Many photographers, new, amateurs, and some professionals, shoot sunrises and sunsets—nature at its most beautiful if you are facing east or west at the right hour. That includes me! Sun-up and sundown photos proliferate the social media. Why not? The photographer is sharing a special moment that he or she witnessed. It’s a grand feeling.
The reason I’m showing this photo is because it IS a sundown, but, there’s something going on in the foreground. I believe that is important, although not always necessary. Why? It adds to the storyline. It helps put the photo into a context.
To increase the contextual impact of a photo with the sun setting or rising, consider including a telling foreground. In this case, it is the bow of the schooner Olad, a 50-foot vessel out of Camden, ME.
I shot photos for an hour as the sun descended and infused the sky with beautiful colors. I tried from various parts of the vessel, all with the idea of capturing some aspect of the vessel in the foreground. This was it. When I clicked the shutter, my senses resonated as they often do when I get a good shot.
I believe this shot works because of the triangular balance of shapes in the left and middle. The two sails you see are headsails, one free flying, the other on a self-tending boom. Coupled with the boom, the three forms are triangular, which also repeats the theme of three, there being three forms (similar to a pin-wheel).
Without the bow and sails, this would be a nice sunset photo. If it existed, I’d probably crop half the water so the horizon was even lower. But having the three elements, proportionally balanced in the foreground, takes this mage up a few notches in terms of interest and engagement.
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Technical variables: There are at least two variables that challenge a photographer to attain well-exposed and sharp sunrise or sunset photos with foreground elements—low light conditions and distance between subjects (foreground to infinity). The sky usually requires a different exposure than the foreground unless you are happy with foreground silhouettes, which often work great. If you want everything in focus, you’ll need a small aperture to span the distance from near to far, thus allowing the greatest depth-of-field. Now you either have to use a tripod for a longer exposure or increase the ISO substantially. Increasing the ISO on some cameras creates visual noise in the image unless you have a camera with a relatively large sensor.
Technical details: This shot was taken using a Nikon D7100 at 1/25 sec and ƒ 1/16. ISO was set to 640. Focal length on my Nikon 24-120mm lens was set to 24mm which translated to 36mm being on a camera with an APS-C sensor (1.5x crop factor). Despite my care in balancing the settings, I still needed Adobe Lightroom to open up the shadows on the foredeck and sails and reduce some highlights in the sky.
An invaluable class in photo technique taught by a true educator and expert in a few short paragraphs. On behalf of all amateur photographers, I am most humbled and most appreciative. Thank you, John.
Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment, Jeff. I hope my suggestions will be useful!
Really good post, John. Not discussed here (but worth noting) is the loveliness of your palette and your flawless instincts for creating an effective treatment. Love your work!
Thanks a lot, John!
What I love best about your blog is the background technical, intellectual and aesthetic insights that you consider before you take your photo! It is a great way to share with the world all the thought, control and decision-making that goes into taking a photograph. So many people out there are enamored by the simplicity and so-called magic of pushing a button and getting something that they think they call themselves photographers…..and they are picture-takers or snap-shooters and that’s a far cry from what you do. Thanks for sharing and also I am so excited that you are going to be pART of the Boating pARTy photography exhibition at fotofoto gallery in September 2017. Perhaps some of your blog readers will sail in for the reception Saturday September 2nd 5-7pm at 14 W raver St in Huntington, LI.
Holly, I don’t always get so cerebral before taking a shot. Often I’ll shoot intuitively, or reflexively. I know I’m attracted to a subject and I work it till it “feels good.” It’s not till later that I realize what was going on. Meanwhile, many thanks for reading my blog and submitting your thoughtful comments.
I think because our cameras are already such integral pARTs of our being, we intuitively ‘know’ what we are doing. It’s like we don’t have to tell ourselves to breathe…..but when we want to share our work with others we need to put our process into words and that’s what you did when you posted your photograph. You explained your thoughts and decisions that went through your mind before you snapped the shutter. I think it is important to the integrity of photography as a legitimate ART form to educate the public. there is a lot more to our images than just a click.
Years ago I began writing to consciously explain to myself what I was doing to create my images so i could share my creative journey with others in a coherent intelligent manner. It’s all pART of taking what we do seriously.
Well said, Holly. And again, thanks so much for taking the time to share your photo-process view. And you are right—many people with cameras (or without) don’t realize the mental and heartful configurations necessary to attain well-composed and thoughtful images. It truly takes a lot, as you so well know!