3 images
Purpose
To show how to use twilight, especially to capture sky colours as a backdrop for silhouettes and reflections
Technical learning
- Twilight, the light just before sunrise and just after sunset, is a complex source of light
- Light is most intense at the horizon and then graduates upwards
- Colour is warmer (reds, orange and yellows) at the horizon, cooler towards the upper levels of the sky
- Gradual shading of light and colour adds impact to images, especially with reflections of light and colour from water
- Light and colour differ widely based on 2 variables (a) the time proximity of the sunrise and sunset (the closer in time the more intense) and (b) weather conditions (clear skies make the light more intense, broken cloud creates a haphazard scattering of colours, unbroken cloud at the horizon blankets both light and colour)
- Exposure decisions should take 2 considerations into account: (a) its level varies with the direction of the shot: towards the horizon needs less exposure than pointing away from it, (b) dialling down exposure intensifies colour and so focuses attention on the horizon, whereas raising exposure emphasises the cooler colours in the upper part of the sky.
Use of lenses
- Wide angle lenses make colours more vivid (e.g. deep blues and oranges)
- Telephoto lenses mute colours (magnification through the atmosphere)
Exercise instructions
Image 1
- Photograph a car at twilight, facing the brightest part of the horizon and under a sky with broken clouds
- Shoot from an elevated position so that the car roof lies below the horizon
- Shoot a silhouetted dusk landscape with a wide angle and a telephoto lens
- Look for the tonal differences
Images and review
Dawn over Blagdon Hill, Somerset
(taken with a compact camera, resting on a gate for stability)
Dusk over Zurich lake, as seen from Kilchberg
(taken with a compact camera, resting on a gate for stability)
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| Wide angle - some colours |
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| Telephoto - almost monochrome |
Dusk over Zurich lake, as seen from Kilchberg
 |
| Wide angle - richer colours |
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| Telephoto - more muted colours |
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