What is available light? 3In the fi rst edition of this book, the fi rst image was “Mexican Sunset” by Barry Staver, and was shot using
Kodachrome 64 fi lm. This photograph of a beach in Acapulco is a composite of two images captured with
a Canon 1D Mark II at ISO 800 and combined using the Photomerge command in Adobe Photoshop (File >
Automate > Photomerge) to create a panoramic photograph. The handheld exposure for both images was
1/200 sec at f/10 and set in Aperture Priority mode. © 2005 Joe Farace.
photographer. His “Mexican Sunset” image was made on his
way to dinner; so another rule to follow is to be sure to bring
your camera with you—everywhere. Ask yourself a few ques-
tions: Do you have a foreground object or landmark to add some
interest? Joe’s photo, alas, does not, and relies on the image’s
color to carry the photograph. Doing your planning before the
Golden Hour arrives leaves you free to concentrate on the proper
exposure for the scene as the sun drops (and it does change fast),
and framing the image properly.
We have all marveled at the beautiful colors in the sky
and snapped blindly away—only to fi nd that the photograph
did not meet our expectations. Too often in these photographs,
there is no subject in the foreground, or unwanted obstacles
appear that you didn’t notice when you snapped the shutter.
(Have you ever had a telephone pole sticking up behind
someone’s head? Where did that come from?) Once a photo-
grapher masters the technical aspects of shooting the low-angled
sun, then the content of the picture must be planned in order
to create a sunrise or sunset image that is brimming with
interest and vitality.