You know that the magic hours around dusk and dawn are the best times for making dramatic and evokative images. But what do you do if you are only at a location for a couple of days? How can you maximize your shooting time to take advantage of the few hours you have, becasue we know the more images you take the more great shots you are likely to make?
Here’s my madness:
1) Up on location before sunrise to shoot the obvious 
2) After the Sweet Light has gone, switch to long exposures with a neutral density filter such as the B+W 110 or SinghRay Vari-ND. The light will still be feeble enough that you can get some terrific effects if you’re at the beach or shore, or if there’s a breeze and the clouds are moving fast.
3) Getting close to midday – time for Infrared mode and shoot IR for a couple of hours whilte the sun is at its peak. Look for graveyards, big rocks in the forest, you want lots of foliage for intriguing IR subjects.
4) Lunch! Perhaps some food shots with your 50mm 1.2 or (more likely) 1.8. Nice artistic views with minimal depth of field, shooting wide open. If you have a Nikon D700 you’re laughing – because of its larger sensor it’s brilliant for artistic "product shots." Ask for a table near the window so you can take advantage of the natural light, hopefully it’s a northern exposure and a white linen table cloth! Order one of those fancy deserts with the carmelized sugar lattices jammed on top – they make super food photos!!!! Plus, it’s a nice reward for all your work so far (wink).
5) Next up: Pack your tripod and scout the back roads for old barns and abandoned buildings. Have your safety boots on hand, or should that be "on foot" (?!) and tread lightly if you find a place to explore the insides of. If the roof is crumbling, observe where the sun is overhead and try to take advantage of any light coming through. Set up for some HDR (high dynamic range) shots. My best results come with a bracketed series of 5 – 2 below, 0 and 2 above, in 1 EV increments. Stick around for at least a hour getting down, or up and exploring all the angles. Go with a buddy to be safe and remember I’m not advocating tresspassing
6) By now it’s getting later in the day and if you need a nap, now would be the time. However, better to do some more scouting for where you will do your sunsets. Beach? Piers? Rocky Mountain tops glowing orange? Sillhouettes of sail boats, kiteboarders, fences, catherdrals, treetops? Plan your time well and get it all figured out. Need to recharge your batteries? Need more cards? What lens will you use? What ISO, – what White Balance setting? You know that when the light starts changing you won’t have a lot of time. Be ready for it. And don’t forget to turn around to see the view BEHIND you – opposite the sun. Stick around for at least 30 minutes adter the sun has set. Some of the most remarkable scenes happen when you least expect it, like when you think the day is over!
7) And it’s not over yet…grab your tripd and your widest wide angle and head out after dark to shoot the stars! High ISOs are needed, and I find that on a moonless night about 30 – 45 seconds will caputre the Milky Way. You could spend another 3 hours with the star trails, constellations and meteors.
I’m pooped already! Just thinking about how many images I could (and do) take following this schedule. But it is doable and when I’m away some place I give myself at least on full day like this just me and my gear. But by using a variety of techniques you can really maximize your time and capture the place in many unque views and times, each a snippet of the essence of that microdot in time. And now, it’s all yours.
OK, you can fluff up that pillow and kick back.
ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.