Dawn and Dusk

Posted by Lumix Admin on 7 November 2011 at 10:05 am

Hello everyone, firstly congratulations to Gerry Palmer for winning October’s Small is Beautiful Challenge. Don’t forget this month’s Dusk and Dawn Photo Challenge winner will be announced at the start of December, so make sure you submit your entry before the closing date of 1st December to be in with a chance of winning!

I have really been looking forward to this month’s subject: taking photographs in those special light conditions at the start and end of the natural day. First or last light is my – and many other photographers’ – favourite time to shoot.

My Lumix shots shown here were all taken while on holiday in Aldeburgh, on the Suffolk coast. On the beach in Aldeburgh is an impressive sculpture called The Scallop, which is dedicated to the famous English composer Benjamin Britten and has a quotation cut through it, as you can see. I decided to feature this landmark in my quest for a good sunrise shot. It took me four dawn visits to the beach before I was happy with the end results. See what you think!

On my first visit, the sky was very clear and so I decided to increase the saturation of the shot by using a Cokin graduated sunset filter over the lens. If you can, it’s worth investing in some quality filters to vary your ‘arsenal’. Anyway, I do like the results (see below), but I decided to keep going back to the beach every day until I got the shot I was really looking for.

Lumix GF1 camera with 28mm lens
ISO 100
1/80th sec at f8.0

They say no two sunsets or sunrises are ever the same, and certainly you should always take the time to stop and enjoy nature’s spectacular light show – and, of course, to take photographs of it! On the last day of my holiday, I finally got the shots I had been was hoping for. The sky had a great mixture of clouds with gaps in them, just as I’d wanted. All these shots were taken with the lens unfiltered.

The images in this selection were actually all taken in just a 15-minute window, trying different zoom settings and viewpoints. This illustrates how you should never settle for just one or two shots and walk away; instead, stay in position and get as many shots as you can, knowing you can edit them later. This is the beauty of a good modern camera, of course – you can rapidly adjust the settings, change the lens or filter and make more of the time you are given.

So, that’s dawn dealt with! Being on the east coast, sunset shots can be more of a challenge! I determined a likely viewpoint – one where I would be facing west, into the setting sun. And, as previously, I visited this same location three or four times throughout my holiday before I found the scene looked ‘right’ for me. There’s no harm in knowing what you want to shoot and being fussy about it!

In fact, these shots were taken a good 10 minutes after sunset itself – that moment when the disc of the sun slips below the horizon – but with its light is still illuminating the sky beautifully. In fact, it was almost too dark to shoot by the time I was finished. I used my Cokin sunset filter again on these shots, to add emphasis to the scene. I think the inclusion in the foreground of some old boat remains really helps the composition.

All my Aldeburgh shots were taken on my Lumix GF1 and G2 cameras, in the ‘Raw’ setting and with the 14-42mm lens attached.

ISO 100-400
White Balance set to ‘Daylight’

Also, I had the shooting camera on a tripod at all times, to minimise shake and so ensure I was making the most of the conditions and time that nature allowed me.

To recap my five top tips for sunrises and sunsets are:

1. Always be prepared to ‘get up with the lark’ and shoot through a 15-minute window to get the perfect shot you’re after.

2. Where possible, use interesting foreground shapes in silhouette to enhance your composition.

3. Set your White Balance to ‘Daylight’, not ‘Auto’ – or set your camera to ‘Sunset’ in its ‘Scene’ mode.

4. Take lots of shots – as many as the light allows you to; you can edit them later.

5. Always be prepared, if possible, to visit your chosen location more than once.

I’ve included a few examples here of shots I’ve taken previously, to hopefully inspire you to get out there and achieve your own memorable ‘Dawn or Dusk’ masterpiece. Worth getting out of bed (or staying up) for!