Smoke Gets in the Skies
In mid-April this year there was a forest fire up in a valley, about 20 miles from my home. When I walked around the yard at about 5:30 pm, I was amazed when I ...
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In mid-April this year there was a forest fire up in a valley, about 20 miles from my home. When I walked around the yard at about 5:30 pm, I was amazed when I saw a huge, orange-red sun slowly sinking in the sky. Normally, at 5:30 pm, in April, it is still quite bright. It was so smoky that the snow on the mountains looked gray. Fortunately the next day the fire was brought under control by the forestry service and the local firemen. A few days later it was put out .
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May, 2020Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in the side yard at my home in Squamish B.C., Canada.Time
There was a forest fire north of Squamish in the Squamish valley. From past experience I knew that when the sun passes through smoke, it takes on a reddish appearance. So, at about six pm, I went outside to the west side of my yard and sure enough, there was the sun, and, with a reddish glow. I experimented a bit and decided to go with a close-up so the sun would look as big as what I saw.Lighting
I didn't have to do much with the lighting....I wanted the sun to look like I perceived it, fortunately the lighting seemed just right so I went with it.Equipment
All of my photos are shot with a Panasonic lumix zs50. This camera is point and shoot with the ability to change aperture, shutter speed and exposure. I normally experiment with the settings and settle for what I think is best ie. looks on the camera like what I am seeing. I didn't use any other equipment.Inspiration
I am aware of how time of day, smoke ,etc. can affect the colours of nature ex. the sky, moon, lakes, etc. I'm always on the lookout for this because to me, it is a chance to take a photo of something under conditions that are different than the usual conditions, producing an effect which is not what you normally would see. I find because I use P&S camera, I have to "think outside the box" to get what I want.Editing
This photo really needed very little processing...the smoke did most of the work. I did trim the picture and perhaps touched up the colour.In my camera bag
I always have spare batteries, memory cards, and a cloth to clean my lens, in my camera bag.Feedback
If you want to photograph something similar, keep updated on what's happening in your area. By doing this you would find out events that will, with the right conditions, affect a normal photo. The next thing is, if you don't know how conditions are affected, get on the internet and find out. There are many sites to look up how an event can affect your picture, ie how smoke changes the colour of the setting sun.
