keep in mind that your position in relation to the
light source is constantly moving, and this is
especially noticeable at sunrise and sunset. So it
is best to make sure that you are ready to capture
those great colors before they actually appear, and
then stay a little while longer to see what the
rising sun might reveal or what the setting sun
might hide. Many times, I see photographers
packing up their gear right after the sun sets and
missing that great red glow as the last of the sun-
light is reflected in the sky.
The first step in photographing the sunrise or
sunset is to know exactly when it is going to hap-
pen. Because the Earth revolves around the Sun
on a 365-day cycle, the location of the sun and
the sunrise and sunset times differ each day of the
year. The following website and smart phone apps
will all give you the exact time of the sunrise or
sunset for every day of the year.
■ Sunrisesunset.com. (www.sunrisesunset.com)
This website allows you to print a full calen-
dar that lists the sunrise and sunset times. You
can also add the moonrise and moonset times.
■ Timeanddate.com. (www.timeanddate.com)
This Web site has a great sunrise and sunset
calculator at http://www.timeanddate.com/world-
clock/sunrise.html. It allows you to enter the
location, and then gives you the sunrise and
sunset times for the current date. It also allows
you to pick any month and year so you can
really plan ahead.
■ Naval Oceanography Portal. This Web site
is great for getting the complete moon and
sun data for U.S. cities and towns. Just go
to http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-
applications/data-services/rs-one-day-us and
enter the year, month, day, city or town
name, and state or territory. If you are not in
the United States, you can go to http://www.usno.The exposure settings used when shooting sun-
rises and sunsets have a direct effect on the colors
in the image. Slightly underexposing the image
intensifies the colors, while overexposing the
scene washes out the colors. Too much in either
direction and the image becomes either dark and
muddy or totally washed out. The easiest way to
get great photos is to do the following:
- Set the camera to spot metering mode.
- Set the exposure mode to program auto.
- Aim the camera at an area of the sky that
does not include the sun. - Press the shutter release button halfway
down. - Make a note of the settings shown by
the camera. - Switch from program auto mode to manual
mode. - Enter the settings from step 5 into the
camera. - Reduce the exposure by 1 stop by increas-
ing the shutter speed or using a smaller
aperture. - Take a photo and check the exposure by
looking at the LCD on the back of the
camera. - Adjust the exposure as needed and
shoot again.
As you photograph sunsets, the amount of light
starts to drop off, but as you photograph sunrises,
the amount of light increases; in both cases, you
need to adjust the exposure as you shoot.
Start early and stay late
As Galileo discovered, the Earth revolves around
the Sun and never stops moving. When using the
sun as a light source in your images, you have to