Welcome to Charlottesville Camera Club | Charlottesville Camera …cvillecameraclub.org/sites/default/files/duskSnelson.pdf · 2019. 4. 19. · Compose your best shot then wait for

Dusk Photography

The Blue “15 minutes”

Presented to Charlottesville Camera Club

June 29, 2011

© Deb Snelson 2011

Copyright 2011 Deb Snelson

It’s All about “When”

Gorgeous Blue sky Only lasts about 15 minutes

Cannot be seen by the naked eye – only camera captures it

Must be on site and ready for it – take photos repetitively and check LCD to find the right time

Note: Dawn is Dusk in reverse


How to Determine “When”

www.timeanddate.com from

www.timeanddate.com Select "Sun & Moon" tab

and "Sun Calculator" from drop down list

Select U.S.A. - Virginia -Richmond, click on button "See sunrise/sunset"

In the "Modify Parameters" section choose month and year and make sure "Sun" is the body, then change the columns to "twilight/rise/set(sun)" and click "show".


http://www.timeanddate.com/

Dusk: when Civil Twilight ends Three types of Twilight

Astronomical : sun is 18 degrees below the horizon, does not contribute to sky illumination

Nautical : sun is 12 degrees below the horizon , cannot see horizon

Civil : sun is 6 degrees below the

horizon. the limit at which twilight

illumination is sufficient for terrestrial objects to be clearly distinguished.

the horizon is clearly defined. artificial illumination is normally

required to carry on ordinary outdoor activities.

Generally ½ hour after sunset for shots facing east.

June 29 – Civil twilight ends at 9:06 pm


What creates the “Blue Moment”?

Convergence of street lights coming on and ambient light diminishing - balance each other.

At night it is easy to blow out bright details, especially street lights. Street lights need time to get to full brightness. When they reach full brightness they loose detail & blow out. Need the proper balance between the two so as not to blow out those details.

The Dusk sky offers some illumination on buildings, reducing the contrast range between a dark sky, bright lights and the sides of the buildings.

With enough street light, buildings will glow in the photo even though not seen with the naked eye.


Example of the balance

Still early – 8:17:53pm

12mm, f/9 for 5 seconds

Just 10 minutes later – 8:27:56pm, 11mm, f/9 for 13 seconds


Missed Opportunity

How do you know when the blue “moment” is over?

1. The sky becomes black in photos rather than that intense blue color

2. Efforts to increase exposure only further blow out the lights


Requirements

1) Tripod – working with slow shutter speeds2) Remote shutter release or 2 second timer3) Extra charged batteries – long exposures eat up

battery power very quickly.


Requirements, cont’d

Camera must be able to take long exposures

You must be able to turn off the flash unit

Lens: Suit the lens to the subject but generally wide angle is best. A wide angle lens or widest setting on your zoom lens will not only give you a better field of view, it will increase depth of field (DOF) and help make up for small errors in focusing.

If you use a wide angle lens (recommended) shoot wider than your composition dictates so you can correct distortion in post processing.


Subjects

Subject must have lights on it.

Examples, if lighted: Cityscapes

City streets

Buildings with lights, internal or external, or both

Bridges

Factories – with chimneys and smoke

Monuments

Fountains

Ferris Wheels

Car head and tail lights


Preparation

ISO: Use the lowest available ISO to minimize noise and slow the shutter

White balance: recommend Auto WB; can change it in post processing if shooting RAW

If excessive yellow or orange can cancel this out by adding blue.

Daylight is 5400 kelvin; moving slider in Adobe Camera RAW (ACR) or Lightroom to greater than 5400 adds blue; moving slider less than 5400 adds yellow.


Preparation, cont’d Standard metering mode: Evaluative for Canon, Matrix for

Nikon

Focus – focusing is tricky in near darkness: 1. All focus points active – find contrast

2. Pre-focus while still light out and switch to manual focus, being careful not to bump focus ring.

3. Bring a flashlight to illuminate your subject to be able to focus on it, then switch to manual focus and maintain that setting.

4. Focus manually

Image Stabilization: Off since you are on a tripod

Mirror Lock Up to minimize vibrations. Reminder: If using a remote shutter release, push button twice – once to lock up mirror, second to take the shot.

Manual or Aperture Priority mode


Composition Tips

Pick the right day – ideal is clear, cloudless sky and no wind Clouds can appear orange near cities because they reflect

street lights - may be distracting

Clouds may move during a long exposure – you decide if this is something you want

Wind blurs objects such as tree branches and leaves

The sky becomes blue in the east first, then in the west. Keep this in mind if you want to catch a photo in both directions – shoot looking east first, then recompose to shoot looking west.


As the sun set the wind came up causing some blurring of tree leaves.


Composition Tips, cont’d

Arrive on site as much as an hour in advance

Compose your best shot then wait for the blue “15 minutes”

Take a few shots and look at your LCD to be sure to find the right time - remember that you will not see the blue moment in the sky - our brains neutralize the blues. But the camera will see it and capture it.

Be flexible - as the light changes you may want to tweak your composition. Something that seemed important when you first arrived may become less important as light fades.



Select the aperture that best suits the subject Sharp front to back = smallest apertures. Recommended f/16

to f/22. Also needed for “star” lights. Narrow DOF = largest apertures (rarely used for night

photography) Subject and background all at same distance the sharpest

apertures are f/8 to f/11 (rarely used)

AND Achieves the shutter speed you want for special effects such

blurring water, light trails, ghosting people, etc. Use the exposure meter in your camera to verify the selected

values depending on the actual light level. The right value is usually between -1 EV and -2 EV.


Composition, cont’d.

Bright light sources Best to photograph

straight on. If light enters your lens at a low angle you may see lens flares and decreased overall contrast.

Selecting small apertures (f/16 or greater) can render bright lights as “stars”.


Composition Tips, cont’d.

Moon: You may or may not want the moon. If it is a tiny pinprick and compositionally not well sited, then skip it.

Water: also appears blue. It can provide reflections. Or you may want to blur the water if shot over 6-8 seconds. Use small apertures and low ISO to slow shutter speed.



People and animals:

At 1/15 second and slower shutter, moving people and animals will start to “ghost”. You can fire flash on rear curtain sync or 2nd curtain sync to get clearer figures if you are close enough and if they are your subject. If they are not your subject the blurring will not matter. Copyright 2011 Deb Snelson


Light trails – Plan your exposure time so that passing cars have enough time to pass completely through your frame. Usually need 8 - 15 seconds or greater, although this is largely dependent upon the speed at which the vehicle is travelling.

White lights – vehicle is moving towards you

Red light trails – vehicle is moving away

Remove the UV filter from your lens to minimize blaze or haze that could ruin your photo.

Longer exposures will allow for more trails but they'll look more faded


Time Sequence w/composition changes



When you are happy with the shot you have, MOVE! You have 15 minutes, but also if you are looking in a different direction you may find the blue moment is yet to occur in that direction!

24mm, f/22 for 8 sec

19:52


First move: 14mm, f/11 for 4 sec, 18:02


2nd Move 10mm, f/10 2 sec, 18:04 3rd Move 20mm f/25 30 sec, 18:10

Copyright 2011 Deb Snelson Copyright 2011 Deb Snelson

And while the tripod was being dismantled……

Summary

Tripod secure, legs fully splayed, camera locked down tight

Image stabilization off since you are on a tripod

Manual or Aperture priory mode

All focus points active

Auto white balance

Lowest ISO

Standard metering (Evaluative or Matrix)

Mirror lock up and remote shutter release or timer.


Summary, cont’d

After taking photo

check camera histogram for over/under exposure

check for overexposure warning indicators (“blinkies”) to make sure your highlights are not washed out, which can happen in high contrast scenes. If they are washed out, on Aperture Priority use your camera’s exposure compensation (+/-) feature to fine-tune your exposures by reducing the exposure, or adjust speed if manual.

Take additional photos at different shutter speeds to see how you can improve your photos.


As with everything related to improving your photography, experimentation and trial and error will eventually get you to a point where you are comfortable taking pictures in any situation.


Fireworks

Presented to Charlottesville Camera Club

June 29, 2011

© Deb Snelson 2011

Requirements

Tripod

Remote shutter release or cord

Digital SLR Camera with BULB function

Wide angle lens, plus bring a zoom in case fireworks are too far away

Lots of memory cards, charged spare battery

Bug spray, chair, snacks, etc. for comfort


Preparation

Arrive at show early so you can scout out a good spot with NO OBSTRUCTIONS (tree branches, wires, poles, etc.) in the direction you suspect the fireworks will be shot…..

Set up early to maintain that spot

Determine a rough composition:

Try to include some ground elements to provide scale

Water provides great reflections, if available

Vertical format usually preferred but dependent on scene before you.


Disclaimer – not my photos

Preparation, cont’d

Wide angle lens to start, at widest end

Disable flash

Disable vibration reduction (on tripod)

Set MANUAL focus to infinity

Lowest ISO to minimize noise

Put camera on Manual exposure Select an aperture from f/8 to f/16 to help prevent “light

blooms” and overexposure

Select BULB for shutter speed

Turn off noise reduction mode – too slow


Getting the shot

Be ready to go at the first burst while the sky may still be blue (dusk) and the smoke is at a minimum.

Watch the sky without the viewfinder - follow the bursts

Use your remote shutter release to open the shutter at sound of rocket launch and hold shutter open while light trails finish, or to capture multiple bursts. Release when you have a composition you like.

20mm, f/14, 13 seconds


Taking the Shot, cont’d

Check LCD after first few bursts, adjust zoom and re-compose to suit bursts.

Keep it wide enough to capture all the bursts in the show.

Remember you can crop later to avoid changing lenses.

20mm, f/10, 10 secondsCopyright 2011 Deb Snelson

Taking the Shot, cont’d

The longer your exposure, the more fireworks you'll capture at once, and the longer your light trails will be.

For really long exposures, try covering the lens with your hand or the lens cap between bursts to avoid over-exposing the picture.



Taking the shot, cont’d.

Above all, have fun. Some shots you may want only one burst, others you may want to stack the bursts

The most satisfying exposures may be those with multiple bursts separated by space rather than stacked on top of each other

20mm, f/14, 11 secondsCopyright 2011 Deb Snelson

Taking the Shot cont’d.


If you are stacking bursts, try to build a mental image in your head of where bursts have occurred, and release the shutter when you have both high bursts and low bursts, so the frame is filled.

These three bursts were staggered in time, but here appear to be simultaneous.


Taking the Shot cont’d.

20mm, f/14, 15 seconds Periodically check your LCD and histogram.

Make sure you are capturing the full bursts – not cut off at the edges

Make sure you are not blowing out too many highlights (centers may be blown out). Adjust exposure by reducing your aperture by 1/3 to ½ stop if too bright; if too dark open up by 1/3 to ½ stop.


20mm, f/10, 3 seconds 17mm, f/10, 7 seconds


The finale

The finale – shoot at the beginning to minimize smoke. Watch that you don’t stack too many bursts or you may have only an overexposed bright spot.


Summary

Tripod Remote shutter release or cord Arrive early, set up, rough composition Wide angle lens to start, at widest end Disable flash Disable vibration reduction (on tripod) Set MANUAL focus to infinity Lowest ISO to minimize noise Manual exposure - aperture from f/8 to f/16, Select

BULB for shutter speed Turn off noise reduction mode


Summary, cont’d.

Check LCD after first few bursts, adjust zoom and re-compose to suit bursts.

Periodically re-check your LCD and histogram. Make sure you are capturing the full bursts – not cut off

at the edges

Make sure you are not blowing out too many highlights (centers may be blown out). Adjust exposure as needed.

Check focus – you may have accidently bumped the focus ring.

Have fun with compositions!


Documents

Welcome to Charlottesville Camera Club | Charlottesville Camera …cvillecameraclub.org/sites/default/files/duskSnelson.pdf · 2019. 4. 19. · Compose your best shot then wait for