Capturing Nature’s Daily Light Show: The Sunrise Photo Shoot
If you’ve been following my work for a while, you may have noticed that I like sunrises. There is a peace and quiet to that time of day that tends to absorb me. Sunrises can be fabulous but fleeting. Trying to grab them with your camera can take a little work. Here’s a little insight to my quest for spectacular sunrises.
Preparation
Want a sunrise shot that captures a pure moment of time? It takes a little planning. Stumbling out the door a few minutes before sunrise without a plan doesn’t usually work very well. At the beginning of each week, I take a look at the weather. My favorite mornings will have some (not full) cloud coverage. The clouds (well at least scattered clouds) are really what makes a great sunrise. So having picked a day, next is picking a location.
It is easier to go to someplace familiar, but remember, it’s still going to be dark when you get there. Make sure you know a place to park. Some places (many state and regional parks) won’t be open before sunrise so make sure you pick a place that has access. I’ll often use google maps and look for places that I can leave my car. Nearby shopping centers, church parking lots, even wide shoulders on the road will do in a pinch. I’ll also google images of the location; this helps me familiarize myself with the area and know what to expect when I get there. It may sound obvious, but it helps if you know where the sun is going to rise, so you can pick a place that you can frame your foreground with the rising sun.
As far as equipment goes, whatever your personal camera gear consists of, make sure batteries are charged, lenses are clean, and you have everything packed and ready to walk out the door the night before. Have everything in your bag where you can access it without light. (Yes, I have left the house without a memory card in my camera. I now keep extra memory cards in my bag at all times).
Always have a nearby optional location in mind. Sometimes unforeseen circumstances will force a change. A couple of years ago I was in Tucson, Arizona and I wanted to shoot sunrise from Sentinel Peak Park that sits above The University of Arizona. The park has a Huge A on the peak that can be seen from all over the University area, so I thought the view would be excellent. Unfortunately access to the park was closed and patrolled so I couldn’t even hike up to it. I had a backup plan (Tucson Mountain Park) and my sunrise shots from there turned out to be even better.
Timing
The early bird gets the worm, or in my case the better photo. So how does one time a sunrise photo. Let’s start with a sun rise at 6:30 am and work back from there. Many of my best shots come before the sun pierces the horizon. I like to be on site at first light, so let’s plan on being at your chosen sunrise location by 6:00 am at the latest. Now add the commute time. It takes me an hour to get the Chesapeake Bay’s western coast or into Frederick county’s farm country, so I need to be in the car and down the driveway by 5:00 am. Add some time to get out of bed, dressed, throw some water in my face, let the dog out, etc. I usually set my alarm for about two and half hours before sunrise.
The Shots
Be fast. Be Very fast. Be prepared for change. The light will be constantly changing. Clouds that catch the pre-dawn light one minute will lose it the next. Ground mist will change as soon as the sun hits it. You may want a telephoto lens when the sun peaks over the horizon and two minutes later you realize the really cool thing is how the sky changes from yellow to a deep blue above you and you should be shooting with a wide angle. You may need to make radical exposure changes as the sun rises or moves in and out of your frame. Every sunrise is different. If there are no clouds, sunrise could be over in a couple of minutes. Cloudy or misty mornings sunrise shoots can last a couple of hours.
Check out some of my favorite sunrises in my sunset/sunrise photo gallery.