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Nov, 2014Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo in the middle of a field in the small town of Czaplinek, Poland, while I was at a photography summer camp. My camp counselor took my two roommates and I there, because she knew it would be a great spot to see the sunrise from and photograph it.Time
I remember my camp counselor roused my two roommates and I around 5 a.m. It was so cold out, even though it was summer and usually hot during the day. We walked together by the lake, through the woods, and finally, across the road and to the field where we would shoot from. There was so much dew; my pants legs and shoes were soaked, and the rest of my jeans soon got soaked too as I got into different positions to photograph. When we got to our designated field, the sun was a red, bleeding color. We stayed there for three hours; when we were ready to leave, we found our camp counselor asleep, surrounded by her equipment. I took this photo at 6:28 a.m. We left around eight.Lighting
The light we had from the sunrise and the emerging daylight was perfect for our purposes. As the sun lost its early red color, we experimented with photographing the sunrise through grass and other plants growing in the meadow to avoid photographing it directly. We also tried different filters that our camp counselor had brought with her to minimize the sharpness of the light. Another technique we used was blurring out the sun and putting the focus somewhere else, so that the sunrise was in the background. When the sun grew too bright to photograph directly and the sunrise was done, but the light still had that early sunrise glow, we shot the different plants growing in the field and other things we found there (snails, spiderwebs), and each other. Working with that early morning light was much different than working with daylight.Equipment
I brought my camera with my standard lens out with me. At one point, I attempted using a tripod, but I quickly realized that it made moving around a lot more difficult and slowed me down, and I could not afford that, since the sunrise would be over quickly.Inspiration
My camp counselor showed me this technique that involved shooting through a plant or spiderweb with the sun blurred out in the background. I tried that, and realized I may be able to manipulate the light so that it reflects on objects instead of coming out sharp in the photograph. I found myself in a place where I could capture part of a spiderweb, and plants, and have the sunlight there, and it came out reflected even better than I imagined it.Editing
I did not have to do any post-processing. My favorite shots are usually the ones that don't require anything else after they are taken.In my camera bag
I always have my Canon EOS Rebel T3 camera with me, which has a standard 18-55 mm lens that I use for almost everything. I also carry a 75-300 mm telephoto lens, which is great for journalism shots or certain close-ups, such as photos of birds in flight. Sometimes I'll have my tripod with me, but it doesn't fit in my bag. And my battery charger and USB cord don't stray far. I also keep an extra hair elastic in my bag, in case I need to keep my long hair from coming into my photographs-- sometimes I find myself in a position in which that's a problem.Feedback
The first step to photographing a sunrise (or a sunset, for that matter) is finding a good spot from which it will be visible. This may involve some driving around beforehand, or, like in my case, knowing someone with that information (especially if you find yourself in a place you're not familiar with-- asking the locals may not be a bad idea). Another thing to remember if you're photographing the sky is that it changes very quickly, and that you have to get your shots quickly, before what you wanted to capture is gone. You might want to leave your tripod at home.
