TAKING PHOTOS AT TWILIGHT !
We have often heard that in landscape photography, the best time to take photos is "THE GOLDEN HOUR" or that time about 1 hour before sunset or the 1 hour after sunrise. The sun is more of a golden color, and the colors in your photos are just rich in golden color. Many photos are just a whole different life when taken during the Golden Hour. Here is a photo I took of a building in Salt Lake City during the Golden Hour. Notice the rich color in the building, and the richness of the blue sky as well:
Now there is another time of day, or night, that the colors become a whole new feel. And that is what we call "Twilight". That is the time just after the sun has gone down, and the colors change from the golden colors to a beautiful blue or blueish purple. And there is an issue that may happen and it may be that you will see it, but, do you need to use the tripod? That is usually the case. The lighting may be of the point now that the lighting is just poor enough that you may need the use of your tripod to capture the colors you want in the scenery shots now, but, oh so worth it.
My wife and I were driving up around our golf course, when we looked across the course and spotted the beautiful colors of the twilight. We stopped and spent a few moments shooting down through the course into the last light of twilight, and captured some amazing colorful twilight photos:
Now, as I researched this even more, I find there are several time frames within the "twilight hour" that are set to give you a specified color scheme. Once you know this, then you can achieve the desired effect in the photos you are taking. I am attaching now an article written by: Stefan Hofer who has made it his study to get into this much deeper than I thought you could. I was amazed at this article and learned a lot from this and wanted to pass this on to you. Enjoy:
LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY AT TWILIGHT
By Stefan Hofer:
There are various phases of sunrise and sunset, however each phase repeats itself twice a day – once during sunrise and once again at sunset. All phases during sunrise are the same for sunset phases – the only difference is chronological order i.e. when each phase begins and ends. Therefore, sunrise and sunset are exactly the same, except that sunset reverses the order of phases seen at sunrise.
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Photo by kuhnmi; ISO 360, f/8, 1/50-second exposure.
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Twilight phases at Sunrise:
The length of twilight before sunrise and after sunset is heavily influenced by the latitude of the observer; therefore I will not discuss the length of each twilight phase since it is highly variable. The first phase of morning twilight is known as astronomical twilight. This period of twilight occurs when the center of the sun is between 12° and 18° degrees below the horizon and slowly increases before day time officially begins.
Most casual observers would consider the entire sky already fully dark even when astronomical twilight is just ending in the morning. Atmospheric colors consist of deep dark blue toward the horizon, and completely black when facing west. Astronomical twilight really brings cityscape photos to life. The deep blue mixed with warm artificial lights from city buildings, streets, and cars produce nice contrasts. Arguably, this is the best time to photograph cityscapes, but this clearly depends what you’re attempting to capture. Images during all twilight phases and during sunrise require a tripod. The photo will be blurry, regardless if your lens has vibration reduction or image stabilization.
Nautical twilight is when the center of the sun is between 6° and 12° below the horizon. The primary color cast across the atmosphere is usually a deep blue hue with noticeable orange and yellow tones at the horizon due to the rising sun. Light will begin appearing quickly throughout this phase, and the blue sky will get begin to get brighter and paler. Details will become easier to distinguish but will lack most edge definition. Again, cityscape photographs are nicely produced during this phase. Most landscape photographs will be uninteresting during this phase because there is not enough available light. Silhouettes begin to look interesting, and get better in the next twilight phase.
- Astronomical twilight
- Nautical twilight
- Civil twilight
- Sunrise
The length of twilight before sunrise and after sunset is heavily influenced by the latitude of the observer; therefore I will not discuss the length of each twilight phase since it is highly variable. The first phase of morning twilight is known as astronomical twilight. This period of twilight occurs when the center of the sun is between 12° and 18° degrees below the horizon and slowly increases before day time officially begins.
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Photo by Chris Chabot; ISO 100, f/8, 1-10-second exposure.
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Nautical twilight is when the center of the sun is between 6° and 12° below the horizon. The primary color cast across the atmosphere is usually a deep blue hue with noticeable orange and yellow tones at the horizon due to the rising sun. Light will begin appearing quickly throughout this phase, and the blue sky will get begin to get brighter and paler. Details will become easier to distinguish but will lack most edge definition. Again, cityscape photographs are nicely produced during this phase. Most landscape photographs will be uninteresting during this phase because there is not enough available light. Silhouettes begin to look interesting, and get better in the next twilight phase.
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Photo by Bryce Bradford; ISO 200, f/2.8, 1/20-second exposure.
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When the sun finally rises, deep ruby red and dark pink colors splash all over the terrain. Shadows come alive and retain purple and blue hues due to scattered light. The contrasts of red and blue are at a pinnacle, and will arguably provide for the best landscape pictures. The mixture of colors and shadows helps distinguish form, shape, and texture, and these compositional elements should be utilized. The color of light is quickly changing from red to yellow, and you must react very fast if you decide to change composition or frame.
As the sun continues to rise in the sky, colors shift from yellow to white. This is why the first hour of sunrise and sunset is called the “golden hour“, because red light shifts to gold. After the first hour of sunrise the color of light begins turning whiter and is not conducive to most landscape photography. The only circumstances that could create gorgeous photos in midday are during storms when the sun breaks through high clouds illuminating spots of land. Otherwise, forget about taking good landscape pictures – they will not be compelling.
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Photo by Chris Sorge; ISO 200, f/6.3, 1/1250-second exposure.
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This stuff is not meant for the meek. As with anything in life you have to really want it. You have to be passionate about taking away a beautiful photo, even though it took many visits to the same spot to get your photo. This stuff can be grueling at times, but for me, the rewards far outweigh the repeated disappointments. I hope this article has helped those seeking to become landscape photographers.
About the Author: This article was written by Stefan Hofer (stefanhoferphotography.com). A creative photography enthusiast.
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