The following is a direct copy and has been Pasted in for future reference from the Art of Photography coursework PDF Doc. (pasted in Maroon)
About 12 images
You are going to take a very detailed look at what happens to a view as the sun moves, and when the sun is close to the horizon it can bring a surprising urgency even to landscape photography. The brighter and clearer the weather, the more definite you will find the changes in the light, and so the more successful the exercise will be.
You will need a sunny day for this exercise, or else sun at different times on different days. You are going to photograph one scene from dawn to dusk. The number of pictures you take will depend on the time of year, but get at least one per hour, and more at the end of the day when the light is changing faster.
Find a landscape location with a fairly definite subject that will catch the sunlight even when the sun is close to the horizon. It needs to offer a good, clear view that is lit throughout the day – containing an isolated building, perhaps, but convenient to reach, as you will need to keep going back to exactly the same spot. Try and keep the composition exactly the same for all the photographs; either remember which parts of the scene touch obvious points in the viewfinder (such as the corners or any markings on the screen) or draw a little sketch. Keep a note of the exposure for each photograph.
First make a reconnaissance of the scene, and arrive ready for photography earlier than necessary. Take a tripod if you have one and a cable release; this will allow you to decide the composition early and then concentrate on the lighting. One of the things that you should learn from this exercise is that you can anticipate the movement of light and shadows to some extent (more so with experience), and yet there is often an element of unpredictability. You must start by imagining as best you can what your ideal moment will be – that is, sunlight striking which part of the scene. Remember that, as the sun becomes lower at the end of the day, more and more of the scene will fall into shade.
From the processed results, which photograph do you prefer? Which was the best moment? Is this the one you thought was best at the time? If not, why did you change your mind? Arrange the images in order and compare the sequence carefully with your memory of the scene. Depending to some extent on the scene, the difference that the light makes should be striking. From now on make a habit of judging the way light and shadows move. It is an essential skill in outdoor photography.
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Equipment
Nikon D4
24/70 f2.8 lens
Tripod
Method & Approach
With regards to a local area able to catch sunlight even when the sun is close to the horizon, with a good clear view and is lit throughout the day, I could only think of one place that would offer this, my local lake. I marked out three individual places and returned at various times throughout the day, each time relocating my tripod in the same marked foot positions. Having taken a walk around the lake the night before I had already decided where I was going to take my pictures from and at five o-clock the following morning I arrived at my first position and began to set up waiting for sun rise. My intention was to take three sets of pictures from each location at similar times throughout the day and at the end of the day compare all the images on the screen at home and use the best of the three.
One set turned out slightly better than the other two which is the set I have used for this exercise, please see pictures and captions below.
The time of year was early April and the weather conditions for the day were mostly sunny with varying cloudiness during the mid afternoon.
Note – all pictures have been compressed hence there might be a quality reduction when enlarging.
Picture 1 – Time 05:30
Picture 1
Time – 05:30
Camera Details
Speed 1/45th sec
Aperture f8.0
ISO 100
White Balance Setting Daylight (5500°K)
Lens 24/70mm
Focal Length 24mm
Comments – You can see the suns light beginning to rise on the distant horizon and with the sun below the horizon, the water colour is almost black in the in the lower right-hand corner.
Picture 2 – Time 06:30
Picture 2
Time – 06:30
Camera Details
Speed 1/350th sec
Aperture f8.0
ISO 100
White Balance Setting Daylight (5500°K)
Lens 24/70mm
Focal Length 24mm
Comments – One hour later and the sun has risen, the light in the sky has also changed to a slightly harder bluey-white and the water in the lake has changed from a very near black to a darkened mirror like reflection of the sky colours. You can also make out the green colours of the trees in the distance on the right-hand side.
Picture 3 – Time 08:30
Picture 3
Time – 08:30
Camera Details
Speed 1/500th sec
Aperture f8.0
ISO 100
White Balance Setting Daylight (5500°K)
Lens 24/70mm
Focal Length 24mm
Comments – Three hours later and we can see a light characteristic change again. The sun has now risen to about 15 degrees and the sky has taken on even more of the bluey-white characteristics but harder. The water is still quite dark directly beneath the blue sky but we can now see hard sunlight reflections from the projecting rays.
Picture 4 – Time 10:30
Picture 4
Time– 10:30
Camera Details
Speed 1/350th sec
Aperture f8.0
ISO 100
White Balance Setting Daylight (5500°K)
Lens 24/70mm
Focal Length 24mm
Comments – Five hours later and we can now see typical midday hard light conditions. The sun is almost at its highest daytime position and the water now fully reflecting the sky and cloud colour.
Picture 5 – Time 12:30
Picture 5
Time – 12:30
Camera Details
Speed 1/350th sec
Aperture f8.0
ISO 100
White Balance Setting Daylight (5500°K)
Lens 24/70mm
Focal Length 24mm
Comments – Seven hours later and it’s midday. Much the same light characteristics as the previous image. The sun is at its highest point for this time of year and the water fully reflecting sky and cloud colour.
Picture 6 – Time 14:30
Picture 6
Time – 14:30
Camera Details
Speed 1/350th sec
Aperture f8.0
ISO 100
White Balance Setting Daylight (5500°K)
Lens 24/70mm
Focal Length 24mm
Comments – Nine hours later and we are now beyond midday and approaching early afternoon. Conditions are still much the same as the previous image, the sun is still high with the water reflecting much the same sky and cloud characteristics.
Picture 7 – Time 16:30
Picture 7
Time – 16:30
Camera Details
Speed 1/350th sec
Aperture f8.0
ISO 100
White Balance Setting Daylight (5500°K)
Lens 24/70mm
Focal Length 24mm
Comments – Eleven hours later and we are just beyond peek afternoon for this time of year. Conditions are still much the same as the previous image, the sun is still high with the water reflecting much the same sky and cloud characteristics.
Picture 8 – Time 17:30
Picture 8
Time – 17:30
Camera Details
Speed 1/250th sec
Aperture f8.0
ISO 100
White Balance Setting Daylight (5500°K)
Lens 24/70mm
Focal Length 24mm
Comments – Twelve hours later and we are now into late afternoon. Conditions are starting to soften from the hard bluey/white that we saw earlier, you can just make out a very slight hint of warmer colour change in the cloud and their colour reflections in the water.
Picture 9 – Time 18:30
Picture 9
Time – 18:30
Camera Details
Speed 1/180th sec
Aperture f8.0
ISO 100
White Balance Setting Daylight (5500°K)
Lens 24/70mm
Focal Length 24mm
Comments – Thirteen hours later and we are now approaching early evening light for this time of year. Conditions are now much softer and the sky is no longer the hard bluey/white that we saw earlier. The clouds are beginning to appear warmer as the sun starts to decline and the colour reflection of cloud in the water is also warmer. The distant trees on the left-hand side are now visually brighter than the opposing trees, a different light scenario to that of the morning.
Picture 10 – Time 19:30
Picture 10
Time – 19:30
Camera Details
Speed 1/10th sec
Aperture f8.0
ISO 100
White Balance Setting Daylight (5500°K)
Lens 24/70mm
Focal Length 24mm
Comments – Fourteen hours later and the daylight harshness has subsided as we approach sunset. Light conditions are different again with much softer sky colours, a red/pinkish pastel like colour is present in the cloud as can be seen in the water reflection. Due to sunset the distant trees on the left-hand side have now visually darkened, matching their opposing.
Picture 11 – Time 20:00
Picture 11
Time – 20:00
Camera Details
Speed 1/6th sec
Aperture f8.0
ISO 100
White Balance Setting Daylight (5500°K)
Lens 24/70mm
Focal Length 24mm
Comments – Fourteen and a half hours later and daylight has almost come to and end. Picture 10 was the official sunset of this series but the following two pictures (including this one) where taken with longer exposures during the last half hour of the day. We no longer see the pastel colours from the previous picture but the sky is still slightly soft in colour compared to that of midday.
Picture 12 – Time 20:30
Picture 12
Time – 20:30
Camera Details
Speed 3 seconds
Aperture f8.0
ISO 100
White Balance Setting Daylight (5500°K)
Lens 24/70mm
Focal Length 24mm
Comments – Fifteen hours later and daylight has finally come to and end. This three second exposure shows the sky and water having an almost equal colour reflection. Although it doesn’t really look that dark in the image, at the time of capture it was getting quite dark but still we can just about make out a faint softness in colour on the right-hand side of the skyline.
What have I learnt from this exercise
Although I knew of the varying colour differences throughout daytime, I have also read this in magazines countless times too …. but I have never actually carried out this exercise and in doing so it has taught me certain things about my own camera and its forgivingness as well as when do you call it a day with regards to daytime versus twilight.
With my own cameras being very much up to date and the lenses I use having VR etc …. this exercise has given me a better understanding of what I can and cant get away with when thinking of a time of day that I need to take a tripod versus utilising a higher ISO. The above pictures where all taken using a tripod on a setting of ISO 100 as I didn’t want noise to creep in when the light started to fade but I’m certain that the majority of the shots could have been taken with a higher ISO with the camera handheld, perhaps a mater of opinion of new versus old school photographers. Getting back to this exercise I now have a greater appreciation and understanding of difference between.
- Early morning light – to – Morning light.
- Midday light – to – Late afternoon light.
- Early evening light – to – Evening approaching darkness.
Thoughts and Reflection
I have enjoyed this exercise and with it I have a new understanding and ambition to consider
- When looking at an object / subject / a building / what ever it may be …. where at that very moment in time is the suns direction coming from in relation to where I am standing and does it work?
- How would the picture differ and benefit, if I were here later or earlier?
- Does the object / subject need hard or soft lighting?
- If soft-light is the decision and the subject is a permanent fixture (a building etc) consider evening or early morning time according to its relative position, although North facing subjects might not be so easy to apply this process to.
stingray493 