing. :-)

Dan


Dec 06, 2009 at 04:13 PM
Greene17
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p.1 #13 · Most needed Sunrise/Sunset tech?


Thanks for all the info Heres one that didnt work, trying to get the rows in the field to show some of the light but then the sky is blown out.



This image is copyrighted by the owner




Dec 06, 2009 at 11:49 PM
chez
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p.1 #14 · Most needed Sunrise/Sunset tech?


GND would have saved this image. You could have also taken two images, one exposed for the sun/sky and the other for the foreground and merged them in PP. Personally, I spend way too much time in post processing as it is so I go the GND route and am very happy with my results.

Dec 07, 2009 at 12:00 AM
cineski
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p.1 #15 · Most needed Sunrise/Sunset tech?




chez wrote:
You could have also taken two images, one exposed for the sun/sky and the other for the foreground and merged them in PP.



Dec 07, 2009 at 12:32 AM
Pixel Perfect
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p.1 #16 · Most needed Sunrise/Sunset tech?


Alarm clock and get there before sun rises

IF at the coast a GND works well, but so does a simple two exposure blend:

Two shots blended manually


This image is copyrighted by the owner




One shot


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3 shot true HDR image using Photomatix 3.24


This image is copyrighted by the owner




One shot with GND


This image is copyrighted by the owner




Dec 07, 2009 at 02:45 AM
chez
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p.1 #17 · Most needed Sunrise/Sunset tech?


Beautiful shots Whayne, all of them.

Dec 07, 2009 at 02:57 AM
cgardner
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p.1 #18 · Most needed Sunrise/Sunset tech?


Greene17 wrote:
Thanks for all the info Heres one that didnt work, trying to get the rows in the field to show some of the light but then the sky is blown out.



This image is copyrighted by the owner




There's more there than meets the eye. Here's your shot with some PS manipulation...



This image is copyrighted by the owner



I used screen 2x to lighten the foreground, multiply 2x to darken the sky, and soft light and high pass to pull out the detail in the foreground. Here's a screen shot...


This image is copyrighted by the owner



Then I added a layer, sampled the sky on the left, and just painted it in on the right


This image is copyrighted by the owner




Chuck



Dec 07, 2009 at 03:10 AM
Greene17
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p.1 #19 · Most needed Sunrise/Sunset tech?


SWEET! Thanks for all the info and tips. fredmiranda.com people are the best

Dec 07, 2009 at 03:20 AM
AmIgone
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p.1 #20 · Most needed Sunrise/Sunset tech?


Greene17 wrote:
SWEET! Thanks for all the info and tips. fredmiranda.com people are the best


+1


Dec 07, 2009 at 04:20 AM
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