Who can resist a lovely sunset?!

Certainly my shutter finger starts to itch when I see the sun sinking towards the horizon, rim lighting the clouds and dressing everything with a warm glow. But a sunset has become a bit of a cliché, so I think it's important to use this opportunity to make a photograph, rather than just take a snap. This means thinking about composition, timing, exposure, and perhaps including useful context; a church, a tree, or a figure like in the image below, to produce a more complete and satisfying image.

Whitstable Dusk

When the Sun goes down

Even after the sun has gone down, (the blue hour), don't put the camera away, for there are still pictures to be taken. "Harris Dusk" here. Exposure times will be longer, (I nearly always use a tripod), - respond to the subtleties of colour and react to the changes as they occur. 

                                         Luskentyre Glow                                                                                   Harris Dusk

At either end of the day the 'big view' picture is invariably the most obvious choice, but there's a certain transformational quality of dawn or dusk light which can imbue a fairly ordinary scene with an attractive glow, while glancing oblique light reveals texture and shape in a pleasing way. [Craster Sundown & Nash Light]

                                       Craster Sundown                                                                                  Nash Light

In the morning it can certainly be a challenge to forsake the warm comfort of a duvet, to pull on clothes, and venture out with a camera. It helps to know where you are going, predict where the sun will rise, hopeful that you're going to be lucky. Go with keen expectation, but prepare for disappointment, the effort can sometimes go unrewarded. But just occasionally the weather conditions oblige, and the magical light of dawn can deliver breath taking beauty, subtle mists, and great photographic opportunities too. [Bacton Dawn] I always find that breakfast tastes so much better after a dawn shoot. I feel I've earned it!

Bacton Dawn

When it comes to printing my go to paper is Fotospeed Platinum Gloss Art Fibre. It has a depth and colour that accurately mirrors the image in a compelling way, while the surface texture adds an extra 'feel' to the finished print.

To see more of Chris's work please visit https://www.chrispalmerphotographer.co.uk/

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