[Sandy Reese]

I have trouble capturing the golden light that streams thru the air at evening and morning. No matter what I do I cannot capture what I see. Any suggestions. Shooting with a Canon Rebel digital.

[stupot]

My 4 main bits of equipment that i find invaluable for sunrise/sunset shots are a sturdy tripod, cable release, some graduated ND filters and a sunrise/sunset compass.

[Sandy Reese]

What is a sunrise/sunset compass????

[simpbow]

Same as Stu, but tide times to if needed.

[stupot]

Originally Posted by Sandy Reese

What is a sunrise/sunset compass????

Its a compass that indicates the exact position the sun will rise or fall throughout the year, that coupled with google earth i can check out an area prior to a visit so i can see what position i need to be in to capture the sunrise/sunset

Photographers Sun Position Compass (COMPASS) - Warehouse Express

[Sandy Reese]

Ok, thanks, never heard of that piece of equip. Does the ND Filter help bring out the warmness of the gold light? My light shots look flat .... not warm unless I go to Photoshop and really would prefer to capture without digital manipulation.

[Bryher]

Quick and easy (cheap no cost involved) try exposure compensation -2 full stops then have a look ! too dark try 1.5 etc . You could also set your saturation up a bit and colour settings to VIVID , adds a bit of colour and zing.
Michael

[Bryher]

Oh yes try setting White Balance to CLOUDY or SHADE ,quick and easy, really warms the picture gives it that warm soft glow (probably how it looks)
Michael

[Willow5075]

Originally Posted by stupot

Its a compass that indicates the exact position the sun will rise or fall throughout the year, that coupled with google earth i can check out an area prior to a visit so i can see what position i need to be in to capture the sunrise/sunset

Photographers Sun Position Compass (COMPASS) - Warehouse Express

Wow - never heard of this - I'm gonna get me one of them!

[labbai]

The Sun Position Compass sounds funny... does anybody need an equipment to show where the sun is at the time? You can see that from the shadows, use your eyes... and on an cloudy day the light is quite lame.. great for the moody pics.

[Markulous]

Originally Posted by labbai

The Sun Position Compass sounds funny... does anybody need an equipment to show where the sun is at the time? You can see that from the shadows, use your eyes... and on an cloudy day the light is quite lame.. great for the moody pics.

It's useful, they say, to work out where the sun will be before it puts in an appearance. Personally, more than an hour before sunrise is too early and it's easy enough to see where the sky is lightening. But then I don't use ND Grads either!

These are my most recent sunrise shots (for some reason I much prefer sunrise to sunset - nicer light I think) Frosty Start

[mr cat]

I find that as well as the correect angle of the sun - that you also need something in the air that 'holds' the light (if that's the correct term!) like a bit of mist, haze etc-
have a look at some of the old pics in here -
Hamsterley Forest - a set on Flickr

they were taken with a humble panasonic fz7 with no filters or anything...

[fionaB]

i thinkits important to remember as well that the camera will never reproduce exactly what the eye is seeing as the dynamic range is a lot less, that is why u have to give it a boost in post processing.

[Nancy1340]

Originally Posted by Markulous

It's useful, they say, to work out where the sun will be before it puts in an appearance. Personally, more than an hour before sunrise is too early and it's easy enough to see where the sky is lightening. But then I don't use ND Grads either!

These are my most recent sunrise shots (for some reason I much prefer sunrise to sunset - nicer light I think) Frosty Start

I am not sure but I think this one ,P1040404, is somewhat, kinda, sorta what Sandy is talking about.

She does know east from west. Sorry just kidding. She is very blond after all.

[stupot]

Originally Posted by labbai

The Sun Position Compass sounds funny... does anybody need an equipment to show where the sun is at the time? You can see that from the shadows, use your eyes... and on an cloudy day the light is quite lame.. great for the moody pics.

Yes very true but where it is very useful is you can plan where the sun is going to rise or fall before you even get to an area (the night before for instance) by using a maps or google earth. The sunrise/set position varies by around 30 degrees throughout the year also which in real terms can be quite different positions at its extremes. Its not an essential piece of kit but useful. I've used it to recce an area during the day (and at night) to see where the sun would rise or set in relation to local focal points and which month would produce the best shot.