sunset and sunrise

[Graydog913]

when shooting a sunrise or a sunset is there a favorite lens or setting?

 

[akjos]

Since nobody responded ,let me be first.

I'm no expert but I'd either want really wide angle ( like tokina 11-16, sigma 10-20,etc) OR if you want purely sun as an object I'd get nikon 70-300 VR if on the budget. If money is no problem you can get whatever telephoto you want/ need and it'll do great.

If you do landscape-like sunset shots, you want to probably shoot somewhere from F8 to F11 and either in A priority or in M mode (and adjust shutter speed accordingly). Low ISO of 100 or 200 . Does not hurt to underexpose a tiny bit. I usually play in PP later and see what looks the best in tems of color tonality and WB rather then trying to fiddle with it on site.

Neutral Grad. filters are helpfull , so is polarizer, but Again I can apply these in Post processing without need of physical filters...
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http://www.pbase.com/jps1979/galleries

 

[diegonyc]

how do u apply a polarizer in post??

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http://flickr.com/photos/diegonyc/

 

[TITCHY]

thats an easy one ,put simply you cannot .

software filters designed to mimic the effects of real filters like graduated and polarizer dont even come close to the real thing .
if they were that good ,filter sales would stop .
the fact is if you want pukka results , pay the going rate and get a polarizer.

software filters (of this type) are mere toys for special effects , so dont confuse them with the real thing.

 

[ranamo]

Nikon 17-35 is my fav lens for sunrise and sunset shots. I find it wide enough on my D200 for landscapes, and I can shoot strait into the sun without ghosting or flare.
When shooting into the sun I almost always do it in HDR.

goodlight
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[Arree]

I made some shots with my 18-200 cause it was my only lens at the time, but a wider angle should be better.



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Regards,

Arree

Like to see some pic's ?
http://picasaweb.google.nl/Arretje56/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/13935871@N04/

 

[DonBJr]

thats an easy one ,put simply you cannot .

software filters designed to mimic the effects of real filters like graduated and polarizer dont even come close to the real thing .
if they were that good ,filter sales would stop .
the fact is if you want pukka results , pay the going rate and get a polarizer.

software filters (of this type) are mere toys for special effects , so dont confuse them with the real thing.

You can boost the saturation, and darken the blue sky a bit, but you can't get rid of the glare that a polarizer would.

 

[Nancy Elwood]

Also setting the WB to cloudy will warm things up nicely. But, I usually use f/11 to f/16 for landscape type images. If on a beach you can also use a very slow shutter speed to make the water smooth, as a different look.
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All the best, Nancy
http://www.naturesportal.net
http://www.naturesportal.blogspot.com

 

[Dean A Givens]

IMHO, there is not a single lens or f-stop combination that will produce the "best" results. I have taken sunset photos using all kinds of cameras from a Canon point-wait-and-shoot to my D300 (using various "amateur" and "professional" lenses) and gotten pleasing results with each, at least for me.

Generally, I seem to favor wide angle shots with the sky filling most of the image--but not always. Nearly all were taken without a tripod. My back yard faces West and some of my favorites were taken there with the calm water of the swimming pool sweetly reflecting the sky.

I usually juice up the colors a little because that's what I like--but not always. Experiment and see what works best for you.

Here is a link to some of my favorite sunset shots. You can look at the shooting info on each:

http://deano.zenfolio.com/p112510585

--
Deano

'You can have my D300 when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers.'